Lettuces to Harvest

I returned to Helmut's special farm -- Coast Organics just off Hwy. 101, south of Buellton. He was so generous and invited me back to paint in the fields. The rows of lettuces, broccoli, carrots, dill and onions stretched across the distance towards the golden fields and mountains. The soil was warm and soft, the texture of talcum powder, it shifted underfoot and made puffy little clouds of dust.
The cows shuffled along the hillsides, the grasses and underbrush crunching as they made their way to the water trough. The steady breeze from the coast moved through the valley and hawks drafted in the air current overhead. The sun was intense and there was no shade to be found... I set up in the lane between the two large sections and began to paint. A tractor worked in the fields behind me as I painted and some of the workers stopped by to look at the painting.
I love this very aspect of plein air... being immersed in sounds, sight, color, smells... it it hard to describe but time stands still for that moment. I think of nothing but the painting and the emotion of the experience.
As I packed up to leave, Helmut asked if I was done. I replied yes, thinking he needed to close up the fence gate. No, he remarked... it is time to harvest all the lettuce and he was waiting for me to finish. Oh, I felt so bad that I had delayed his task for the afternoon! He told me no, the lettuces needed to be painted.
He was so very right. They did.
The next day I drove in to buy some produce and the fields were brown and barren. I am so grateful to Helmut and humbled that he allowed me to capture this moment at his farm.