Farmer's Market

The Wednesday farmer's market in Santa Cruz is quite a scene. It's more than just a place where you can buy the freshest produce grown practically in your backyard. Groups of young hippies convene for an opportunity to socialize in their own style; children tag along with the adults to taste some fruits and vegetables for the first time in their life; farmer's market neophytes learn what the produce that they eat in the cafeterias and restaurants actually look like precooked.



For me, I go to farmer's market for two reasons. First, it's a very relaxing yet invigorating experience for me. Fruits and vegetables stack up like works of art. Often I marvel at the colors of the produce - how is it possible that nature can produce such vibrant, brilliant colors! I also marvel at the intervention of the human race: purple cauliflower! candy cane beets! yellow raspberries! What else are we going to come up with? Should not we just let nature do its wonder its own way?



Second, it is my outdoor supermarket. I intentionally do not purchase fruits and vegetables at supermarkets with the anticipation that come Wednesday and Saturday, I have freshly picked produce with no sticker labels, waiting for me. Of course there are exceptions, but for the most part, I like to take advantage of living here!



I often go to the market without a meal plan. Probably not the wisest thing to do, but that's part of the fun. Like an artist with an empty canvas. I yearn to be inspired by the vegetables that I see, or the smells in the air. I often overflow my basket with purchases more than I can carry. That is what I call happiness! Jim can go to a baseball game and I can go to a farmer's market. That is how we each feed our souls.