Farmer's Market!!!!!!

So I dunno about anyone else; but one of the happiest green things about spring in my option is the farmer's market!!! I feel overwhelmed with joy when I'm at the farmer's market; I mean seriously, can you think of a more positive reason for people to gather together? (Ok, so maybe farming itself, a homebirth, a potluck, a freeschool class, a clothing exchange, a work/share/educational party,) but the farmer's market is up there at the top of my list...especially here in Portland where we've got the best farmer's markets I've ever seen. I've worked at a very small farmer's market in Upstate New York a few times with one of my favorite farmers, Rivka Davis, a wonderful lady who sells wild edibles alongside her hereloom veggies...she gets a lot of shit from other farmers about selling things like purslane (oh god! I love purslane!,) anyway, other farmers always say things like "you sell weeds lady?" But people buy and love it, so why the heck shouldn't she?
Anyway, I've helped at that farmer's market, which has at the most, five or six vendors...I'm sad to say Rivka is the only organic vendor there, but at the same time, I'm proud to say I've worked for her...and I have to say, I'll take organic farming anyday over commerical farming, which is what I grew up with. Organic farming requires many more backbreaking hours crawling on hands and knees, pulling weeds, but that gives you opportunity to GET TO KNOW THE PLANTS! I love it...I talk to each strawberry, melon, squash, bean, corn, potatoe, eggplant, ect, while eating weeds and finding out what is going on with each and every plant; with commercial farming, it is more about tractors and equiptment then getting to know plants.
Helping at the farmer's market was a whole new reason to love farmers..even though many of the farmers at the market have questioned Rivka in rude ways, especially about the purslane, they are really all wonderful folks. You get to know each farmer in a intimate way when there are only five or six vendors week after week; you hear about who is dating who, who had a death in the family, all of the wonderful, bonding, small-town gossip that really draws people together. Also, Rivka is a master trader out of necessity; she trades veggies for bread, honey, soap, granola, jam, so many things. Again, this is very community-building; when you barder with people, you get to know them very well. Anyway, so I love that small town farmer's market, but I also love the hustle and bustle of the PDX farmer's market.
When I first moved to PDX, I made my first friend at the farmer's market; a lovely dredlocked girl I bought honey from, who then invited me to a clothing swap; anyway, that was my warm introduction to PDX, since then, I've run into long-lost friends at the farmers' market, I've watched my crush selling bread to the carb-hungry masses, I took my wild friend Cloud there and had swooning middle-age ladies one after another ask to take pictures of "his dog..." , I've purchased lunches for hung-over bums, Ive bought strawberries and peaches for the kid I used to nanny, while trying to keep up with his hyperactiveness..
Anyway, my point is, the farmer's market is one of the best modern use of our cities' parks; they build community, while supporting and building local agriculture (especially suistainable, organic agriculture,) they bring people together in the sun for a common purpose, to eat, healthy, suistainable, organic food...anyway, I just wanted to proclaim my love of farmer's markets to the world...

Love ya,
Carrot