Tags
Amish cheese, dog treats, farmers' markets, Florida teas, goat cheese, hibiscus tea, local honey, outdoor shopping, The Villages, wetlands photos, wildlife photos
Here’s a sample of the scenery we see on a daily basis. This was along Buena Vista Blvd, at the wetlands near Evans Prairie Country Club, one of the roads that leads the way to the Farmers’ Market.
One of Many Produce Stands at our Farmers’ Market:
Our community has two wonderful farmers’ markets, one in the Brownwood town square, at the southern end of the city, on Saturdays, and one in the Spanish Springs town square, at the northern end of the city, on Thursdays. The two are approximately 10 miles apart. On Saturday, we drove the golf cart (of course) to the Brownwood market.
I bought my favorite hibiscus tea from Linda Florea at her Florida Teas booth. Linda kept her booth here open in its usual spot in front of City Fire, while she worked other markets on Saturdays for the summer, but will return here on Saturday, September 6, 2014. I’m looking forward to seeing her again. You don’t have to ask: Yes, your furry friends are more than welcome at this farmers’ market.
Every Market Should Have Doggie Treats!
Gloria, at the Pawsitively for Dogs Treats doggie bakery booth, gave C.C. a couple of free samples of her treats, and let me take photos of her daughter’s booth for this blog. Gloria is a grandmother with absolutely beautiful skin. Gloria’s granddaughter, Lyric, has been filling in for Linda at the Florida Teas booth this summer. Here’s the link to the dog bakery’s Facebook page.
That’s Gloria at the far right of this photo, behind the counter, and assisting a customer in the photo below.
Local Honey is the Best:
Any time you relocate to a new area, it is a good idea to eat honey produced locally, to help your body adapt to any localized allergens. We have always done that, and today, we dropped by to visit our favorite Local Raw Honey booth where we are frequent customers for their raw honey. They were glad to see us, as always. This is their booth in the next photo. Their company is called Riverview Apiaries, Inc. Their phone number is 352-2585-8163.
It’s for More than Eating:
Today, I noticed a product I had not seen before. It is a honey body wash made by a friend of theirs. They make no profit from it, and the friend donates a percentage of the sales to fight human trafficking, especially women forced into the sex trade. As soon as I run out of my current body wash, I will definitely be buying some of this. Its price seems a bit steep at $15 a bottle, but the money goes to a worthy cause. There is an e-mail address at the bottom of the label, but I cannot quite make it out from this photo. I’ll have to check on that at the next market day.
Every Market Needs a Cheese Vendor, and I Found a Good One:
Last Saturday, I bought goat cheese crumbles with cranberries from Doris Hampton, at The Cheese Lodge, who posed for this photo. She gave me a sample of a hard white cheddar. It was delicious. I took some of her goat cheese home, and sprinkled some over our salads, and it was great. It is a nice alternative for those who need to avoid cows’ milk products. Somehow, we missed Doris’s booth yesterday.
Time to Head Home:
Over all, it was a great day for outdoor market shopping. There are always lots of fruits and veggies, as well as flowers, ornamental shrubs, and herbs. I always have to look at the flowers, but I have decided not to buy anything that has to be planted until cool weather arrives. Around here, that could be late October or even November. I will be sowing seeds of arugula and various kinds of lettuce very soon. I will share that soon at In the Garden with Maria.