I don't even know WHAT fruits and veggies are in season WHEN!! This is upsetting to me.
"That's what farmers markets are for," says Mike.
Oh, yeah. Farmers markets.
I bet I can buy those cloth bags that fold up really nicely to place in my messenger bag so I can STOP collecting plastic bags too.
So I look up Humboldt Farmers Markets on the IntraWeb. I find out there is one at Arcata Plaza (the lovely square I dig so much) Saturdays from 9AM to 1PM, starting this Saturday! And we plan to go. But then it rains and rains and rains. :-(
If I'm really itching to go before next weekend there's a very small one on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 6:30 in Fortuna which is only about 10 miles south of Eureka.
Oh yeah, and it's not that no one tried to teach me. It's that I never paid attention. But better late than never, right? I'm looking forward to finding out what food is in season when and where. I'm ready for my education now.
~~~{~~@
So I'm listening to a song about summer, and there are lots of them, and then I wonder: WHY do things always seem easiser in the summer time? Because they do. Most of the time.
~~~{~~@
Just across the street, G Street, from the cold dark studio where talented artists create their hearts' desires, plus a little bit of livelihood, there is a sanctuary. A wildlife sanctuary, complete with flora galore, benches attached to plaques dedicated to loved ones, peace and quiet and sounds of nature, and of course, wildlife. The sun sparkles on the No Name Pond, which is filled with white birds. Not ducks that I can tell. I could almost read my book but for the biting wind that turns the pages haphazardly and without warning, never waiting for me to finish the page. I wonder if on warmer, stiller days this might be my bench, my writer's bench, because after all don't true writers need a place, a quiet place to collect their thoughts? A place they can go to again and again and connect with something real? And what better place than a sanctuary?
~~~{~~@
As I was walking:
I stopped for a snake, who was crossing the footpath. It was red, black, and white; small. I gasped. It was harmless. It took its time, slithering across as if I wasn't there.
~~~{~~@
When driving to get coffee I explained to Mike that the reason I hate four-way stops so much is because I have the attention span of Tweety Bird.
He laughed for a very long time.
Now he won't stop calling me Tweety Bird.
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7 comments:
I love this post!
And I had no idea that Tweety Bird suffered from ADD.
I was just thinking the same thing about seasonal produce. You may have read my thrilling account of trying to buy plums at the co-op and there not being any. I was thinking how growing up in Florida and shopping at a conventional grocery store, I'm pretty sure we could get plums any damn time we wanted. They'd just ship them in from whichever country happened to be producing them at the moment, I guess. And I think sometimes they were better than others and I remember hearing people talk about things being "in season" but I never really connected these, which is sad. The only thing I knew about were oranges because they grew everywhere, including in my backyard.
Here in Wisconsin, I feel a much greater connection to my food and where it comes from and when it's available. Having a CSA share is really helpful for that.
All birds "suffer" from short attention spans, I suspect. Anyway, you immediately got the point so the illustration did its job. :-) YAY.
I have been reading your blog and that is the wavelength I've been on lately as well, wondering if my body so often feels ill because of the unknown quantities of chemicals and toxins in it; feeling irked that I don't know if it's mango season or not, or even where mangos grow (they are tropical; I've learned that much)!
Yesterday it dawned on me in a very big way that even if I only buy in season from a CSA or at the farmers markets, I will miss out on much because not everything grows in Humboldt County. Why was this such a revelation? Because I've only just begun to actually think about it. I was reassured by deciding that I can still buy organic if there is something I really want that will never grow here. The main point is fair trade, organic, local when possible. It's slowly starting to come together. Mike also says the key is BALANCE. Ah, balance.
Yeah, balance is huge. I'm really bad about buying local. I think it's important but it just never occurs to me. I was going through all of my food today and was horrified that practically none of it was local (pretty much just the cheese). Most of it isn't even from this country. A lot of people say that local is more important that organic but I'm not sure if I agree with that. I think pesticides are pretty f-ed up on a lot of levels and I think that value wins out for me but that might change as I learn more. I'm glad that the outdoor farmer's market is back next week, though. I'm excited to start buying more local fruits and vegetables.
p.s. My guess is that if the mango was really delicious, it's probably in season. Hmm, I just looked it up here: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/cooking_with_the_seasons/116309 and it looks like they aren't technically in season yet (next month) but I wonder if they were ready early because of the weather? Of course, I have no idea if the weather's been seasonally-appropriate in India or wherever they were grown.
i am so, so glad you posted this, because on this podcast i listen to, they were talking about CSAs, and i was all like, "shoot, i don't know if i can do that in new york city," but i did a little investigating and there is a CSA program whose pick-up point is literally two blocks from my house - the farm is in tivoli, NY.
i always know when strawberry season is, because the strawberries always tasted better then.
I'm so goddamn hungry. Food. Veggies. Fruit. Kentucky Fried Tweety Bird. I hunger for the fruits of the land. Stupid fasting... this better pay off!
Yay for subletters!
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