Market Update

Yesterday was a glorious day for a farmers market. This is a view up Main Street, right across the street from our pavilion:


If it stays like this the rest of the summer, none of us would complain.

Our little market has grown considerably:

It was so nice out, the market was hopping! It's always so much fun when it's busy and there are lots of people. And dogs. We'll get to them in a sec; I'd like to bring you produce first, because it wouldn't be a farmers market without produce, right?

Here's my usual maters shot, but this week part of it is in shade because Farmer Mike stood up some of his bins:

He says he does this for me, to make a 'wall' so people don't try to crawl over me to get to the veggies. (Yes, they have tried.) He also said it was to keep the squash from getting frisky with me like it did last week. Mmm-hmm. I think he really does it for better presentation of his produce. See:

Squash doesn't smell as nice as basil, but those bins do make a nice backdrop for me. Speaking of basil:

He had it set up on the other side of his tent yesterday. Across from these:

... which I call "fire in a box". I think these could kill small animals.

Farmer Mike also had melons:

... and they were quite popular, because this is all that was left by the end of the market:

No, I didn't get one, and I'm sure I'll hear about it next week, too.

Farmer Katie (see, I not only asked her name, but I remembered it!) had another FAB set-up with her berries:

I got some more of her apricots. SO good!

She also had cut flowers:

We'll see more of these in a bit.

Farmer Margie had plums this week:

... and more peaches:

... and some Birds Egg beans:

Last week I thought she'd called these Cranberry Beans. They're known by lots of different names. At this age, they are best opened and the inner beans used as, well, beans. Wanna see what the actual beans look like? So did I, so here you go:

Moving on, I stopped by the floral tent to drop off my vase. This is what this week's bouquets looked like:

... and this is the arrangement they put together for me:

The beading people had a very patriotic necklace:

So pretty!

Okay, ready for some doggies? I've been taking a lot of heat lately because I haven't had a doggie parade every week. Well, it's tough to get them all, and I'm really starting to scare people. Okay, maybe not scare them, but they definitely think I'm a few cards short of a full deck.

Fortunately, most people LOVE to have their dog's photo taken, so once they see I'm not actually dangerous, they are more than willing to pose with their dogs.

Check out this top-knot:

She said it's usually done in a French braid. Seriously. And here's her sister:

... with her own mini top-knot. FYI, I had to edit that photo to cut out people who probably didn't want to be featured on my blog. I'm just trying to do the right thing.

Then, crazy lady that I am, I darted across the street to get a shot of this guy:

Why, hello there! A Pit Bull puppy. SO cute!

And on the opposite scale size-wise, here is an Akita:


Only 18 months old. And a gentle beast, too.

Here is a hot pup:

... and a service-dog whippet:

Her itty bitty back pack was askew. The badge says, "Ask to pet me. I'm friendly." She was off-duty. Her service is to retirement communities as a visiting pet. Such a sweet animal.

Tweety stopped by, too:

You always hear him before you see him. ;)

This guy was seeking shade:

... and after a brief doggie encounter:

... he finally found it:

That's it for the dogs. Towards the end of the market, I was called over to take a photo of The Perfect Flower:

That pink one, bottom center. Here's a close-up:

Sigh ... I miss our Dahlia Guy. Then I went totally wacko and took a really close shot:

With a better camera, and a steadier hand, this could have been a great photo, but at least you get the idea. Just look at all those teeny tiny petal wanna-bes!

Since I was there, and the other flowers were feeling neglected, I took this close-up of another one:

Now, aren't you glad I'm done for the day? Oh, yeah.

My plans for today were thwarted last night by not having hoarded the right card stocks. I need a pack of SU Naturals White to make some cards for a charity (I agreed to it last year), so even though I've die-cut 25 pigs already today, I have no card stock for the actual cards. This is serious. I have put out an APB to some of The Ladies. My fingers are crossed.

Speaking of The Ladies, my classes are next weekend and I still only have 1.5 cards designed. This is not good. Note to self: don't make one that need Naturals White card stock.

And speaking of next weekend, I signed up for a Shoe Box Swap on Saturday, and if I haven't even done my class cards yet, how did I think I'd have time to do 20 kits for a SBS? WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Apparently, I wasn't. So if anyone wants to take my spot, let me know. It's in Ft Mead, MD.

Now I need to go do SOMETHING and try to be a contributing member of society. I might even get crafty and have something to show you tomorrow.

Happy Independence Day to my US readers!!! Happy Sunday to everyone else.

Thanks for stopping by