August Rain

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, Sylvia Plath

The scattered rain following the crackling, vibration of thunder in summer reminds me of my childhood. I used to sit out on our family pier, at False River, an oxbow lake located in southeastern Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. My grandfather, Paw Paw, had an old fishing shack, or “camp” as we called it, where most of my childhood summers were spent and the humidity of this North Carolina summer is reminiscent of those days when escape was an afternoon nap on the screened-in porch. I would flee the rain to lay on a quilted twin bed, with the oscillating fan to cool me and look up at a ceiling covered in newspapers from the 1960’s, my grandmother’s version of wallpaper. It’s amazing how thunder and rain always take me back to this particular place in time. To the screened-in porch. To a weathered ceiling of newspaper. I can still smell it; imagine it, this hearth of my childhood

It is a tradition for me to return to my blog on rainy, or snowy days. The August rain is a gentle nudge to nestle up with seed catalogues and imagine the sowing of an early Spring crop. The anticipation is certainly a part of farming and I am already looking forward to the beauty and bounty of next Spring.

The unexpected summer harvest is dwindling down to mounds of zinnias, amaranth, dahlias, and a handful of rudbeckia. There are a few weeks left for picking and then I will be tilling the sun kissed plants back into the earth and amending the soil for a time of rest.

The summer of Pick Your Own has been a joy and I am grateful for all the faces I’ve been able to see over the last couple of months! I will remain open for picking but have a new system of inquiry if you have not already been out to the farm before. Please check out the new Pick Your Own days and times on the website and if you are new to Little Sparrow please tell me who you are by filling out an appointment form. For those who have been out to the farm, the new days and hours are Tuesdays and Thursday’s 8am-12pm and 6pm-8pm, along with Saturday from 8am-12pm. Note that the rainy weather has created quite a jungle out there, so please wear good shoes, or boots. Picking has become an adventure, particularly with all of the swallowtails, hummingbirds, and pollinators!! It is a site to see.

Thank you for continuing to support Little Sparrow. I hope to see you out on the farm in the coming weeks.