Great Farmers Market

 Ok, maybe GREAT might be overstating a little...

But it WAS pretty good!

I only brought 8 zucchini and sold out.

But I also brought freeze dried salt water taffy.

It was yummy.

I brought 8 bags, sold 5 and traded one

for a giant bag of cucumbers.

But I also brought some freeze dried zucchini

with a little parmesan cheese on top.

I hadn't planned to sell it. It was just in a 

gallon ziplock bag.

I gave a bag to my new friend Sonia who makes

delicious breads (she gave me a lemon poppy seed

loaf a few weeks ago and I bought a pistachio loaf Saturday...)

and also a bag to my new friend Mary whose husband traded

the cucumbers for the candy.

They are kind of the leaders of the market,

although its very casual.

(Hill City charges $5 to be a vendor... WaKeeney welcomes

EVERYBODY who has anything they want to sell.)

Anyhow.

They both LOVED it!

Wanda Mae (the lady we bought the house from)

came by and loved the candy, but when I let her

taste the zucchini, begged me to sell her some!

So I bagged some up in a sandwich bag and charged

her $3. (I sell TWO zucchini for $3 and this was

maybe one whole one...)

Then Mary Jo H., our home owners insurance agent

came by and she also talked me into a bag of

zucchini and asked if I would do more "just for ME!"

She said whenever I had some done to bring it

by the agency and she would surely buy it!

Another family (all adults) came by and the

brother made me promise to bring more next

week so he could buy it.

(I was down to crumbs in the bottom of the

bag by that time...)

All told, I sold $41.00 worth of stuff

(a friend's husband from church was there just

as we closed up and bought a bag of candy and

my last 2 zucchini...)

We went out to the farm and I picked 4 more

nice looking zucchini and a couple yellow squash.

Brought them home and made up 6.5 trays for

the freeze dryer (5 in the machine and 1.5 in the

deep freeze). I double stack - a layer and then

parchment paper and another layer.

They are just now ready to pull out of the machine.

Which is good because it is going to be in

the 80's today.  

When we went out to the garden I found

OKRA FLOWERS!!!

We've had a good bit of rain every day lately.

No sun though.... 

The wagon had LOTS of water in it!

Kyle dumped the rain gauge on Friday.

And it showed another half inch Saturday.

We brought the wagon and a load of dirt home

and Kyle has been busy building and filling

3 more raised beds for the backyard garden.

We are going to do a fall garden of green beans,

carrots, radishes, and peas. (The radishes are going

in the existing bed where the onions failed...)

Our little cherry tomatoes are COVERED in little

green cherry toms.

The farm garden has a good bit more zucchini and

maybe we will finally start getting okra.

(It's AMAZING freeze dried - people eat it right

out of the bag like a crunchy snack or put it on

salads as a crouton.)

Anyhow.

I'm having fun.

And Kyle is leaving again.

Probably Tuesday, or Wed if we don't get the 

backyard gardens done today.

But this time when he comes back he

will have ROD with him!!!!!!!

I'm so excited to finally see my husband again!

It's been a LONG time.

Not "gone to England on a mission" long, but

still.... long enough!

And Wed is his birthday.

So we will miss that, but we will celebrate

a late birthday when he arrives.

Kyle just got up, so now I can make noise.

Hahahahahaha.

I'm going to peel the cucumbers,

slice them (I have a good mandolin) and

put a dot of ranch dressing on the top

and stick those in the deep freeze as well

so I'll have another load ready to go.

I think we are going to put the window AC 

unit back in the window in the garage

and turn the freeze dryer so it is 

blowing directly on the fan intake side of 

the machine and see if I can run it even

when it's warmer out there.

(It made it to 77 yesterday...)

Saturday I nearly froze at the market...

it was 57!

Have a wonderful MONDAY!