Planting Day

              

Ok guys, don't get too excited but I think I might be turning the corner and getting to a place where I might like my job. Or at least don't hate it. And maybe I'll specify and say maybe I just had a day that helped me remember why I like this work, and am still solidly undecided about this job. But either way, I'll take it. 

Today we finally had a pretty quintessential spring day: cloudy and a little cool in the morning, some rain, followed by a sunny but still relatively mild afternoon. The kind of day that makes me grateful to have a job that keeps me outside pretty much all day, every day, getting to experience every moment of the seasons changing. 

The best part of today though? No tomatoes. Now in the summer, I can't get enough tomatoes. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. But the thing is tomatoes in April are different than tomatoes in July. Because when you're planting tomatoes, both bosses (married) come around. And they argue so much and so loud you can hear them over the fans of the high tunnel and even outside in the next section over. There are tape measures and clips and string, and yelling and making up, all in the sweltering heat and humidity of the high tunnel. So, no thanks, I don't want to help with tomatoes. 

Instead, I got to be outside, experiencing spring, and planting rows and rows of lettuces, radishes, turnips, beets, and herbs. I got to use the Jang seeder (love) all by myself, and used the paper pot transplanter  (decidedly undecided) for the first time. I got to work at my own pace with a coworker who isn't overly concerned with doing things just so. And I'll be honest: it was a nice time.  

Plus, while everyone else was busy freaking out over the tomatoes, I got to run other special errands by myself like starting the irrigation across the road. I felt like I could be in a movie montage or something while I careened around in the side by side playing Charley Crockett out of my overalls pocket: wind whipping through my hair, spilling gasoline everywhere when setting up the pump but starting it on the first pull etc, all with the knowledge that I definitely shouldn't be so confident driving the mule around because just yesterday I was trusted to drive by myself and definitely went down the wrong path and hit one of our tools sheds a little bit (don't worry, it was fiiiiine); All this together was, for me, the embodiment of the carefree feeling of having a job that's just a job, free from any real stress or responsibility because I'm just a low level employee, and sweetened by the fact that I wasn't trapped in that high tunnel fussing over tomatoes and trying to pretend that it's totally normal for two people (married) to talk to each other that way in front of their employees. 

I ended the day tired but not feeling totally overworked, and I was reminded of of some of the reasons I like this work: getting my hands in the dirt, learning new things, having silly little side quests, experiencing the seasons, etc. We'll see what I'm saying in a few months when we have this exact same planting day every week between now and then (literally we plant lettuces, beets, radishes, turnips, spinach, etc basically every week all year), but for now I like planting day. As long as I'm not in that high tunnel with the bosses and tomatoes.