Market Update (09/03/2011) (long)

Yesterday there was a 5K race in the community where our market is, so we had to be there and set up by the crack of cranky, or wait until after the streets were re-opened after 10 am. Since it was also supposed to be 90+ degrees and humid, I opted (as I do every year) to get there at O'Dark Thirty (before 7:30 am). I mean, I don't even leave for WORK as early as I left the house on Saturday. (grumble)

It's usually worth it, though, because with all the runners (who mostly don't bring money with them) and their cheering sections (who DO bring money with them), we usually get a lot of extra traffic.

Let's have a look at Saturday's bounty, shall we?

Mmmmm, tomatoes:

Roma tomatoes:

Cucumbers:

Colorful bell peppers:

Eggplant:

Basil:

Someone bought a TON of this to make pesto.

Tiny figs:

Mushrooms:

Portabella mushrooms:

Baby bellas:

Shitake mushrooms:

Jalapenos:

HOTHOT peppers:

Story: Twice on Saturday some Tough Guys came through and Farmer Mike was giving them the Scoville Scale speech. One of the guys took one of the peppers and bit into it. Whoa, hot. WHOA, HOT. HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT! Tears flowed. Face reddened. We all laughed. Not so tough NOW, are you , buddy? HAHAHAHAHA. They ran away, allegedly to obtain a beverage to kill the HOT. I love tough guys, don't you?

Later, a guy was there with his wife and (with much less bravado) took a tiny bite with much the same result. Mike offered him a tomato to cut the hot. That guy was a good sport. :)

The other Tough Guys came back later and bought one of the "special" peppers (so hot they are sold singly). Sigh.

Moving on, okra:

(I count the days until it dies, though it does make a fine stamp.)

Over at Farmer Margie's, we had more peaches:

They were so ripe, their smell permeated our senses and forced us to buy some. Mine became a fruit smoothie when I got home. Sooooo good.

She also had some plums:

and Asian Pears:

Farmer Katie rocked the presentation again with some hot peppers of her own:

I mean, who ever buys an entire box of Scotch Bonnets? Most recipes I've seen call for one, and only one.

Candy onions:

These things are sooooo sweet when you cook them.

And Katie's fruit spread:

Over at the flower tent I might have gotten a bit carried away with the pictures. Here's some ornamental peppers:

a mixed bouquet:

and some pics of the different Gloriosa Daisies:







Zinnias:

And because I had time (it was sooooo early), I got distracted by the flowers' centers:





Don't you just love Mother Nature? Here are some small sunflower centers, while I was at it. These flowers were about 2-3" across tip to tip (very small):





And some Coleus that intrigued me:

I had a hand in building this bouquet:

(I suggested the yellow flowers for a spot of different color. :))

And my flowers:

I only took pics of a few dogs (sorry, Bunny). Here's two that were watching the race:

and another tiny one, also watching the race:

This one looks demonic, but the eyes were such a pale blue (and she wouldn't stand still), so it's the best I got of her. Beautiful dog, though:

And A PUPPY:

So fluffy! Four months old. Look at those FEET!

Right after the race was over, just before the normal time for the market to begin, look what we saw:

Ruh-roh:

We had a little rain. It pretty much killed the market before it really began. Sales were pathetically slow for everyone. I am happy I had a pavilion spot and was dry the whole time, though, so there's that. We had fun dumping the water off the farmers' tents. ;/

In other news, I still have four of four cards to make up for next weekend's Stamp Camps. No clue. I have made nothing today but a mess. Thank goodness I have tomorrow to hopefully get a clue. If I figure it out, I'll be sure to post something.

Oh, tomorrow is a Fall Fun Blog Hop, so do stop by for that! There's a bazillion of us participating, and my card might be, well, just a little "different". :)

Thanks for stopping by!