Page 33 of Raised On It

“Miles…”

“Mason, sit down, or you’re gonna miss it.”

He opens his arms, inviting me to sit, so of course, I take a seat on his lap. Without hesitation, he wraps his arms around me, and it feels well…perfect. Like we’d done it a million times before.

“You know I’ve sat in this field, in this very tractor and watched the sun rise more times than I can count, but I can already guarantee this one is gonna be the best one yet.”

There isn’t anything I can say to his beautiful statement.

The sky is like a dark canvas laid out before us slowly being painted by Mother Nature. The orange glow from the morning sun leisurely makes its presence known while turning the skies above it a shade of blue that changes with every second that passes.

Sinking into him, I allow myself to wrap my hands around his currently encircling me.

I don’t know what his other sunrises here at Montgomery Farms have been like, but for my first, I’d have to say it’s pretty magical.

We sit in silence watching the beauty before us until the last bit of the sun fills the hazy summer sky rising high above the Oregon skyline.

“Told you,” he whispers in my ear.

I know what he’s referring to, but I ask him anyway. “Told me what?”

“This one would be the best one yet.”

He gives me a little squeeze, and we admire the view a while longer, not wanting it to be over. The blur of Lou running past makes us both chuckle.

“I wish I had even half of his energy,” he says, and much to mydismay, he releases me. “Come on, let’s go for a walk so you can take some pictures.”

“Crap! I completely forgot to take pictures!”

“Well, it’s still pretty. Hop on out and take them without that dirty windshield in front of you. But first say cheese,” he says, lifting his phone to take a selfie of the two of us.

I’d never ask, but I sure hope he sends me a copy.

He’s right, the shots I’m getting are perfect. Once I’ve gotten what I need, I turn around to find him leaning against the tractor watching me, so I lift the camera and take a picture to capture him in the moment.

He doesn’t smile.

He doesn’t say anything.

He just watches me watching him.

Thankfully, Lou barks, jumping in his daddy’s face to get his attention. He reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a tan canvas toy of some sort and throws it off into the distance for Lou to chase after.

“You’re a good daddy.”

He shrugs. “Come on, let’s go get our coffee out of the truck, and we can go for a walk. I’ll show you around.”

“I’d love that. But what about Lou?”

“He’ll be back in a flash. Don’t you worry about him. He knows this place better than anyone.”

Once we have our coffee, he starts with the basics, explaining that we’re on a hops farm, and that it’s currently harvest season and the area we’re in has already been harvested. This would be why this section of the farm seems a bit sparse. He tells me the unusually warm weather this year brought harvest season on several weeks early. It’s caused things around the farm to spring into their busy time of year sooner than they usually do.

“How can you tell when it’s time?”

“Come here, I’ll show you.” He takes me by the hand and walks me over to one of the rows not yet harvested.

“Here, give this a squeeze.”

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