(Excerpted from our CSA subscriber weekly newsletter) The days are busier and busier, as the daylight continues to linger on, the plants have been growing at such a fast rate that it’s hard to keep up! Some of the interns just reached the halfway point in their internship, and for others, the halfway point comes in a few weeks.
Our internships, as part of a larger Kitsap County Farm Intern program run in coordination with WSU, are all about immersive, intensive, and experiential learning.
This time of year is special to us, of course. In many ways, the solstice marks an important moment in the life of a farmer, both with regards to the plants and spiritually. The plants get to experience an unbounded opportunity for growth, with daylight stretching outwards into the evenings and early mornings. We mark the summer solstice with gratitude, and the bittersweet knowledge that the days will grow shorter now — the inevitable end of the season likely not far away.
The lowest tides of the year happen right around the solstice, and we always make a point to take a long lunch and explore the beach at low tide! We found a moon snail and other sea critters, identified some seaweed types, and ate lunch on the beach! There were plenty of creatures, rocks, and plants that usually spend time under the water – it was special to walk out that far on the shore.
The internship centers itself around learning — encompassing both the natural environment and the ways of farming sustainably. While we take classes and do learning in more structured ways, a beach walk this like is a super neat chance to connect with and experientially learn about our maritime environment! One of the most wondrous parts of the internship program is that we get to grow together while learning.
If you were around last year (or even longer!), you might already know about our low tide walk, and be familiar with the folks that were around last year! As an ode to the particular nostalgia that this time of summer tends to spark – a sort of “Keeping Up with the Persephone Interns” — I thought I’d throw in some updates! In particular, Willow and Davis from the internship program last year have started their own sustainable veggie and flower farm in South Carolina!
They’re braving much more heat and humidity than we are, and it is so fun to watch our friends and colleagues take the tools that we’ve gleaned from Persephone, get out there, and do it! Willow and Davis are just one of many of Rebecca’s interns that have gone on to start their own farms. Oh, the places you’ll go, you know?
We’ve been appreciating even more lately our ability to gather and appreciating our friends, natural spaces, and the critters that reside in them. July, July. What a wonderful word.
Enjoy the harvest (and these cooler temperatures – phew!)
Caitlin
(she/her)
And Beets!
