When I woke up this morning I realized that I only have 10 workdays left in my 2020 season at Red Dog. The end of a yearlong endeavor working on a vegetable farm has a way of sneaking up you. At times it can feel like someone is playing with life’s fast forward and pause buttons as June creeps at snail’s pace and September and October seemingly disappear without a trace. This year marks the completion of my fifth season here on the farm and my last as Farm Manager. Next year I will still be around driving tractors, mostly part time. I have done basically every job there is on the farm, from deliveries to seeding and all in between. I have walked every row of every field, even helped plow new ones. Watched countless birds fly over and coyotes trot through morning fog.

I’ve done a lot of reflecting about my time here since deciding not to return in the same capacity. I have thoroughly enjoyed thinking about every crew I have been a part of. Each one so different with such memorable personalities. I can think of countless stories of blunder and triumph.

I’ve also thought about how much the farm has changed. We’ve significantly improved the infrastructure, purchased new tractors, improved efficiency and even built a walk-in cooler this year. We grow different crops than when I first began, and have decided not to grow others. A lot has changed. Still, much remains the same. The farm’s community is and will always have the ability to impact the life of someone who decides to work here in monumental fashion. Lifelong friendships will continue to spawn. Long talks in beds of parsley will continue and surely soon folks will once again hang out on Fridays by the picnic tables after a long week.

~Lane