This season has left many of us Pacific Northwesterners feeling like an audience on the edge of our seats, awaiting the climatic shift of the seasons. Needless to say, this spring wasn’t just raining cats and dogs — mane coons and St. Bernards fell like drops from the sky! As you can imagine, this record-breakingly wet spring has had a dramatic affect on the crops. So as we continue to greet the long summer days… Finally! We have reached the mouthwatering and delicious berry tsunami that we warmly greet each year.

As I look out on the abundant fields and see the ruby-red strawberries glimmering like jewels in the light of day, I am reminded of the gifts Mother Earth treats us to regularly, constantly showering us with her abundance.

We can choose to perceive such fruit as gifts from the Earth, and when we view the world in this light, humanity and strawberries alike are transformed. I like to imagine that the strawberries themselves have been keen to greet us as they spread their slender red runners looking for spaces to take root. The plant works diligently, day and night, assembling globs of sugar, seeds, color, and fragrance for the moment of ripening. A species and a culture that treat the natural world with gratitude, respect, and reciprocity will certainly solidify strong ties to our planet, food, and our individual selves.

I hope each of you is having a wonderful start to the summer and that these heart-shaped fruits have stolen a slice of your hearts this summer. Enjoy this week’s produce brought to you by the Red Dog Farm crew.

Cheers,

~Kayla