A Grower Perspective

Go to your local farmer’s market for no other reason than because it is just fun. For me it is pure pleasure with tasty treats added on top. My local market is in Creswell behind the library off the main street, Oregon Street. It is on my way home and conveniently open from 4 – 7 p.m. I can’t wait to get there and see who is selling what and have a chat with my ‘market friends’. This is a very small market, maybe twenty vendors. This is the second year it’s been going on and some of the same folks have come every time to sell their goods and come they do, whether they make much money or not. The showing up every time is what eventually will make them ‘successful’. Success at the farmer’s market comes in many forms. One is not there to ‘get rich’ so there has to be some other benefits. One of the most successful vendors is the cute old guy, Jim, who makes bird houses, ‘guaranteed to house birds’. He also started making boxes and shelves, items that the other vendors buy to display their wares. I noticed he is now making cash boxes. I don’t think he had a grand plan for this is just worked out like that and he has enough money to go fishing with his buddy. Michelle, my co-worker, meets me at the market and sometimes some other friends stop by. One has to look carefully and ask questions and enjoy the process, find out about the sellers, what they like to grow or make, what is the best thing they have today. I found some Meyer lemons, brought up from California, no not locally grown, which is difficult at best, and I bought all three of them for 75 cents each. What Michelle and I like to do is buy a little from each booth or at least say hello and admire their wares.

The point here is that often I feel we are preached at to do the right thing to a point of annoyance. We know to buy locally, eat fresh food, support your local farmer, and do everything else we are told to do for some reason or another. Do something today just because it is fun, makes you smile or gives you that long sought after feeling of happiness. Why not?