At Fairmount Park Farmers Market
In
bestriding this precious gift called life, I’m seeking balance. This being my
sixtieth year on this Earth, I find myself looking back in the rear view mirror
toward the distant innocence of childhood, just as I scan with firm gaze the curving
road ahead. The secret is to simultaneously revel in the present. Peak
summertime is upon us and with it comes a sharp awareness of its transience.
Without dwelling on its ephemeral nature, I steer from the physical to the
cerebral, farming to marketing, hard work to gentle play, outdoor to indoors,
home to travel, relaxation to stimulation….
Many
food-growing farmers are stretched at this busy time of year, arriving at
market weary and dazed from their strenuous labours, energy-sapping heat, and
daunting harvesting and sales schedules. My twice a week farmers market
appearances in the city lend interaction with appreciative customers and are a
pleasant break from the back bending and leg wilting of farm exertions.
Soon
enough it will be Fall with cooler days of earthy fragrances and crisp nights
to ripen off the fruits of our labour. And then balance is provided by the more
leisurely pace of winter with its intense cold outside, warm wood fires inside.
The prospect of a respite in the warm embrace of small-town Mexico
