Taken this morning at our local rail trail, as we had a beautiful, sunny morning:
Taken this morning at our local year-round farmers market:
Carrots.
Two bicycle stands.
Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for her #ShadowshotSunday a day early. We'd love you to come out of the shadows and join us. All you need is one shadow picture, inside or outside.
Tomorrow is my Memorial Day post, also a day early.
It's time for our local farmers market to move outdoors. Let's celebrate this market from last Saturday with:
The first asparagus of the season.
Hanging baskets
Spring garlic
Finally, bidding bye to mushrooms. This grower only grows it in the winter and first part of spring.
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| Recreation Park Bandstand, Binghamton, New York |
Our county has four farmers markets, one of which is year round. They have been instituting some nice programs in the last couple of years, including a monthly giveaway of $15 coupons to military veterans. This year we are getting, for the first time in years, a Sunday market in the Binghamton park that was the setting (not filmed there, but the inspiration for, the Twilight Zone episode Walking Distance.
Does your area have a farmers market?
Spring is officially here, and although it is snowing right now (we shouldn't get much), our outdoor farmers market is still in session each Saturday except the Saturday right before New Years Day.
I've shown you produce pictures before, but here are some of the other vendors.
A local coffee roaster.
Meat, for those who eat meat.
And, of course, winter produce, like these mushrooms (which this vendor only grows in the winter).
Carrots and parsnips. My spouse loves these carrots, incidentally. Don't be put off by their size - he cuts them up and air fries them in the air fryer along with potatoes. I love them that way.
Hopefully this is a good year for our growers. Let's thank our farmers today for their hard work.
Enjoy the sights of the season at the Broome County (New York) indoor year round farmers market from earlier today.
There's something for everyone. Bread and baked goods.
Lettuce.
Garlic and onions.
Cabbage.
For those who eat meat, meat.
Trout, smoked and fresh.
There were lots of cookies and candies, available, but lots of people around those stands, too.
Traditionally, this market (which is a Saturday only market) closes the last Saturday of the month, and I wonder how many vendors will be there next Saturday.
We are so fortunate to have this market.
Happy Saturday to you!
In the United States, it is the day before Thanksgiving.
We have so much to be thankful for, and sometimes it is easy to forget how fortunate we are.
On Saturday, we visited our local farmers market and saw the bounty of the season.
Carrots and parsnips.
Yellow and purple cauliflower.
Wild Twist apples, a cross between Honeycrisp and Pink Lady. These are a late apple, unlike Honeycrisp.
But today is more than the day before Thanksgiving. It is an anniversary of the event that marked my generation the way a great tragedy marks (it seems) each generation. But let me start with the story of a pet bird, a repeat of part of a post from 2022.
I grew up in a New York City housing project which
prohibited dogs or cats. My Mom had brought home various goldfish, but
eventually they all went to the large aquarium in the sky.
One of my aunts, who lived a couple of miles from me, had three pets: two cats and a canary.
It was a male (only male canaries sing) and it sang so beautifully. For me, watching it, it was
instant love. I've always been attracted to birds and started begging
Mom for a canary of my own.
When I was about eight, Mom decided I was old enough to
care for a pet, and off to the pet shop we went. Mom and I
came home with a yellow canary.
"Singer" became a friend and companion for me, an only child. He would
sing for me, do little tricks with his seed bell and swing, and
entertain me in general with his antics during his weekly bath. In
fact, I was able (with a lot of patience) to train him to sit on my
finger, and even to sit on my shoulder. I have a picture, somewhere of
me (in a bathrobe, as I recall), with "Singer" perched on me.
His songs and company were just what I needed after I broke my leg in
three places and had to spend the next two months at home because my
elementary school classroom was on the 4th floor and there was no
elevator in the school building. (I was home educated by a teacher sent
to my apartment until after my cast was removed. I blogged about that
several years ago. I owe a lot to that teacher.)
Sadly, Singer passed away during my recovery. I remember the date, too,
because it was the day before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I was still in
my leg cast.
Yes, people of my generation remember the date November 22, 1963 well.
That morning, I was at home, reading or doing homework, perhaps. My mother had left me to go shopping. She returned home, and was crying as she opened the door to our Bronx apartment.
Mom turned on the TV, and the next three days
were nonstop television coverage. I had a doctor's appointment the
following Monday to have the progress of my leg healing checked, and I
remember watching some of the funeral coverage in the waiting room.
We went to the pet store the day after Kennedy died to buy another
canary. In the pet store cage was a yellow canary with a black spot on
top of his head. My Mom and I agreed the bird had the spot to mourn
Kennedy, and that was the bird we took home with us.
It's been 60 years since that sad early afternoon when my Mom came home crying and turned the TV set on. I still find that, in some ways, hard to believe.
I am thankful for you, my readers. For those in the United States, may you have a joyous Thanksgiving tomorrow. For the world, is it too much to hope for peace and full stomachs for all?
It's closing time, and it's not like in the old days.
Where I live in the Southern Tier of New York, the indoor farm markets used to close up (for the most part) on October 31. Some of the markets that were also gift shops, or nurseries, would close on Christmas Eve and reopen sometime in April.
But that was then and...
Our two indoor farm markets (not our farmers market, which is open year round) have, in the past three or some years, been open in early to mid November. One gets a lot of produce from southern Pennsylvania so they still have plenty to sell. One is open only weekends in November, although they will also be open this Tuesday for last minute Thanksgiving produce shopping.
