Fresh Produce on #marketfriday
I live in a relatively rural area, outside of a small town of roughly 3000 people. Although there are an abundance of farms in the area, there's relatively few places to buy fresh, local produce from those farms. Perhaps many of them sell to local co-ops or restaurants instead of the general public. So, unless one knows Farmer Bob or sees the little "Fresh Eggs" or "Fresh Peaches" sign nailed to the tree beside his driveway, one would never know that item could be acquired there.
But, I recently happened to learn, via a roundabout way, that Mile Creek Farm Market sells items from their family farm, plus goods from a few other local growers. My late-husband's sister wanted a watermelon, so off we went to see what was available.
The market was in a cute and very rustic-looking building that was made to look like a log cabin. Fortunately, they weren't very busy at the time we arrived, with only three or four cars out front. Even before entering, we saw some items for sale outside — fresh herb plants and flowers!
The inside of the business was slightly reminiscent of an old-time Country Store with a very relaxed atmosphere. There were interesting things beckoning from the left, from the right, and straight ahead, so I didn't know which way to turn! LOL! Since traffic drives on the right-side of the road in my country, it made sense to me to turn right and work my way around the store in that direction. I also wanted to explore in a systematic manner so I did not miss anything. Call me Virgo, and I shall answer. 😁
Beyond the goods for sale, the décor included many fascinating touches, such as little signs and kitsch everywhere. The above "Farmers' Market" sign, above is one good example. Beside the sign is an aerial photograph of the area, showing all the beautiful woodlands and a nearby lake. Another sampling is the funny "Don't be afraid to take whisks" sign, below. 😂 The stained glass lamp sporting the tiger paw shows solidarity with a local collegiate football team.
They had some watermelons, but my sister-in-law was disappointed that they weren't that "one, specific variety" that she deems superior to all other watermelons. She got one, anyway, though.
All through the shop were chicken figurines everywhere, as well as other things like the red pickup-truck toy. It kinda became fun looking for the chickens. 😜 The shop had many varieties of tomatoes, from hothouse to beefsteak to a myriad of unidentifiable heirlooms.
There were baskets neatly arranged on the tables with a good selection of veggies and fruits, all looking yummy! There were several types of onions, potatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, peaches, apples, plums, and much more. Some of the items, such as tangerines and oranges, were likely not grown in this area, but perhaps traded with farmers in other parts of the state.
This is big peach country, though, so I feel sure the peaches came from some farm in the nearby area. I like peaches, very much, as they're delicious and have so many uses!
There were also different selections of beans, peas, and okra. There were so many things to see, and hardly any spot in the store sat empty. I could have made dozens more photos, even though it was a smallish market.
A few items were not locally produced, such as cans of nuts that were processed and packed in nearby North Carolina. I thought it was nice that they offered some items for sale that were from the region, even if not grown in this immediate area.
Some items came from further away, such as these offerings from the Rock Bottom Soap Company in Kentucky. Even coming from slightly further away, these products were produced on a farm by a family-owned business, so their quality and ethics are in-line with the owners of this shop and their adjoining farm.
And some items came from much further away, such as these bars of goats' milk soap from Blackberry Hill Farm in Washington state! Again, though, it's a family farm that raises their own goats and makes the soap right there on the farm. I bought one of the bars because it smelled so very good! 😊
They also had other interesting things, too, such as the cooler with bottled drinks on ice! I remember when all small, neighborhood markets had those, but one doesn't see such very often nowadays.
So, there's the market I found recently, about 20-ish minutes from where I live. I probably won't go there often since it is not conveniently located along routes I usually travel, but will certainly pop-in occasionally!
Source: lefthandedtoons.com
😊
19-Aug-2023
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
the ornament inside the place certainly cute, maybe some will buy that ceramic chicken instead of the real one. !LOLZ
must be nice to buy things from the market that sell items produced locally, isn't it?
!PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@ekavieka just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @thekittygirl.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/1 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
lolztoken.com
Because he Neverlands
Credit: reddit
@thekittygirl, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of ekavieka
(1/6)
ENTER @WIN.HIVE'S DAILY DRAW AND WIN HIVE!
Yay! I am excited to see a little Washington State came home with you. 😍 The town Carnation where BlackBerry Hill Farm is located is just 40 minutes away from me.
Enjoy your Washington soaps and other farm goodies.
Such a cool little market!
We do not have anything like that nearby but out in the country... where we drive on the left hand side, there are many of them.
Hello fellow Virgo! !LOL
Loved the Whisks sign too. Hehehe
lolztoken.com
“Is the bar tender here?”
Credit: reddit
@thekittygirl, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of zakludick
(3/4)
Farm LOLZ tokens when you Delegate Hive or Hive Tokens.
