The real dog days of summer have arrived in North Texas. Heat warnings and triple digit temperatures are expected for the next ten days. The tomatoes have gone dormant until Fall, the other crops are growing ever so slowly, and everything struggles (including me) to survive the baking sun. Fortunately, peppers and okra love summertime in Texas so we should have plenty soon!
Please take it easy this week if you work in this heat. Hydration, both water and plenty of electrolytes, and shade breaks are absolute necessities. Heat illnesses can sneak up on you and hit suddenly – I learned a lesson last week during a farm tour! – and heat injuries are serious.
We’ll be closing the farm for the month of August. We won’t have as many varieties of produce at Opal’s Farm Stand. I’m delaying some planting as I’ll be in at Texas State University in San Marcos next weekend for the Southern Family Farms and Food Systems Conference. Then I’ll be back home on Tuesday, but Margaret and I will be leaving on vacation Wednesday. We could have chosen a better time to go with rising gas prices (as well as for everything else!) but it’s the first real vacation we’ve had since the farm started in 2019. A huge shout-out goes to Amir for irrigating while I’m gone and to our friends at the TRWD police and the Fort Worth police for additional patrols at the farm.
We’re going to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to see my stepson. To be honest, Iowa was never on my bucket list as I’ve always assumed that Iowa was just a lot of cornfields. Stereotyping anything is poor practice. You’ll miss out on the real beauty of a place. I’ve flown over Iowa many times, but I’ve never been there so this will be a new experience for me. It’s also going to be a bit challenging – it’s the first time we’ve ever been away from our pups for a whole week. I pray that their (and our) abandonment issues are minimal. Many thanks go out to our friend who’s housesitting in our absence.
Aside from the brutal August heat. I won’t be at Cowtown Farmers Market until the end of August. I always miss Cowtown when I can’t be there. I’ve had the privilege of gaining so many new relationships with our “regulars”. There’s one couple I want to acknowledge in a special way. Larry and Virginia (I don’t have permission to use their last name) have been incredible friends of Opal’s Farm. I didn’t see them this summer and just found out that they weren’t going to be able to come to Cowtown due to some health issues. I want you to know that you’ve been our my prayers. I’ll be sending some farm-fresh tomatoes when they come back in season. I miss you guys and love you so much. Thank for everything you do.
I hope to see you all in September. We love all you folks that volunteer and support Opal’s Farm. You have become part of the Opal’s family!
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