This year, both of them are closing the day before Thanksgiving.
One, the next day, is going to reopen as a holiday market (selling things like candles, teas, coffees, and little gift items) on Friday.
I will say the words for why: Climate change.
Today it's bitter. I exercise walked with my spouse right after noon and it was 43F (6.1C) with a brisk wind. But yesterday, it got up to 63F (17.2C).
I think second summer is over. And soon, some of these stores I shop at will be closed for the long, long winter.
I'll be waiting eagerly for April.
Seen this month at the Regional Farmers Market in Binghamton, New York.
Romanesco broccoli. A mathematician would love to analyze these buds. This is an heirloom dating back to the 16th century.
Brussel Sprouts.
The produce is almost as colorful as the fall foliage. The leaf turning has accelerated in the past couple of days, although colors are still muted due to the cloud cover.
Our weather is about to turn blustery with showers. Tomorrow we only have highs in the 40's F (4 to 5 C). At that point the weekly farmers market will be completely indoors.
The season continues to change.
Today, we traveled to Norwich, New York to check out Saturday in the Park with Chobani.
If you are of a certain age and are from the United States you may recognize the name Norwich from "Norwich Aspirin" (1907) and Pepto-Bismol (originally sold in 1901 under the name Cholera Infantum). Other products produced by the then- Norwich Pharmaceuticals included Unguentine, originally sold as a surgical dressing. Under a different name, this company is still in business.
For a city of some 7000, this Saturday gathering was a blend of farmers markets, crafts, non profits, and people meeting up with each other.
We got there about 90 minutes before it was closed. Here are some highlights:
Saturday in the park.
If you have had Chobani yogurt, this company is located about 15 miles (24 km) from Norwich. Chobani likes to give back to communities (including communities in Idaho, where they also have a facility) and its contribution to the gathering included a food truck with free containers of their Greek yogurt (I had a coffee and cream yogurt, so good). Because I try not to publish faces, I didn't take a picture of the food truck.
No cheese bread was available but we got the last loaf of rye caraway.
The other booth was Little Farmhouse Lavender. She allowed me to taste honey bees made from lavender flowers and contrast with a springtime honey. She also taught me some interesting things about lavender, which I may share in a later post. I bought some essential oil and lip balm from her.
My finds from today.
And, of course, I must include this song. It's so hard to believe this song is over 50 years old.
It's a beautiful Saturday here in the Southern Tier of New York. While many others bake or deal with wildflowers, we are enjoying a summer day and the abundance of product that shows up at our local farmers market. It feels a little weird, with what is going on in so many other places.
This is the peak of sweet corn season. Spouse and I eat it nearly every day.
Blueberries are finishing up.
Kirbys are my favorite cucumber and it's strange that we don't grow them. (We opt for small space cucumbers). Cucumber varieties do matter. Kirbys are a small pickling cucumber. We make simple sour refrigerator pickles with them and I have a slice each day if I make a sandwich for lunch.
"Little" eggplant. In my opinion these were picked too late-I don't think they should have been as big as many of these were. My spouse bought one of the smaller ones, hoping that these (long Asian eggplants) won't be as seedy as some of the classic Italian black eggplants we are used to.
Our garden is producing an abundance of tomatoes and basil right now. My spouse makes eggplant parmigiana with minimal oil and no breading. I happen to like it that way but I have a feeling he will make something different tonight.
It's such a delicious time of the year and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy it.
I hope all is well with you, my readers.
At the Binghamton, New York farmer's market earlier in May, there was a booth set up offering $15 in coupons to veterans. These coupons could be used to purchase veggies, fruit, poultry, honey, eggs, bread, dairy, coffee beans, jarred goods, or meat from any county farmer's market.
While my spouse shopped, I went over to check it out.
It was legit.
So my spouse went over, and with ID (he has a veteran's ID), received these coupons. It wasn't a one time giveaway, either. The booth will be at a different market once a month for the next three or so months.
What a wonderful program both for aging veterans like my spouse (he's in his 70's and retired) and younger vets.
This is a link to the program, which is larger than just the giving out of the coupons.
Here's how we spent our $15:
Fennel and carrots (we boought the fennel) for soup. Yes, soup. It's been chilly recently, and my spouse makes a wonderful fennel soup with pureed beans. It's Weight Watchers friendly, too.
Sugar snap peas. They went into last night's supper, too.
Mushrooms for this morning's omelet.
The year is moving so fast; I can't believe we are almost in the middle of June.
Time flies.
I was busy today helping with planting flowers and other activities, so I am keeping today's post simple.
Farmers market today: The beauty of lettuce struck me.
Green
Red.
There was more than lettuce at this stand. Bok choy.
Asparagus.
While we were at the market, someone flagged us down. It was a woman who lived across the street, a couple who befriended our then young son, a couple who cared about others. Her husband, who was disabled and could no longer work, would repair bicycles and donate them to children who couldn't afford a new one.
He passed away several years ago from cancer, and she moved away. But we still seem to run into each other once a year or so. She was with a friend, so we didn't talk long today.
We are so fortunate.
We are fortunate enough to have this market, a way to get there, and the money to purchase this food and support local farmers. And we are fortunate enough to have lives where we are healthy enough to get out and plant flowers, and for having each other.
May truly is my favorite month.
This was a good day.
I hope yours was, too.
