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One evening, while my husband and I were talking with a young couple who manage a Community Supported Agriculture business, we wandered onto the topic of summer interns1. Because of the couple's urban location, their CSA drew workers from the local college who were eager to build raised beds and weed beets2.
My friend Stacy was amazed at how many of the students never held a summer job. They asked if they would be stiff and sore every morning.
My husband John and I joked about how we still felt every muscle after a day of grading and packing several tons of blueberries, but the four of us also ruminated3 on how interns can restore our wonder and dedication4 to organic methods as we watch them experience farm life.
A couple of years ago, the small farmer guru Joel Salatin wrote an article about how farms thrive when multiple generations work the land. Because less than one percent of the American population was employed in agrarian5 pursuits, he urged farmers to welcome interns so that young people would embrace agriculture.
For many years, John and I had nurtured6 numerous apprentices7 from as far away as Japan and the Netherlands, until we adopted our sons and concentrated on raising them. While pondering Salatin's thoughts, a friend from Ann Arbor8 called and asked if we would hire her daughter, Lisa, and her best friend, Rebecca, who were finishing their freshman9 years in college. I looked at John, and he nodded his head.
"Yes, when will they arrive?" I answered.
On a June day, the duo rolled up in a white Subaru Outback stuffed with sleeping bags, a box of books, a guitar case, and a jumble10 of clothes. Dreadlocks dangled11 around Rebecca's shoulders, as she stretched out her hand and introduced herself; I hugged blond-haired, diminutive12 Lisa whom I had known since she was ten. After showing the young women the old white farmhouse13 where they would live, and talking a bit about our farm's routine, we left them to settle in.
The next day heat waves shimmered14 off the hay field as John drove the baler while Lisa and Rebecca stacked hay bales onto the low wagon15 with a high rack rising from the far end. Hay chaff16 coated their arms, clogged17 their throats and sifted18 into their boots. Wide sombreros shaded their faces from the ninety degree sun.
"Like your hats," I said, and then poured everyone a round of lemonade as we paused in the shade of the hay barn.
"How's it going? Do you want to share supper with us? We could take you swimming this evening."
"Oh, thanks, but we'll cook something," Lisa said. Sweat plastered her red t-shirt and jeans to her slim body.
"We're fine." Rebecca wiped her mouth on the neck of her t-shirt. "Really."
A few weeks later, the girls would reveal that they had been so exhausted19 that they had collapsed20 and slept for a couple of hours before hitting Lake Michigan's beach. Over the next two months their hands developed calluses as they weeded young blueberry bushes, thinned peaches, and hoed the garden. But we also found them perched in sweet cherry trees, red juice dribbling21 from the corners of their mouths or wandering along a farm lane, plucking blackberries.
Meanwhile, a pyramid of empty, vegetarian22 refried bean cans grew on their kitchen counter.
"What are you two giggling23 about?" I asked one morning as we taped together boxes to hold blueberries.
"How many tacos we plan to eat for lunch," Rebecca said. "And for dinner, she ate nine yesterday," Lisa said, and we all laughed.
By the end of what John and I dubbed24 Pleasant Hill Summer Boot Camp, Lisa and Rebecca not only had stronger muscles, but they had developed an inner strength that helped them tackle arduous25 jobs. They understood that when a crop needed to be harvested, the farmer had to ignore the heat and humidity and focus on the satisfaction of a barn stuffed with hay bales or boxes of frozen blueberries waiting to be purchased.
After the girls departed, John and I moped around, grieving our taco-eating duo that had added a certain spice to our summer and rejuvenated26 our passion for farming. A couple of weeks later, Lisa sent me an email.
"I haven't eaten a decent blueberry since leaving the farm. Miss you guys."
"Miss you too," I wrote, and then returned to posting an advertisement for next summer's interns on an organic farming webpage.
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1
interns
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| n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 ) | |
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2
beets
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| 甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红 | |
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3
ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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4
dedication
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| n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞 | |
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5
agrarian
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| adj.土地的，农村的，农业的 | |
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6
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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7
apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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arbor
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| n.凉亭；树木 | |
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freshman
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| n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女) | |
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10
jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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11
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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12
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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13
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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14
shimmered
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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16
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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17
clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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19
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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20
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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21
dribbling
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| n.（燃料或油从系统内）漏泄v.流口水( dribble的现在分词 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球 | |
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22
vegetarian
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| n.素食者；adj.素食的 | |
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23
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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24
dubbed
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| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
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25
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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26
rejuvenated
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| 更生的 | |
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