Our favorite campers return to the farm!

The campers have struck again.

Not only was this group of Texas A&M SeaCampers a curious and inquisitive bunch who took these stellar photos, but they possessed an unmeasured willingness to squish baby stink bugs. It wouldn't have mattered if the photos were good or not--for that reason alone, they had my heart. 

Our friend Robert Mihovil has taken a vanful of aspiring teenage photographers to our farm for 4 years now, and it remains a delight every time. Not only do we benefit from receiving a barrage of high-quality photos to be used on our website and other marketing purposes, but we get the chance to spread the local farm gospel, one squished insect at a time. I force raw okra onto unsuspecting 9th graders. They point and ask what things are. We laugh at my bad jokes (together, I think). Alex ambles over from whatever arduous task he's currently knee-deep in and poses good-naturedly for a few photos and then disappears back into the orchard or far fields. It was decided long ago that I'd play Host to any group that visits the farm and the McFarmer is required to abandon post only briefly in order to show up, look sweaty, smiley and oh-so-manly. He is then allowed to return to his work while I hypnotize folks with my huge teeth and constant chatter. For his part---check, check, check. He does the sweaty-smiley thing with aplomb, and his manliness is effortless as well as adorable. (Perhaps he'd prefer I say windswept and ruggedly handsome, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.)

Speaking of adorable, this group also had the fortune of capturing some shots of our new farmdog, Petey. It was a treat to watch him wiggle and slobber all over the SeaCamp kids, and they treated us to some lovely photos of the newest employee. 

The first camp visit of the summer proved to be a winning one. We're glad to have photos of John, our old friend from college who's been working here for the summer before he resumes his musical therapy career with an internship in Chicago. John is a natural ham and hard-worker, which makes for one of our favorite kinds of people. (His luminous girlfriend Miranda has also been with us this summer. You'll see photos of her in the next blogpost!)  

We wish the very best of luck to each of the young adults who joined us for this first visit. It's our humble opinion that young people who have an interest in the world around them paired with a tolerance for Texas summer heat & bad jokes will have many adventures in their life. We're so glad you shared this one with us! 

(c)Sarah Renelt, 2016

(c)Stephen Thomas 2016

(c) Bhajleen Kaur 2016

From left to right, the photos above were taken by: Zoe Green, Sloan Hall, Emily Mihalovich, Bhajleen Kaur, Sloan Hall, Susan Smith, Victoria Ferguson & Sarah Renelt, Sarah Renelt, Zoe Green, Zoe Green & Sloan Hall.

(c) Sarah Renelt, 2016

(c) Stephen Thomas 2016