As we descend into fall and winter here in the Boston area, here’s a reflection from the summer to keep us warm.

It’s August and it’s time to harvest the melons. Harvesting melons is one of my favorite things to do on the farm, as it most resembles football. To harvest melons, we walk into the row of melons, close to each other at first as the leader pulls the ripe melons from the vines and hands them down the line. At first, it’s just a a handoff, a gentle pass down the line of six young people. As we move further into the row, the gentle pass becomes a toss and eventually a throw, carefully avoiding dropping the sweet, warm fruit. Because a drop means one less melon for the market or the CSA.

It also means snack time. To taste an Athena cantaloupe still warm from the sun, is an amazing rite of summer here at The Food Project. Each of us waits for our favorite produce to be ready to be eaten. For me it’s cantaloupe and watermelon. When they’re ready, I know summer is really here.