Hitchhiker

Friday harvest again already! Today marks the end of my third week here on the farm. Time is flying by like crazy. Five weeks to go and it'll be on to the next adventure--it's approaching with dizzying speed.

Set to washing lots and lots of lettuce this morning with a couple other volunteers. I don't always end up with lettuce duty on harvest days--sometimes it's kale or parsley or snap peas instead--but the tasks are constantly shifting from one person to another. As I've described before, we have a three-sink system for washing lettuce. Sink 1 makes a fresh cut of the stem, removes any rotted or broken leaves, and dunks the head to remove the majority of dirt and bugs. Sink 2 trims the stem of any remainders of removed leaves, double-checks for decay and damage, and rinses away more dirt and bugs. Sink 3 makes another clean cut of the stem and rinses the lettuce a final time for good measure.

In theory and in practice, this is the most effective and efficient way to clean the lettuce thoroughly enough to make it ready for sale. And yet, from time to time, as the lettuce rests on the draining table awaiting packaging, a hardy critter that has ridden out the 3-part deluge emerges from the depths and begins crawling around on the exterior of its recently displaced home. Such wayward insects--which are usually quite colorful--catch your eye right away, contrasting dramatically against the pristine surface of a freshly washed head of lettuce. I caught sight of this ladybird this morning while on sink duty and made a dash for the camera without further thought.