Market Day

For 18 years Bill & I had a stall at the local Farmer's Market.  We sold veggies, flowers, jellies and jams, and our most popular product.. Goat Cheese.  During the years we participated, that market grew from a couple dozen vendors to the huge market it is today.  It changed locations a couple of times but the standards that were put in place 30+ years ago were never lowered.  You had to grow what you sold.  There were no arts or crafts sold; no animals for sale.  

Bill was president of the market for several years and we had an active part not only as vendors, but in maintaining the standards.  It is a huge market now, open all year round.  There are many more organic growers there now, as well as a variety of meats, cheese and processed food available.  

Also, there are "street entertainers" located at a few spots in the market....  usually guitar or other types of music, singing, and the such.  They play for "tips" and from the number of folks who shop, I would think they do pretty well.  I think once a month there are arts and craft stalls set up nearby.

The market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  The Wednesday market has always been for the hard-core shoppers.  They know what they want, they know what vendors will be there.  At least in our time, these shoppers were the serious ones.

Oh but Saturdays!  The bell rings promptly at 10:00.  Nothing is sold before then.  There are lines of folks waiting for that wonderful loaf of bread... or, oh my! when sweet corn is finally ripe...  or Ohio River tomatoes!...  people are anxious to get these before they are sold out.  And Saturdays is a big social event.  Even though we're not vendors now, when we're in town Bill & I are always at the market when they open.  We see folks we haven't seen in months.  We visit with everyone.  Everyone does this, even if they are townies who saw the same folks the week before.  It's nothing for us to arrive for the 10:00 opening and still be wandering around at noon.

Sometimes we have to make a couple trips back to the car with our purchases...  how long do you want to carry around that bag of tomatoes, those jars of salsa, that lovely bunch of basil?  And, besides, that loaf of bread is going to get crushed if we keep adding more to our bags.

Many people bring their own bags or even lovely baskets to carry home their veggies.  Some even wear fashionable straw hats or other "country" looking attire.    Everyone has a great time

Bill & I seek out Farmer's Markets wherever we're at.  Today we drove into Glen Rose, here in Texas to the local market....

 There were only 3 vendors set up today.

But the selection of veggies was pretty good...  tomatoes, okra, green beans, black-eyed peas and tiny red new potatoes.  There were a few varieties of watermelon and cantaloupe, and just-picked peaches.

The vendor on the right sold jams and jellies.

Besides melon, this vendor also had bird-house gourds for sale.

(That's a statue of a pioneer on a horse on the town square in the background)

We came away with 3 bags of veggies and Bill had a melon under each arm.  We have no trouble supporting those local farmer's markets - the hard part is limiting our purchases to what we can use while it's fresh.

Some are huge and have all kinds of things besides foods, some are small, like this one, and have only a few vendors.

But, they are all fun to wander through, and best of all, be able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are grown locally.

That's All For Today!