My first visit to the Bishop Park Farmers Market

Frannie and I headed out early today (Saturday morning) to go to Athens' relatively new Bishop Park Farmers Market. We took forty dollars in cash, a check, and two Baggu bags with a plan to pick up fresh, locally grown produce for the family.

I was amazed at the variety of fresh, delicious-looking vegetables. We picked out some items just based on color and size (tiny cabbages,  50 cents; bright orange carrots in a bunch, $2.50). I bought a cup of just-for-me dripped coffee from 1,000 Faces for $2.00. We chose a sourdough loaf, a big loaf of sweet white wheat sliced bread and a cranberry muffin for $8.50 sold to us by dad's pal from the Skatepark of Athens, Fredo, selling for Luna Bakery. We picked out two huge heavy bags worth of produce from the farmers sponsored by Farm 255 (Boo, Wilma's friend I recognized as the seller which I now realize is Daniel "Boo" Rotberg & Becky Fielding)-- we got 9 different kinds of squash-- striped, long, squat and acorny, green, yellow and so on; purple cabbage and green cabbage; radishes, kale, onions, garlic, tiny new potatoes-- all for about $25. Then we picked up some of the most delicious blueberries from another farmer... It felt like the most abundant harvest-- all grown nearby.

Then we played behind the market just next to the baseball fields for a while. Frannie ran back and forth and I enjoyed my coffee.

We still had to go to Kroger because I had spent all my cash (next time I will bring more-- afterall if the grocery store costs a huge ton, why not try to get as much as possible at the local farmers market)- we still needed eggs, meat and dairy which we could have bought at the market if I'd had more cash or another check.

After the outdoor farmers market, Kroger felt like an ugly warehouse full of dead stuff and waste (I watched the flower area worker tossing dyed hothouse flowers into the trashcan). Out of necessity we needed milk, formula and juice, and about three other items-- also cost $40.

We came home and made a delicious "home-grown" meal for Dad and commented on the amazing, different flavors.

The Athens Farmers Market will be our new Saturday tradition.