I am sitting in the market pavilion writing
this column the day before the Sentinel comes out. It is sunny with a light
breeze. Blue skies are full of white clouds. Bill Adkins is playing gently in
the north end of the pavilion. Customers are perusing the selections, many
holding the hand of a child or with a babe in arms. Quiet chattering mixes with
the fragrance of hundreds of flowers filling the market. It is a delightful change
from the dark skies and deluge of the morning.
School is out at 11 am tomorrow here in Webb
City and the market serves its first Free Summer Kids Meal of the year starting
at 11:01. The menu is chicken salad with crackers and tossed green salad
featuring lettuce mix, tomatoes, cucumbers and edible pod peas, all fresh from
the market. Milk is served at every Kids Meal. Thursdays’ Kids Meals is served
from 11 to 1.
This is our fourth year of Kids Meals which
are open to all children aged 1 through 18 regardless of residency or income.
We look forward to introducing lots of children to healthy local foods here at
the market and, surprise!, also at the library. The market will supply lunch from
noon to 1 for the library’s summer reading program this year, starting with the
kickoff of “The Universe of Stories” this Saturday at the library and on each
Wednesday until the “send off” on Saturday, July 27.
Fit Foods is serving chicken fried rice and
lemonade for $5 tomorrow. Drew Pommert is on the market stage.
Saturday, the Webb City Choir Boosters serve
breakfast at Cooking for a Cause from 9 to 11. The Saturday Kids Meal is from 9
to 11:30 and this week will be a market fruit parfait and a market-made muffin.
Robert Scott Bruce is on the market stage. Robert,
who lives in Indianapolis, stops by the market once a year when he heads to
Oklahoma to visit his parents. This year his folks are coming to see him in Webb
City so maybe we’ll get to meet them. Robert sings in many genres and many
languages and will perform a mixture of world folk, classical and
popular music this Saturday.
It’s Taco Tuesday at the market! The Free Kids Meal will be a taco with a
fiesta salad. The Kids Meal is served from 4:30 to 6:30 on Tuesdays.
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| E & O farm inspection |
Drew Pommert is back on the market stage. Yoga
at the market starts at 5:45. This donation-based class is for beginners and intermediate
students. You’re welcome to borrow one of the market’s mats if you’d like to
give it a try.
Ghetto Taco will be on hand with street tacos.
But if you prefer Egg Roll Tuesday, try Song Bird Kitchen.
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| Blooms mean Blackberries! |
I made the first of our farm visits last
Friday. It is definitely one of the perks of volunteering at the market. The
highlight of the day was seeing the flowers at E & O Farm. They were
beautiful. Owen says Esther is the brains of the flower operation. If so, she is
one smart lady. The combinations of colors, shapes, textures of their flowering
baskets are breathtaking. They still have a good supply, as does Braker Farm,
so stop by and find something beautiful to put in your life this week.
Another treat was visiting Fairhaven Gardens. My,
do they ever have loaded blackberry bushes. I think it’s going to be a
blackberry summer for the market. They are also raising quail which you can
expect to arrive at the market soon (frozen). And of course their gardens are
planted with lots of veggies as well.
I also stopped by Sunny Lane Farm. Owner Greg Rasmussen had moved the sheep up to the corral by the barn so I could get a good look, but I asked him to turn them out to the pasture because I was taking photos for our social media pro Rachael and sheep look better on grass, plus that’s where they normally live at the farm. He said “Sure, I’ll lead them to the pasture.” And sure enough, he did. He walked into the corral, opened the gate to the fields and headed out to the far pasture with some forty sheep and lambs following along. I felt a bit like I was in a parable. I have probably never seen such a pastoral scene. Greg is thoughtful and kind and I guess it should be no surprise that he makes a good shepherd.
This column started with delight at the market,
moved to beauty at E & O and returned to delight at Sunny Lane. Beauty and
delight can be found in the ordinary and the extraordinary and frequently in
life at the market. May you find beauty and delight in your life this week.
