Monday, August 11, 2008

homegrown

I am not sure why it has taken me so long, but this summer I have really learned to appreciate things that are homegrown.

Maybe it is because quite a few of my friends & family have gardens this year, and I have been able to share in their bounty. Maybe it is because of the econmony, and how great it feels when I buy homegrown fruits or veggies - knowing that there is little cost to the grower, so the people make good, honest money for their efforts. I can not pinpoint exactly why the change has occured, but it has, and I feel great about it.

The kids & I visited the local farmers market on Saturday. It was our first time, and I had plans to stock up on some summer fruits, and some corn. Oh my goodness, the corn. My family LOVES sweet corn, and we eat alot of it this time of year.


So, we go to one of the larger farm stands at the market, and the family working there looked to be German Baptist. There was an older couple, and a younger woman I assumed to be their daughter. They had so much stuff there, it was hard to choose what we should buy. We chose some blueberries, peaches, some yellow plums, cherries, tomoatos, and the corn - and the older man was the one bagging up our things.

There was something about the sweet, gentle man packing up my stuff. I watched his hands as he bagged my fruits, and he took a second to pick a bluberry from the pint for each of my kids. I melted. His large hands pikcing up those tiny berries one by one. I imagined him planting, and nurturing and picking each of those berries, each of those fruits, and I was completely sold on homegrown all over again.

*picture found at www.healthycactus.com

3 comments:

Heather said...

I was just mentioning to my Mom that I'd never been to our local farmer's market but I've wanted to go for years.

Maybe this week I'll get there.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you: always well-intentioned, but sometimes I just don't get there. This year we've been trying to buy locally a bit more (much easier in the summer) and I love having more fresh food around.

CanCan said...

Yum! I can hardly eat canned veggies any more. I can taste the metal and sodium!
Nothing beats home grown tomatoes!