Wednesdays=Kids Day!

WOW. I forgot that sometimes Wednesdays are kids days at the Athens Farmer's Market! We heard a rumor that there were some 2nd graders coming to visit us for a field trip last Wednesday. Then, suddenly, there were four busloads of them! And they were ecstatic to be at the market.
Sorry to the parents and teachers who had to deal with potential sugar highs due to excessive brownie consumption (hey, at least most of them split them in half!), honey sticks from Cantrell's or delicious fruit popsicles, but your kids had a total blast! I think the moms of these kids were very pleased, too, when their children brought home lots of beautiful flowering plants from Mitch's Produce and Greenhouse or Cherry Orchard as Mother's Day presents. Those sweet littles! Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there!

This past Wednesday was kind of like a Saturday in terms of business and vendors. It was our third week and every week we see more people coming to vend and more customers coming to buy. Last Wednesday, we were lucky enough to be next to Cherry Orchard and all of their beautiful green and purple basils, cilantro and dill. The colors and scents were so vivid on that gray day!

I bought some long, slender stalks of purple and green asparagus from Gillogly Orchard, as well as some gorgeous, plump, hot pink stalks of rhubarb (I was informed that the more pink they are, the sweeter they are!). Beautiful, shiny, bright zucchini from Cowdery Farm and crisp, dark green spinach from Sassafrass Farm completed my Wednesday shopping.

This morning at Saturday market, we were blessed with another windy day, but it did feel great outside. Bruno and I shared some Garlic and Cheese stuffed Fougasse from Avalanche's stand and some refreshing Vanilla Chai tea from The Herbal Sage Tea Company.

When I wasn't ladling salsas, I was staring at all the cool tomato, basil, sage and parsley starts that Yankee Street Farm has, or listening to all the funny things that Will Dewees from Appalachian Flowers was shouting out ("Best deer repellent ever! It's like a six-legged dog in a bottle!"). The musicians next to Shew's Orchard were playing some great tunes on the guitar and my friend told me about the delicious looking ribs he just bought from King Family Farm.

How can one not do cartwheels down the aisle with all the choices products you can find at the Athens Farmer's Market? Find out this coming Wednesday!