The Farmers Markets Are in Full Swing!!

May is a wonderful month.  It is the start to the Farmers Market Season. It’s my birthday month. It is the month we turn the heat off and start opening the windows. And we do a little shuffle in the back yard to make space for house plants that have been indoors. The 24th of May is a consistent date to mark the end of night frosts. This year we were graced with warmer weather a few weeks earlier and a couple of rain showers, everything turns green and starts to bloom.

The racoon that lived under our deck came back this year. I had forgotten about our co-habitator and was meaning to seal the one area that it had been squeezed into between the deck and the house near the small basement window. A few clay flower pots were tipped over and I knew we had company again. There is only 10 inches, or so, of clearance under the deck.  The entrance is near the clothes dryer duck and must produce enough heat to make it quite cosy.

This year we are participating in six markets a week,  crammed into four days:  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. June is when the markets really begin to pick up and establish themselves. The shopping attendance increases. Folks are aware the markets have started and the popular produce starts to be available: asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, fiddle heads and wild leeks. Getting used to the nice weather and taking and advantage of open outdoor spaces seems to happen overnight.

In July the type of visitors that come to the market changes. School is out and many in-town residents are on vacation. At the same time, other vacationers are visiting the city from other parts of Canada, the States and Europe. The buying patterns can be a little different, but so pleasant to meet people from other places at our little markets.

Come August, we have slightly slower attendance and the irony begins because it is the most bountiful month for produce.We try to get away to visit family for a week, or so, some time in August. Either the first, or last week.

September is a homecoming month. School is back in session and the farms are at their peak of production and at full harvest. There is some crisp in the air. The sun is setting a littler earlier. Scarves and hats start to come out. My favorite to wear my wool gloves with the finger tips cut off. But let’s not talk about this too much.