I writing this from the comfort of my Brooklyn couch.

Yesterday I worked the farmer’s market in Union Square. One would think that this would be relatively mellow compared to the typical farm day, but that’s not quite the case. For one thing, the day is longer. I met Jonathan and another worker at the market at 7:30am to unpack the van and set up everything. By the time we were done packing up the van at the end of the day, it was 7:30pm.

Even though I put in a solid 12-hour day, I got off relatively easy. My commute was only a 1/2 hour each way by subway (I came back into the city on Thursday night). Jonathan’s commute was two hours each way — driving — putting his work day at 16 hours total.

In addition to the hours, the market is really a lot of work — all performed on your feet. Yesterday started out cold and rainy and, as a result, pretty quiet. Even so, there was a steady stream of customers throughout the morning and afternoon. The two bug rushes occur, predictably, at lunchtime and again around 5:30, when the office workers get set free.

The market is a lot of fun, though. As Jonathan told me, it’s where all the glory lies. People are truly excited about what we’re doing on the farm. They love to hear about the cows and calves. They dig the bread. Most of all, they’re excited about the cheese.

Yesterday’s big hit was a cheese called Baudolino — the first cheese we’re selling with this season’s milk. The cheese is just over 60-days old — the youngest raw-milk cheese can be by law — and is extremely soft and oozy. So oozy, in fact, that in the van and in the aging cave on the farm, the cheese drips down onto the racks below it. There are stalagmites stalactites of delicious cheese hanging down below. Laid out on a board, it collapses under its own weight, spreading out in a lumpy pancake fashion.

Relatively mild with a grassy sweetness, it’s really a great cheese. The customers agreed. Regulars were excited to see a new cheese and, by the end of the day, people were coming up to the table saying things like, “I hear you have a new cheese; I have to try it.” Despite the rain and chill, we sold out of all three wheels we had with us.