This particular Saturday morning at the market was special: I was meeting up with a bride. Ron & Cheryl were married here last November, and now (because I’m insanely lucky) they are also my part-time neighbors. Our schedules have kept us like ships passing in the night, and I’m always arriving in Maggie Valley just as Cheryl is leaving, and vice versa. Today was the magical day. “See you at 10!”

I have a friend who tells me when I’m dressing ‘too old’ and so I’ve been working on that.  Still.  Today, I fired off a picture to another buddy and said, “Hey, look!  I’m dressing up like a twelve year old and going to the farmer’s market.”

But wait, I have this really cool bag…

He pronounced me farmers-markety and therefore qualified to leave the house, and off I went.

The Waynesville Farmer’s Market is awesome.  It’s certainly not the largest market I’ve ever been to (it might even be the smallest) but the faces are friendly, the farmers are sincerely interested in knowing what you would like to have, how you’re going to use their produce, and are passionate about what they do.  Frankly, I think you’d have to be passionate about farming to do it – it’s not going to make them millionaires.  The payoff has to be more than monetary, to make folks work that diligently and consistently.  Lordy, I just have to sleep in, now and then.  These folks really know their stuff.

I especially enjoy following Terry King on facebook – she and her hubby have King Harvest Farm – because she posts about what’s growing and what’s not, and what to expect at the market each week.  It’s fun to follow along, and it’s awfully nice to know what to plan for on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.  And I do like her twisty sense of humor.  Her post earlier this week still has me laughing:

Open pollinated = Poodle.
Hybrid = Poodle + Labrador = Labradoodle
GMO = Poodle + Salamander = DNA manipulation

Bah hahahahaha I want to see the illustrations!!  Terry, yer killin’ me!  Shop here, folks, for nonGMO and nonSaladoodle (because seriously, who wants doodle in their salad) produce.  King Harvest Farm at the Waynesville Historic Farmer’s Market on Wednesday afternoons 3:30-6:30 –right handy for those of us who find shopping on Saturday mornings a challenge– and the main market on Saturdays 8-noon.  This is not to say the rest of the folks at the market are not stellar, this is just the one whose name I know.  Plus I like their stuff.  A lot.

So.  Today.  First the social stuff – CHERYL!!!!  YAY!!!

Holy cow omigosh we are adorable, aren’t we?  I have yet to master the whole selfie thing.  So…. I stole this one from my bride (thank you, Cheryl).  We stopped by King Harvest Farm (naturally) and then made our way down the row and behold!  Another friend!  I haven’t seen Monica in a year.  She’s selling her free range eggs at the market, so there’s yet another good reason to head that way on a Saturday morning.  And here’s our merry band…

But we had more merrymaking a.k.a. shopping to do.  We found a delightful new vendor, the goat lady.  Right out of Cold Mountain.  (Ok not.  She is unlikely to harm her goats, which she says are like a herd of 160 pound great danes.)  Her business is Wholly Goats Soaps & Such -the name just tickles me- and you’ll find her at the Saturday market, as well.  All her soaps are made with goat’s milk from her very own goats, and nonGMO oils (no doodle in your salad there either, folks) and I am gaga over the Amazon Lily & Rain fragrance.  There was a good bit of discussion about just what’s in there (lemon, grass, pine) but if you hug me in the next few weeks, that’s the scent you’ll notice.  Yummy.

We wandered about and enjoyed the booths and chatting with vendors.  Ron was in his element, talking organic fertilizer (his business and his passion) with all these farmers.

And Cheryl and I were shopping away.  I was very excited to find Three Graces Dairy represented!  You can bet my Netflix binging tonight will include the lovely manchego style cheese from Three Graces, and a nice glass of Pinot Grigio which is presently chilling in my fridge.

The steamy hot weather had us checking out Waynesville Soda Jerks and I’m here to tell you, that blueberry basil soda is awesome.  And the perfect thing for a summer day.  I’ll be doing THAT again.

I also picked up some rainbow chard to go with the yellow beans and fingerling potatoes from King Harvest earlier this week.

Me:  Hey, Terry, what’s the difference between these yellow beans and regular green beans?
Terry:  They’re yellow.
Haha, maybe it’s like British humor, and you really had to be there.  Trust me.  It was funny.

And some scallops.  Because – yes yes yes I know, I’m in the mountains, but people, listen: the Waynesville Farmer’s Market is THE place around here to buy seafood!  They’re bringing it in fresh from the coast.  Seriously like outa the water fresh.  And I got these fellas to take pity on me (now that I’m cooking for one) and just sell me three absolutely perfectly fresh and lovely scallops.  More to come on that.

This fellow, from Betsy’s Farm, had an enormous bag of basil, just for me.  I love that he has just the one head of garlic left.  Betting that basket was full this morning!

All in all, a pretty good turnout at the market.  I am so glad that I remembered my shopping bag this time.  I’m generally awful about that, so today I had a real sense of accomplishment, with all my yummies in my bag, arms full, ready to return home.  Looks like I’m not the only one.  There were some shoppers out there!

Next up…. a post about that amazing meal.  Y’all drive safe.  🙂

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