Hurrah! Made a great discovery this morning with Mommy Nancy. We discovered something neither lost, nor hidden. Yes, we now understand how Europeans 'discovered' an already inhabited continent. Voila! We 'discovered' downtown Sacramento's Sunday Farmer's Market.
The market has existed for years, but neither of us visited it. As it happens, I invited Nancy to go there with me today because I didn't have time to hit the Fair Oaks Market yesterday and me here, all plum out of plums and other produce.
to get a good panarama photo of it all.
First off, the Market is at least 5 times larger than any other Farmer's Market I've visited in California. I've been wildly envious of a Farmer's Market in Olympia Washington since 2002, only to discover there was one here in my county, virtually in my own back yard.
None of the photos I took today with my cell phone did the splender/glory of this market justice. The market not only has the expected fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses, potting plants, and such, but also has fresh fish and grass fed, free range beef, lamb & chicken. At its fish market section, there are HUMONGOUS carp, shrimps, octopus, strange ocean dwellers that appeal to the Asian palate and ping-pong ball sized Whelks! Can you believe it? WHELKS!
prepare it! Damned sure going to learn though!
I got overly excited with the available free range (REAL free range) chicken. I don't eat much meat anymore, but it's nice to know that when I do, it'll be raised happy, on clean food and not stuffed into one of those godawful henitentiaries where the chickens are overcrowded, etc. I'm dropping my plans to raise my own poultry (thank the lord for that, eh?).
Nancy and I were so thrilled we did not hesitate to jump up & down like kids who just discovered the concept of birthday parties. We decided visiting the Sunday market is going to be an event for us whenever possible. I mean, think on it - I can now buy all my produce, meats and gardening starts at a Farmer's Market. The local grocery is now just for sundries. The thrill is that by shopping that way I will automatically further reduce the amount of over processed foods and cruely raised critters I consume. Damn. I am living the good life now. I wish it was located in MY end of town, but then I wouldn't get as much of an airing, would I?
The Farmer's Market is across the street from a South Sacto park and playground that totally blew the Mommy circuits in Nancy's mind. Toys that engage the mind, hand-eye coordination, rubber ground mats &/or bark everywhere underfoot. Toys that were - dare I say it - FUN! Here. Let Nancy demonstrate.
someone had to record all this for prosperity.
I did all I could to not to spend the mortgage money on produce and oh well, I nearly failed! My damages were a pink fleshed pumello, a pasture raised chicken ( hopefully for tonight's dinner, Moroccan style) in-the-shell chestnuts, cilantro, pomegranates (my seasonal favorite), 2 bags of fresh blue oyster and shitake mushrooms for the price of one (near to closing time at noon), and for instilation in the Gulag Garden, a nice in-the-dirt cluster of elephant garden. Oh, and I bought a small baggie of Purple Needlegrass seed for my back yard habitat project. Honestly - groceries ought to not make one so very happy.
