Saturday, January 19, 2013

Tulips make me smile

This year, the Bellingham Farmers' Market has started to host a winter market, meeting one Saturday a month at the usual time in the usual place, during January, February, and March. The every-Saturday market will start up again the first Saturday in April. Until then, those of us who are addicted to our favorite local vendors will be able to partake once a month. I showed up for the first one today, after our Fairhaven walk was over.
There was only one stand with vegetables. I bought three of those kale bunches on the far end. They were very robust looking, and I asked the vendor if they had been raised in a greenhouse. She told me no, these were harvested yesterday from the field. They didn't last long; by the time I left in a half-hour or so after arriving, this entire stand was bare except for a few stray potatoes.
Even so, the market customers were pretty sparse, compared to what I am accustomed to seeing, but it was foggy and cold this morning. The mushroom man was waiting for people to buy his wares. It was early, however, with many hours to go before the place will close at 3:00pm. And then we will have to wait until mid-February for the next one.
It was this man, a tulip expert from the Skagit Valley, who told me that although garlic and onions are good for your heart, the reason we need tulips is to make us smile. I told him that during this season, these beautiful tulips did indeed brighten my day. He says nobody ever comes over and gazes at the tulips without taking a smile along with them. Outside the window you can see a group of young people singing a rousing song. I love this place!
:-)

30 comments:

  1. ah tulips make me smile as well...wish we had gone to the market today...love talking with all the characters there...

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  2. My favorite flower. You are indeed very lucky to live where you do. It is a beautiful place and has so much to offer.

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  3. I was just thinking after that first photo how cheerful those tulips were... and then I read what the guy said! Very true!

    One thing I wanted to do while living in Belgium but somehow never did... was rent a car and drive through Holland in the spring to see the fields of tulips. I'll just have to plan a trip there some day instead!

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  4. I love tulips. Haven't seen any in our farmer's market here.

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  5. I'm sure that the whole market could make you smile. To see fresh food at this time of year is great after you've been going through super market produce aisles.

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  6. Yeah, the tulips make me smile, too. Glad you had a good time!

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  7. Thank you for sharing those tulips - they made me smile! I keep trying to grow them, without much luck.

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  8. Tulips make just about everyone happy! Thanks for sharing...

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  9. How wonderful to see a snow owl as you said you did in your last post – I have never seen one in the wild. The farmer’s market sounds so nice. I bought some nice looking kale at Whole Food a couple of days ago and we ate it this evening. But after hearing what the CEO of Whole Food said I think I’ll try to go there less often. We traveled to Holland at tulip times decades ago and I can still remember the vision of all the fields of tulips in bloom – plenty of smiles there. Here, they don’t do too well because it does not get that cold in winter – I hear some people place them in their fridge or freezer before planting them.

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  10. Amazing how quickly the fresh produce goes!
    The tulips are beautiful!!

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  11. When I could afford it I would by these for my Mom years ago. She used to love them a lot.
    I think it's cool that the vendors make a monthly effort. Hope the flower seller also gets sold out.

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  12. Of course tulips make you smile - as they do me. Such beautiful, cheery blooms.
    And naturally you went to the Farmers' Market after your walk. Incorrigible, thats what you are...

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  13. I love seeing fresh cut flowers in winter time. Yes, they make me smile.

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  14. Tulips make me smile too - I love the market shots. I wish we had a market that went this late, and even one indoors, where you could buy fresh everything. Most things you buy in stores today are already old, especially when you live in a small town. I make the trip up the highway to Saint John for the local uptown market stays open all year long. The Saint John Market is a full city block in length and width and has evrything you could imagine in it DJan. The interior ceiling is built like the belly of a ship and I think you would love a stroll there and have some fresh bay of fundy lobster rolls or scallops for lunch. Lovely Tulip Post - here its still snowing.

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  15. What a great farmer's market. And how can anyone NOT smile at the sight of tulips?!

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  16. He is so right about those tulips. How can you not smile.

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  17. Tulips = Hope. Hope for spring and warmer temps and new color in the landscape and new local fresh foods. Oh, and baseball. Thanks for a nicely uplifting post! :)

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  18. That kale would catch my eye almost as much as the tulips!

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  19. I can imagine you will be there early every time they are open! Yes, those tulips made me smile too..here they paint mums and carnations..in strange colors..it is almost obscene..purples and torquoise:)

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  20. I like tulips, too. They bring spring and colour when it's needed the most. Thanks for bringing us along.

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  21. Hey DJan! I'm back to say check out this post:

    http://www.iampetitedynamite.blogspot.com.es/2011/07/life-and-climbs-of-daydreaming-blogger.html

    A girl's tale of her climb up Mt Kilimanjaro! Very good read! ;o)

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  22. Tulips always make me smile and especially in January. There are a couple of place we can get fresh local produce here but they are getting pretty bare these day. Our farmers'market doesn't start until May 1st, I can hardly wait after seeing your photos.

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  23. These tulips really did make me smile. They are so beautiful. I love all the colors that you captured in this post. Thanks for brightening up my day.

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  24. Tulips indeed make me smile. I miss seeing them in gardens. I do remember how gorgeous the tulip farms in Skagit Valley were. Sigh.... I'd love to go back there. I saw more tulips in Skagit Valley than we did in the Netherlands.

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  25. I gave up on planting tulips because they do not last long. They bloom today and are gone tomorrow.

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  26. Fresh flowers would be a good way to go here on a very very cold Minnesota morning.

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  27. What a great thing to do during winter months. Any community could and spread the smiles!

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  28. I love tulips
    and farmer markets
    I miss them this time of year

    hugs from me and Hope

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  29. Ah, tulips. They seem like a dream tonight as I try to stay warm inside while there's an ice storm outside.

    Thanks for your pictures. They reminded me that spring really isn't that far away.

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