Farm Market Heaven

The farm markets have been so much fun this summer! I started attending the Birmingham market 2 weeks ago, and have been pleasantly surprised by the attendance and interest in my products. It's great to have people walk up to me and start conversations about their skin and their lifestyles in general. Many have even suggested contacts for me to help get my products into stores.

I also want to mention a great book I am almost finished reading. "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" is written by Barbara Kingsolver, who also wrote The Poisonwood Bible. She takes on a whimsical, educational and fun ride through a year in her family's life. They move to a farm in Virgina and live completely local for that year- everything they eat is made or produced in that state, and most of what they eat (vegetable, fruit and animal) grows right on their farm.
This is a non-fiction piece that reads like a beautifully crafted fiction. It is honestly one of the most interesting books I have read- but then I am totally into the whole gardening and 'living off the land thing'!

Kingsolver inspired me to make an even greater effort to reduce the amount of goods and foods I buy globally- I am going to focus on buying as many locally produced foods as I can. I encourage everyone to do the same- by buying local, not only will you be getting nutritionally superior food, you will be supporting the important men and women who we call neighbors. It is good for your pocketbook, your health and your soul. There is something so magical about eating food when you know where it was gown, and the person whose hard work and heart went into producing it for you. I enjoy my food much more when I have this special connection to it. And of course, there is nothing as satisfying as walking out your own door and cutting fresh lettuce leaves for your salad, or picking a vine-ripe tomato for your pizza.

So, visit your local farm market each week, start a garden- it is not too late! You can still plant crops like green beans and lettuce- I plan to continue planting lettuce, spinach and chard right into September- last year we harvested our lettuce and spinach up until Christmas! We keep a glass cover over our garden box on the deck and that protects the plants from the wind.

Go for it!