August-September, 2020
On this first morning here, as I sometimes do on the first morning of a camping trip, I jumped in the big white truck for a drive around the community/area that surrounds the campground. I like getting acquainted with where I am and what’s out there. I had a good time this morning!
For one thing, it was a beautiful day. And for another thing, there were lots of country farms in the area, selling all manner of edible produce and flowers to anyone who wished to buy. I could barely choose which produce stand to stop at, there were so many.
The folks above had just bought a bunch of fresh carrots, and probably other stuff too.
There were large fields of all sorts of crops. The field above is corn. I’m sure the size of the field above doesn’t hold a candle to the size of corn fields in the “corn belt” of the USA and Canada, but it looked like a huge field of corn to me!
Friends of mine had mentioned “The Farm” and had suggested that I stop there. As soon as I saw the sign, I pulled over and parked.
The woman walking away from the produce stand is one of the owners. I chatted with her a bit to find that she prefers a smaller “stand” to sell things from. That way she can restock it with fresh produce. She feels her produce is better that way. While I was there, at least a dozen local vehicles stopped by and bought produce … and a few visitors did too, like me. I always suspect the best place to shop is where the locals shop.
While I was there, she invited me to walk around the farm and look at things and take pictures. She didn’t have to invite me twice. 🙂
Chickens! Back behind their home was a large shed/barn, and back behind that were these two large fenced areas with dozens of chickens in them. Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Around on the other side of the house, on the road side of the house and near the produce stand was this large field of sunflowers. The owner told me she sells lots of sunflowers, but mostly she sells sunflower seeds.
As can be seen, there were all different sizes of sunflowers.
Before I left “The Farm” and headed back to the trailer for lunch, I purchased a dozen fresh eggs, a plentiful supply of fresh tomatoes, some squash and some cucumbers, and a few fresh herbs, and, of course, a nice happy bunch of sunflowers. What a delightful morning.
We frequent both of these stands ( and 2 others so well) during the season. You have to get there early for eggs, though.
I got eggs! Guess I was just barely in time since it was mid-morning when I was there. I did have to ask for eggs, and she then went to get them, so who knows. I swear those eggs tasted better than any eggs I’ve purchased at any grocery store.
Oh, I would have stopped there too, and how nice that she let you wander around! I’d have gone for chard, and broccoli, and maybe some sunflowers, those would be hard to resist.
Fresh “anything” at a produce stand like this would be delicious I think. Thanks Dawn.
I don’t always comment but I truly appreciate all your blogs. I love the combination of history, nature, and science. The photos and videos are extras😁.
Hi Mary O. You are most welcome to comment or not any time at all. Though I do love comments. 🙂 Thank you for the very kind words about the contents of this blog. I’ll keep it coming.
We get almost all of our produce from farm stands and then my wife (and sometimes me too) cans or freezes them for the winter months. It tastes like real food, even in the winter. And we know the local farmers and we know which ones use chemicals although almost no one does hereabojuts any more. Great blog post and great advice to everyone.
I remember canning and freezing fresh food with my Mom in our kitchen when I was a kid. And I remember how wonderful the food tasted all winter. I like that you and your wife and still doing that. Thank you!
I like the photo of the inside of your trailer with the tomatoes and the sunflowers. Your trailer is really handsome, and pretty, all at the same time, so colorful, and so welcoming. Is the dog in the photo your dog? She’s a cutie.
Thanks Fran. The inside of the trailer is definitely fun and happy, especially with those sunflowers on the table.
The dog in the photo is Alex … she was my best buddy for 18 years. I still miss her, and still remember the best and happiest of times with her. She always came along on both of my boats with me for those 18 years, and now she travels via photograph. Thanks for the nice words and thoughts. 🙂
Just noticed the Walla Walla Sweet Onion sign. We always thought Walla Walla was a name taken from a song, but because it’s on this sign in your blog, we looked it up and it is indeed a town in Washington State that grows sweet onions. And they grow lots more things too. And it seems a whole lot of people all over the State of Washington (not just in Walla Walla) grow these same sweet onions. We’ve seen them for sale here, but always passed them by … now we’ll buy some!
Ah, yes, Walla Walla, Washington. There is a song with the words “Walla Walla Wash” in it isn’t there. Indeed Walla Walla is a sizable town in the State of Washington, and the many miles and miles of farms around the town do grow all manner of produce (asparagus, strawberries, wheat, apples) and the famous Walla Walla onion. And yet, in Washington State, the area is known equally well for the more than 120 wineries. Ah, but those onions are really the best. 🙂
Speaking of preserves…. a friend gave me a simple jar of her homemade sweet pickle relish at Christmastime. How is it possible that it tasted so delicious? It was like summer in a jar.
Thanks for taking us along on your summer camping adventures. And I love that Alex still comes along too!
Ah yes, the simple foods are the best I think. Last night where I live it got down to 24 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 Celsius) … brrr. I know it gets lots colder than that for some of the readers here, but that was mighty cold in my opinion. Here’s to summer!