This Little Piggy Went to Market

Today was the first market of the new season at Pepper Place Farmers Market, and I was determined to go because it’s become a tradition. So, heeding the warning to avoid sun exposure while on Erbitux, I slathered on the SPF 30 sunscreen, donned long sleeves and a hat and off we went.  The long sleeves, and the turtleneck I wore turned out to be a good choice because it was   a tad on the chilly side this morning.  As we neared the market, the streets were lined with cars for blocks and people were walking.  I didn’t know if I was quite up to walking a great distance since I still felt just a little weak and wonky, but sometimes the fates smile upon us, and they did today. We lucked out, and found a spot just across the street from the market on our first pass.

The market is usually crowded on opening day, but today was as crowded as I have ever seen it. 

You could barely move.  And dogs! It seemed like every other person there had brought his or her dogs.  It would be nice if they would also bring pooper-scoopers and not let their dogs on retractable leashes  tangle  themselves around folks' legs, but. . .Some dogs were very well behaved; others   seemed to be over stimulated by the sights and scents. This guy was one of the calmer ones, waiting patiently for his folks to finish making their purchase. I could never take Agatha and Victoria- the excitement would be too much for them and they'd  most likely have conniption fits and never recover!

There were vendors with all manner of food and craft items.  The fresh veggies and strawberries were in abundance and there were two mushroom vendors. We bought some spinach, strawberries and shiitake mushrooms. We decided to grab a cup of coffee and something to eat and sit at one of the tables.  Mr. G bought some boudin sausage and I grabbed a chocolate croissant. It was nice and relaxing to sit and listen to Debbie Bond and Rick Asherson play the blues and watch the little kids grooving to the music and dancing, having a grand time. 

 

It was a fun morning, but I was   quite tired so we decided to head for home.   

Once  home I took a nice long nap. Altogether it was a pretty good Saturday, perfect weather with blue skies, a wonderful market with fresh veggies, happy little kids, and blues music for entertainment. Who could ask for more?

To Market, To Market

We went to  market this morning but didn't buy a fat pig- didn't even see one, but we did see a lot of  lovely fresh veggies, fruit, eggs, herbs, breads, jams, jellies, pickles and preserves.  And dogs-  there were quite a few families who   had brought their  dogs to the market.  Small dogs, medium size dogs,  and one enormous dog that was about the size of a  small pony. The dogs were all well behaved, although it was  obvious that several of them would  rather have been off sniffing the other dogs rather than being led around on a leash.

Since I've been on chemo and trying to stay away from crowds because of my  now compromised immune system,  I have really missed our Saturday morning trips to  buy fresh veggies, eggs, herbs, etc. at Pepper Place Market in Birmingham. Once upon a time, when I was making and selling soap we had a booth there, and while I don't miss  getting up   in the wee hours of every Saturday morning to drive to  the market before dawn, set up, then stand out in the heat of summer or the chilly mornings of early spring and fall, or the rains, I do miss  the people and the atmosphere.

We decided if we could get there early, maybe  we could avoid the crowds.  There  were certainly more people who got there early than I had anticipated, but  it wasn't so crowded  that we were rubbing elbows with people, so it worked out pretty well.  We    enjoyed   wandering, visiting with some of the folks we knew from our market days,  and picking out some lovely fresh veggies.   Here are some of the sights from this morning's market.  Click on the pics to enlarge them.

The first booth we visited was  the Red Rubin Nursery booth   for some  herbs.  Bryan was in the booth next to us when we sold  soap at the market and I still  like to get  my herb plants from him. Today we bought some Italian parsley and  two pots of basil. Next we just wandered the market, enjoying  all the wonderful colors of the  fruits and veggies, stopping   to  touch smell, and buy  some, too.

There were purple pole beans and fuzzy peaches.

There was red and green okra in one booth and colorful grasses and flowers in another.

There were muscadines and scuppernongs, tomatoes, more peaches,  some pears and   green pole beans

There were  farm fresh eggs  in many hues,  jams, jellies and preserves, and and some lovely slender little haricots vert.

There were shiitake mushrooms growing on logs and resting in baskets.

On our way back to the car we  walked through the lush area outside Charlie Thigpen's Garden Gallery, enjoying the  lush, colorful plants   displayed.

We're  now looking forward to enjoying some delicious meals with the veggies and herbs we bought.