So I decided I didn't want to work in fast food, and when I applied for jobs in May and June I discovered that my 9-1 class schedule was a problem for a lot of employers.
Which is how I came to be working in the sun during one of Texas hottest summers on record, by my own choice.
I'm working on an organic commercial farm, doing pretty much what farmworkers do: weeding, mulching, planting, clearing out old crops and preparing for new ones. Also changing tires on tractors, repairing their engines, and figuring out how to retrofit safety equipment on old models.
But here's the thing: I've made quite a few discoveries. Shade moves. Did you know that? I'm a city kid, and I never really understood that one reality until I was faced with working the five planted rows on a 300 foot long raised bed that when I started was in the shade... and then it wasn't, as the sun rose higher and began to clear the trees. I don't know the temperature difference of full sun in Texas in July at 10:00 in the morning, but what I can tell you is that it feels like the difference between "OK, I can do this" to "I need water. Now."