Click to delegate: 10 - 20 - 50 - 100 HP
I looooooove farm stands! Those peaches look amazing. Real tree-ripened beauties. Whenever I hit the road I always have my eyes peeled for those signs for eggs and produce in farm country.
I love those little stores like that. I remember fondly the soda bottle coolers and machines as a kid too. A hot summer day those were just awesome!
The Rock Bottom Soap company is about 2.5 hours south of where we live. May be worth a road trip one day. That area of Kentucky has some cool stuff.
Gonna try and talk the wife into heading to a local farmers market today if she is up for it. Our neighbors are keeping us up to our ears in tomatoes, but we can use some other goodies.
Hope you have a fantastic weekend Kitty!
Feels like I can smell those soaps when I look at the photo. Here it also became difficult to get soap wich isnt full of unnessecairy chemicals. You have to search for.
But we have two places here in town where local farmers come to sell their fresh products.
Lovely market ❤️ and the land!!! It must be so fantastic
Those goat milk soaps look amazing, I’m sure they’ll smell wonderful too. In my part of the world, we buy a lot of things from local farmers so I don’t really relate to the joy of seeing a farmer’s market. I’m glad you found one though!
Same phenomenon around these parts. Big agriculture area but not many local outlets. There is one farm stand at the edge of town that is decent though and the peaches are starting to show up 😃
I'm heading to the neighboring town of Hood River today though, which is a proper tourist town full of u-pick orchards and the most beautiful lavender farms where you can walk the fields and snip your own flowers.
I'm going to the farmers market but might just have to make a day of it now.
Have a great day today KG
!LUV ya :D
@thekittygirl, @summertooth(1/10) sent LUV. | connect | community | HiveWiki | NFT | <>< daily
! help(no space) to get help on Hive. InfoA wonderful market, indeed! I love everything about it!
!LADY
What a nice place you found and I hope that as you say "occasionally" you can visit and get everything you need. Regards.
Wow okra in a local market is rare! Since it is a vegetable from outside north america! I love local farms ! Here we also are in the peaches season! I love peaches but only when they are with lots of juice!!! This is the time when u find them!! Nice place you found ! I wanted to visit it :)
@thekittygirl...
Oh my goodness!! This will surely give @dswigle a smile! Looking at all your photos is like taking a drive to some of the local markets we have, here in Missouri (and in our area... you know, "The Woods" lol). Every time, my fiance and I go to these markets. I have to laugh at the notion of "Stores". Growing up, my grandparents had a decent-sized garden. We had all the "main sta[less" that you could think of. Carrots, lettuce, corn, onions, beans of many types, tomatoes, turnips, and even some melons. Our cellar had several shelves of canned vegetables. So... we really only went to the store, for meat; yes, we even had chickens! So no need for eggs!! It would also seem, that dear @bluefinstudios might have a run for his money, on the various veggies you shared! (But don't tell him I said that! Ha!).
Thank you for taking us with you, on your visit. his made me get that fuzzy warm, "just like home" vibe. Certainly, a awesomesauce #marketfriday post!
@tipu curate
!LUV
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 45/75) Liquid rewards.
@thekittygirl, @wesphilbin(5/10) sent LUV. | connect | community | HiveWiki | NFT | <>< daily
! help(no space) to get help on Hive. InfoI really like the chicken that lays Tomato Eggs
@bluefinstudios...
Well... you know. Nature is awesome! Lol! (Looks online for tomato-laying chickens...).
I know a few of these Farmers Markets but they are a bit out of my way, they do have each a charming style and character. If only I can free up some more time before the summer runs out.
💚
Nice Farm Market, I love watermelons. In this heat I can tell we ate it like soup or water 😅
It looks like a nice local shop with local produce. I prefer to go to shops like that too, but here it's a bit different. These and similar shops with local and organic products are in big cities and are usually very expensive and only for the elite. In smaller towns, there are various chains such as Spar, Hofer, Lidl, Eurospin, Kaufland, which are spread all over Europe. The prices are much lower but the quality of the products is, of course, inferior.
If you want something home-grown, you go directly to the farmer.
!DHEDGE
Wow! Such a market is full of so many necessities in life. For sure you had a great and tiring day after strolling around there but I know it's all worth it. Extra careful. God bless.
This is so cute and so unexpected from you. Lovely
I figured you as a hardcore cyber[punk city gal :)
Happy belated #marketfriday, @thekittygirl 🌸
Better late than never!
There are so many goods to offer. The tiger paw is really cute. Oh I forgot to mention one thing that a village with 3000 people is really big one in comparison to the villages here in my country. As in my country villages are small in size and in numbers of inhabitants.