Murder at Henry's Farm

Yet another scorching week, yet another intro telling you all how hot it is down on the farm. But seriously this time! It's freaking killer! And no, that's not what the title refers to (for once). The hot hot heat (ooh remember that band?) has reached a high high peak and thankfully Henry knows that the bodies of mere mortal farmhands and interns aren't made for such stuff, granting us three hour lunch breaks during the hottest part of the days and giving us non-strenuous jobs. One of these cake walk jobs, though the metaphor there just made me pull a majorly grossed out face, is killing bugs, LOADS OF BUGS, plant by plant, leaf by leaf. Truth be told, I thought we'd be doing a lot more of this on an organic farm, but vegetables have an easier time than fruit and we've got better things to do most of the time.

So let me introduce you to our cast of characters.

oh god, these things are the worst! I, ew, I can't stand it. I can't stand them! You can tell they are near because the tomato leaves and stems have been eaten down to little nubs (also look for the hookah) They are huge, these tomato worms, they are hidden, though you look and look for them and BAM you find one and it still manages to startle the crap out of you. Steel yourself, pluck it off little stuck-on foot by little stuck-on foot, and get the thing out of your hand and under your shoe before it starts wriggling around, spits at you, or sticks its horns out. And you squeal. like the girl you are.  But, another truth be told, I have a better time plucking these things off the plants than some of the guys around here. No judgement-- It's not pleasant for anyone (girl power!) 

Squash bugs and their wee little eggs. We've spent hours this week walking slowly up and down the summer squash plants, turning over every leaf in search of those little dots. Sometimes we'll find adults, sometimes we'll find little ones that were just hatched (gross but the easiest to kill) and sometimes we'll stumble upon a squash bug metropolis that pushes the farm-intern into the same gross-out mode as experienced during the tomato bug searches. smash smash smash.

Bonus points for these guys, which we never go on the hunt for but which are overwhelmingly satisfying to snatch out of the air. These are the butterfly stage of cabbage worms, a supreme nemesis to my brassica loving self. They used to look nice, flitting and bobbing above the plants. Now they just look sinister and my inner-killer comes out.