My photo
Chelsea has been working seasonally at a local farm stand for the last seven years. Freshly out of college, she's back at The Farm for another year.

29 May 2009

Watery Evening

What happens when the water shuts off for an unknown reason right before closing? Well, you can't mop or wash the scoops. Who do you call when all the bosses are at a get together? Me of course!

I didn't work today, couldn't in fact, but I always make sure to tell the girls I work with to "call me if you need me!" And, though I wasn't working, I did manage to stop down at the farm to taste-test the new Low Fat ice-cream sandwiches we got in (130 calories, 2gr of fat) and I will tell you that they are delicious. I expect them to sell well. Where was I... oh yes... so when the water went off after the girls got 2 teams and their families I received a phone call (right when I was about to update this, I might add). Since it was nearly 9pm I decided to take Lucy, my dog, for a ride to the farm stand and see if we couldn't fix the issue.

Well, I couldn't fix it. Rather than call the boys and tear them away from their first party of the whole season I found a way to work around the problem. Greenhouses have hoses. Those hoses worked just fine! The mop bucket problem was solved and the scoops were treated to a lovely bath in Dasani bottled water. Good use of a dollar.

There was a water main break in town earlier today and since my home's water pressure was affected earlier in the day I figured that perhaps the farm's was too. (I live nearby the farm so it's not entirely improbable.)

And there you have it!
I did take a couple pictures of one of my activites the other day. To be impressive I'll call it a beautification project that I worked on for two days. Once I find my uploady cord I put those pics on the interblog and share them with you.

So you know, tomorrow's weather ought to be a high of 77*, low of 51* with a 30% chance of rain. Otherwise it'll be partly cloudy. I thought May was for flowers and April was for the showers!?

-Chelsea

22 May 2009

Random Pictures

















This is me about two years ago at the farm stand. As you can see, the soda I was drinking exploded on me but I'm okay with it! More importantly, look behind me! Look how gorgeous everything looks! The first picture (just you wait until I learn the formatting!) is of "The Middle Greenhouse", which is basically our main greenhouse. When the first and third houses run low or out of plants, everything gets consolidated to the center house. The front of the first (what I call the first any how) greenhouse, aka the Water Pond house, is usually looking fantastic. This year Matt and Mark fixed the pond so that it will retain the water that we put into it. Finally! Once upon a time we had large goldfish in the pond.

Tomorrow's Weather: High of 65*, Low 53* with (scattered?) Thunderstorms. Leave your metal umbrellas at home!

Until Next Time,
Chelsea

18 May 2009

Chilly Weather

Back Again!

I got to work in a funky mood this afternoon due to stress and whatnot of life. After a while I decided to clean petunia hangers outside and listen to Mark and Tony chitchat. Oh my god did I laugh... well on the inside, I'm not a big laugher, but I was smiling for sure. There they were, just two middle-aged men goofing around and laughing at one another... nothing but contagious let me tell you. Soon enough my cranky mood was alleviated.

Tonight there is an expected frost - the last of the season we hope. Since it was a slow night, customer-wise, I got to help the boys (aka my bosses and other coworkers) cover all the plants outside: roses, perennials, herbs, etc. The greenhouses are also closed up. This kind of thing, protecting for an impending frost, annoys one of my bosses a great deal because of the monotonous bringing things in/out and the covering/uncovering. But the couple of the hours of aggravation saves us thousands in plants. We can't have our whole business freezing!

I had to keep the stand open until our normal hours "in case a team comes," for ice-cream that is. I had one little boy dressed in a baseball uniform run in for a Moosetracks cone and that was it. But he was so cute! I'm always impressed when little kids are so polite when ordering ice-cream or whatever and I try to remember to tell their parents so. I imagine that they feel a bit of pride when someone recognizes their hard work. 'Please' and 'thank you' go a llloooonnnggg way.

So many of our plants are looking fabulous now. We're getting our cemetery logs out tomorrow, just in time for Memorial Day. I know a lot of my customers have been asking about them. The log boxes are nice, especially when Mrs decorates them. Oh the compliments I get on how nice everything looks. I wish I could share the credit, but really everything happens across the street in the "Employees Only" greenhouses. You could say I'm more in the maintenance department of the decorated pots - just keeping them clean and watered and presentable.

-

Once I get settled in to my home after graduation, I'll unpack my camera and try to get some pictures up on this blog so I can actually share my work with you all. The sunsets are so pretty and I can't wait to get some pictures here.

Tomorrow's weather has a High of 74 and a Nightly Low of 47.

Remember to cover your plants tonight!!

See you again,
Chelsea

10 May 2009

Mother's Day and an Introduction

Today was my first day back at 'The Farm' since finishing school. Sure, I still have odds and ends to tie up before graduation but what really matters is that I got to run around outdoors all day!

As you know, this is Mother's Day weekend and as you may not know, it is one of our busiest weekends all year. Probably the second busiest.
You could definitely tell that today was all about the mothers. There were husbands buying for wives and moms, kids asking what kind of flower they ought to get, and moms out spending some quality time alone preparing for the season. "All I want to do is get some planting done today" was basically what every lone woman was telling me. What joy they must have also playing in the dirt and instilling bursts of color and beauty throughout their spaces. It doesn't have to be Mother's Day for my customers to walk into one of the greenhouses and feel inspired. At least I hope they're feeling inspired. I know I do, even when I have to pick up the trash and weeds, (somebody has to keep it all clean!).

To honor our mom customers, the Farm was giving all mothers a free small ice-cream cone. There was plenty of gratitude from these moms who, on their "day off" (the mothers out there are thinking, "yeah, right"), brought their kids down for a cone and found out that they got one just for being themselves. I had very few refusals.

The people I work with and for are what truly make my job special. From the Big Bosses (Mr and Mrs), to the coworker who returns after a long winter, to the little kid learning currency patiently counting out quarters and nickels; and yes, even the adolescents who decide that this is the year to tackle the problem of authority, even if that authority is merely asking you what kind of ice-cream you want. I've grown up here, year after year finding pieces of myself in the people I meet, the skills I learn, and the problems I overcome. It's amazing that what was once a hope to work at the Farm became "Oh my God, I have a job there!" which then led me to the feeling of having a second home.


A scattered writing for my first entry but I hope you stick around.
Tomorrow's weather looks like partly cloudy with a high of 67. My kind of day! Unfortunately, I won't be at work again until the weekend so check back then for another update.

And of course, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!!

Have a nice day!
-Chelsea