Farmers' Market Flowers

It was rainy and gloomy most of this afternoon, with passing crashing-cymbal-filled thunderstorms that pelted the ground with gumball-sized hailstones. It's been years since I've seen hail! Such a strange sight, and so weird to hear thousands of little dings and whacks at once as they bounce off of different surfaces and ricochet around.

So here's a photo of bright and sunny bouquets of zinnias, veronica, amaranth, black-eyed susans, and kale from the local farmers' markets to harken back to sunnier, hail-free days!

By the way, what do you go with - farmer's market, farmers market, or farmers' market? I go with the latter because there's always more than one farmer present, but I honestly have no idea which is right.

What do you think?

Farmers Markets

What's that saying - "everything hits at once"? I've certainly been feeling that this past month. So I've been retreating. And I've been very quiet. I don't talk much when I'm processing a lot of bad news at once.

I've been getting back to the simple things. The cardinal that sings all morning in the backyard as he sits in the forsythia. The little wasp that cleans himself as he hides from the hot midday sun under the parsley. The bumblebee that happily buzzes among the tomato flowers.

Another favorite respite is the local farmer's market. Early August is a wonderful month for the harvest. My favorite yellow Shiro plums arrive, and crisp, juicy Sugar Baby watermelons appear. Zinnias are everywhere - I can never get enough of their papery, sometimes even velvety petals.

How do you recharge?

Farmers' Markets Time!

With summer just around the corner, it's almost time for the local Farmers' Markets to reopen.

I can't wait to stroll from booth to booth again, admiring the high piles of deep purple eggplants, bright red tomatoes, and green-veined lettuces. I guess these posters from YeeHaw, Starshaped Press, and Quail Lane Press will have to tide me over until they've opened again!

The Cows Came Home

Seeing this "The Cows Came Home" painting by Elizabeth Pollie reminded me that the farmers' markets will be starting up again here in about a month. I can't wait to come home with a (reusable, have to be green at the market!) shopping bag full of bright spring greens tucked under my arm.

If I'm lucky, there'll be tiny, bright red wild strawberries in wooden punnet baskets that will be perfect for breakfast the next day. (If they last that long...)

When Life Hands You Sour Cherries...

When life hands you sour cherries, make "Sour Cherry Slab Pie". How good does this look?! Deb from Smitten Kitchen used fresh cherries from her local farmers' market, but frozen fruit can be substituted for this "giant Pop Tart".

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for these ruby red gems at farm stands - I can't wait to make this!

Sights of Summer

Just wanted to share some of my favorite sights of summer with you! From top to bottom: Veronica flowers being visited by a bumblebee, Shasta daisies against a blue summer sky, and hand-picked strawberries from a local farmers' market. Enjoy! Hope you're having a lovely weekend!