I (heart) my farmer and my farmers market

I absolutely love the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. I have been soaking in all of the goodness that the market provides for the last several weeks. I loaded the kids in the car and we ran down to pick up our veggies. We have been CSA members of Tantre Farm for the last 8 seasons. It feels really good to know who grows your food and to greet them with a smile each and every week.

In our share this week was the following.

Kale
Beets
summer squash
basil
potatoes
green beans
broccoli
cucumbers
onions
carrots

Last week I taught a gardening camp at school and while there were lots of things to do at our school garden (i.e. weeding) I figured the campers would tire of the same old garden rather quickly. I wisely arranged a couple of field trips. Wednesday we went down to the Farmers Market. I had prepared a scavenger hunt and the kids had a great time tracking down all but one thing on the list (gooseberries--they must have just gone out of season, cause they were there just the week before). After our adventure downtown, we came back to school and made a "Farmers Market Friendship Vegetable Soup". The kids gobbled it up and asked for more.

Thursday was our day to visit Tantre Farm. Richard and his wife Deb are just the nicest people around, they truly care about the earth they tend, the food they grow and the community that it sustains. The weather was absolutely perfect and we were able to take an edible farm tour, harvest potatoes, gather chicken eggs and feed some goats and cows. It was so cool to see their faces when they were digging up potatoes, trying to see who could find the biggest, who could carry the most in thier hands and who could fill up the potato crate the fastest. I swear that a couple of them didn't know that potatoes grew underground. The kids had a blast and did not want to leave the farm, even though we were running late for lunch. It was such a great way to make the connection for them, visit the market one day and then go out to the farm the next.

So anyway, back to today. I took my kids down to the Ann Arbor market and we did our usual stroll around. In addition to the veggies from Tantre, I like to pick up a few extra thing: eggs, bread, cheese from Zingerman's creamery and since I haven't been getting any tomatoes yet, I like to pick a few of those up as well. I will be making a caprese salad tonight (tomatoes, Zing's fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil). I also picked up some peaches and blueberries. The blueberries for what looks like a beautiful blueberry cake and the peaches for a peach galette.

I wish that the months of July and August could go on all year.

I am back in black (and yellow and white)

I am back in the caterpillar business folks. I just found my first few eggs. I was starting to get worried, having not found very many eggs, but it appears that things are picking up.

I found 5 eggs and have 3 caterpillars.

Time to get the jars out of the basement.

Last summer I raised 50 caterpillars and kept track of when they hatched out of their chrysalis and whether they were male or female. This year I am going to try and tag some and see if they make it to Mexico. I ordered my tags a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully will be receiving them soon. I will post a few photos later.

Trying again with a new look

I figured since I was going to attempt to do this again, it would be wise to change the look of the blog. I am no tech wizard, so I just went with one of the templates offered by blogger. Maybe if I keep this up and feel like it, I will customize it a little.

I guess I just want a place to jot stuff down.

Today is the first day of Art Fair here in Ann Arbor. Hundreds of thousands of people descend on the town during the 4 day festival. I usually try my best to avoid it if I can. Parking is scarce if not impossible and I get really overwhelmed by the crowds. The kids have a little interest in going this year, so I may take them down to walk around, but I do get anxious about them getting away from me and getting lost.

When I first moved to Ann Arbor 16 years ago, I met this guy who was a cabbie in town. He let me know his thoughts about art fair in no uncertain terms:

"It ain't art, and it ain't fair". Spoken like a true disgruntled townie.

Still Here

I have been toying around with the idea of blogging again. I have been posting on Twitter for a little while and I like the idea of posts being short and sweet.

Lots has happened since I posted 18 months ago.

That sweater for The Mighty B was the last finished project I made. I pretty much put down the sticks for a while.

I have only attended 3 births this year and will be transitioning out of doula work for a while.

I decided to go back to school and get my Montessori training. I begin my training in about 5 weeks. I am very excited.

finished!

Doesn't it look totally cute on her?

sweater!

I have been working on this sweater for Brooke for what seems like ages. I think I started it before Thanksgiving. I finished the final sleeve the other night, and started piecing it together yesterday. I only got a few seems done and had to stop. Tonight I finished the entire thing.

it's the least wonderful time of the year

...with the noses-a-blowing and fevers-a-soaring, the strep throat is here! It's the least wonderful time of the year....

Poor Brooke. She has strep throat. :-(

my next car

By the time this car is available, hopefully my kids will be big enough and I can phase out of my minivan. Check it out. It's Electric!