I quit!! This is fun!!

Depending on the day, or maybe more accurately, the moment--I have told Jed that I am DONE with this whole farmers market thing or that the adventure is so much fun and I LOVE it! The market day when our Kansas county was on tornado watch and almost no customers came was a little discouraging. But just in the moment that I needed a boost, we had a fun Friday night harvesting and Saturday morning talking to people stopping by our booth.

I've found myself taking a lot of pride in our healthy-looking Russian kale (an heirloom variety) or the rainbow-colored beets we pulled from the ground (also an heirloom). It's fun becoming part of the community of vendors at the market...like Patty who sells amazing goat's-milk soap in the booth next to us (who gave me some ground-up apricot pit to put in my first try at soap-making). Or Becky who makes beautiful pottery (she came to my school and helped me figure out how use the kiln in my classroom last September). And there's the lady who spins her own wool (how cool is that?!!) and the honey-lady, and the Kromers (who are retired military, now growing produce). And I love seeing the plants grow and take on these amazing colors: food is so dynamic! These plants are my babies.

So, I'm learning that just like anything--being a local, market-garden farmer is a lot of work, with its challenges and its joys. And I'm glad we are making the journey...most days.