Saturday, September 12, 2009

September market

I took too many pictures for this challenge, because in a simple short walk around the Farmers' Market here in Bellingham this morning, I was enchanted with the variety, the beauty, and the profusion of veggies, fruits, and flowers I saw today. (All pictures can be enlarged.) This challenge is sponsored by Judy over at The Road to Here. It's the third one I have joined, which show markets and roadside stands from around the world. SquirrelQueen (also known as Judy) says:
The purpose of this challenge is to raise awareness for purchasing locally produced foods. Be it fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, or any related items we want to know what's available where you live.
Just look at these carrots! I had no idea they could exist in such different colors, and I will endeavor to see if I can taste any difference in them based on color. It was so busy behind this counter I couldn't get the attention of the vendor to see if she had anything to say about their taste.
These garlic cloves turned out to be much more beautiful because they were packaged in lavender bags. All of the veggies are local, and most of them are organic as well. Actually, I'm not sure if ANY of them are not organically grown.
I've put up quite a few pictures of tomatoes in the past two challenges, but this is the first time they have been accompanied by gourds. Or maybe those are edible squash, I just don't know.
These eggs (there are signs everywhere to let you know that these chickens are the happiest in the county) go pretty quickly. You need to arrive first thing, since they are mostly gone within an hour. I know, because a couple of weeks ago I arrived two hours into the market (which goes from 10:00am until 3:00pm) and there wasn't an egg to be seen. Nice display, though, for now.
I'll bet you don't even need to cook this corn to make it taste yummy. Once, long ago in Michigan, I remember going out into the rows of corn and picking several ears, bringing them in, shucking them while the water was boiling. This corn is advertised to be fresh (not quite that fresh) and sweet.
I can't resist taking pictures of flowers. These dried flowers will be around now until the market closes in December, as they are dried for bouquets to be displayed during the winter. The delicate colors enchanted me. Although I took tons of pictures of live flowers, these reminded me of days gone by.
Late summer the sunflowers are everywhere across the country in great profusion. I see them around town in large stands, some growing so high they bend over the roadway from behind six-foot-high fences. Well, we are in the Pacific Northwest, after all, and in the Evergreen State lushness is expected.
And last of all, these flowers: the deepest, darkest color of zinnia I have ever laid eyes on, and what I believe to be another variety of white zinnia in the foreground. Flowers were everywhere, and I had a hard time choosing between pictures. I hope you enjoy the Bellingham Farmers' Market as much as I have today.
:-)

17 comments:

  1. That is a wonderful market with a nice variety of produce. The flowers are beautiful. I especially liked the burgundy color of the zinnia. I enjoyed this post. It is always a treat to see the markets from other communities.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your photos are absolutely beautiful and the vegetables look amazing. I had no idea carrots could come in so many colors...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love looking through our seed catalogs at the variety of colors you can get. Our golden jubilee corn is so sweet and tender, I sometimes grab an ear to snack on without cooking it. Yum.

    Your market looks fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What great looking produce; so much nicer than the supermaket. I spent part of today taking pictures at a local farm stand, great minds think a like, I guess! LOL
    Sunny :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have not been to a farmers market in a long time. Your has to be the best that I have seen. Its all so pretty.

    Nice pictures
    allen

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, I did enjoy the colours and sights of the wonderful vegetables, especially the carrots. I think that carrots were originally purple? but I'm not sure about that.
    Blessings, Star

    ReplyDelete
  7. DJan,

    Beautiful produce, I've got to get over your way to do a little shopping at this market. I am fascinated by the different colors of the carrots, I haven't seen any here ... yet. If you find out about the taste let me know. Eggs are something else I haven't seen here, maybe I'm not getting there early enough. I did see pumpkins for the first time this week.

    I hope you saved some photos for the challenge but if not be sure to link this post on the 26th.

    Hugs,
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  8. WOW DJ, the corn looks so real in the photo, I want to grab it and steam it and bite it's tenderness. Is it the Farmer's Market Challenge yet? Ahh maybe you will not be around on that day so you posted it earlier...hiking? Hahaha just kidding...those are really nice photos!

    AL

    ReplyDelete
  9. I grew up on a farm and you can't beat picking and eating the corn right from the feild. Great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think I love the fall farmer's markets as much as the summer ones. The food is different, and the crowds have thinned up here, which makes it easier to ask questions. We will have one until October 15th.

    Your pictures are so beautiful. Thank you for taking us along.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oooh now I wish I didn't work on the weekends, I miss out on so much fun!
    Those are just awesome veggies, and the dried flowers well, I'm still swooning.
    I shall have to drive up to Nashville, I think they have Farmers Market there all week through, here in our small town, we tend to run out of produce during the week.
    Great post !

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gorgeous photos..all of them. The veggies looked scrumptious and the flowers are lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  13. our farm grows carrots in all colors too, and they are YUMMY! pick some up next time and give them a try! -kate

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi DJan, Beautiful photos..that dark Zinnia is to die for! You have a wonderful blog over here, it is nice to meet you..you seem like a very adventurous lady (Skydiving) ..thanks for the comments on my blog..I am going to add you to my blog roll:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I could take a bite of the corn it looks so yummy. Great selection of lovely fresh veggies.
    Sunny :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. beautiful selection! This is a wonderful idea for a challenge. Love those colorful carrots too! ~Jeanne

    ReplyDelete
  17. OMG! I never thought that carrots come in different colors! I have only seen them in orange. I love that deep burgundy color in the bouquet mix! Great photos of your market.

    Here's mine.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! If you see a word verification box here, just ignore it. I don't use the darn thing and Blogger is trying to get us to use it, I guess. Ignore it and your comment will still appear.