Thursday Market Day

Thursday is always the busiest day on the farm. Market in the morning and CSA in the afternoon. By the time I forced apart my eyelids at 7 am Ross had already been up for a couple of hours, long enough to harvest basil and several types of vegetables. By 7:30 Mike and Scott had packed up all the cartons of veggies, tables and tent and were off to set up at the farmer's market in town.

Be ten I was ready to start my day and grabbed one of the bikes for the 20 minute ride into town. It's always refreshing to go to a farmer's market but this one is particularly great. Not that big but quality abounds. The market is in a little town square right beside the big dock. I wasn't there long before I knew I had to have the fresh fruit crepe - banana, apple, blueberries, strawberries, apple, chocolate, whipped cream. It's so good I think I actually mentioned it in a blog a few years ago.

There are a few craft stalls, baked goods and several single table produce sellers - like Bantry bay. None of those huge produce stalls such as you'll see in Vernon. A guy playing some finger style guitar. And then there are the food stalls. By lunch time I knew it was going to be a monumental decision. Freshly made fish tacos? Turkan's homemade middle eastern breads and baba ghannouj? Samosas or Greek food? Pizza baked in the portable wood fired oven? The Pad Thai place with the unusually long line up? That line up must mean something...and the Pad Thai was oh so tasty!

There are 2 CSA (community shared agriculture) days - Monday and Thursday. About 40 bags need to be organized and filled each of those days. There's lots of measuring, weighing, bunching, bagging and that's after it's all been picked and prepared. Today the bags will have garlic, cherry tomatoes of every colour and flavor, beets, carrots, basil, red peppers, beans. Every veggie given lots of TLC.

So if you're ever in St. Andrews on Thursday in the summer you MUST visit the market - just remember to bring a huge appetite.

Life on the farm is kinda laid back . . .

We've been here for a week and it's been anything but laid back.  Calming and gentle, yes, but not laid back.  There's ALWAYS lots to do.

We arrived in Moncton on Thursday am and by Friday evening we'd bought a truck and 5th wheel and were on our way with the truck to St. Andrews.  However, we had to head back to Moncton on Wednesday to pic up the 5th wheel.  Here's Ross with his new toy!!!

We've got a bit of United Nations happening at Bantry Bay these days.  Rob and Caitriona are from Ireland, Sarah from France was here yesterday (she actually lives not to far from where we're going), Nellie is from Germany and a mother and her 3 children arrived from Guelph Ontario.

And of course there's the vegies - plentiful and fresh!  This is the first week that fennel has gone in the weekly CSA (customer) bags along with garlic, tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, and much much more! Mike is just filling some bags of mixed greens for inclusion in the packages.  They have about 90 weekly customers that needs to be supplied.

Tonight we decided to have a "kitchen party" - the Irish folks are entertaining (guitar and singing) and Ariel from Guelph has his guitar and will join in shortly.  Always amazing times on the farm.