Blown Away

So clearly I'm not on social media as constantly as I ought to be. With my ten-year-old Market-bag sherpa in tow, we drove toward Barnes & Noble to park last Saturday, the crazy winds threatening to roll the car over, and it wasn't till the 10YO said, "It's not there," that I realized the Market was not, in fact, there. Darn winds.

Hope this wasn't any of you, trying to get to/from the Market [Komo News photo]

Fortunately no one was injured in all the flying canopies, and we can hope for clouds, calm, and a few showers this Saturday.

But do get out this weekend because the Bellevue Farmers Market will be welcoming Bloom Creek Cranberry Farm of Olympia!

[Pic from their website!]

Farmer Felix Mahr boasts of an "epic" harvest this year in which the berries are "extra big because of our nice warm summer." Not just bigger, but also "sweeter than usual"!

The Man Without the Can

You meet all kinds at Thanksgiving, from people who like their cranberry sauce from a can, ridges intact, to those who make their own fresh, a few times a year. That would be me, so I'll be needing a couple bags.

Another reason to come out this Saturday is to try a dozen eggs from Van Vuren Farms. I've been getting them since the Thursday Market ended, and they're wonderful. Giant, with dark yolks and nice body to the whites.

And I love how Van Vuren chickens are fed NO corn and NO soy. They're pastured, running around in the grass and supplementing their locally-sourced feed with bugs like good chickens should.

The one in the middle got one, I think! [pic from VV website]

As Ma said in On the Banks of Plum Creek, when the plague of grasshoppers ate their entire crop and covered every inch of ground, at least the chickens wouldn't need as much feed. And, "There's no great loss without some small gain." You tell 'em, Ma.

Speaking of great farmers and cheesemakers like Ma Ingalls, the gals from Tieton Farm & Creamery will be back this weekend with their luscious artisan cheeses made from sheep and goat's milk.

Lori and Ruth Babcock, the cheese babes

Life is not complete until you've crumbled some Phoebe (a "Greek-inspired feta") on your salad or spread some creamy Sonnet on a slice of artisan bread. I remember years ago a California cheese ad that ran something like, "Good cheese comes from happy cows." If that's the case, you can imagine how good Tieton's cheese is, since their herd of sheep and goats gets rotated to fresh pasturage every three days!

It's all about perspective, folks, when it comes to weather. After 60 m.p.h. gusts last Saturday, how could a chance of drizzle even raise an eyebrow this week? See you all at the Market, and remember the free parking!