Thursday, July 19, 2012

Vegetable Stand Beauty

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!  Woohoooooo!!!"


I was so excited that I had to really concentrate to keep my eyes on the road.  I realize that I was being extraordinarily silly, but that didn't stop me from squealing in joy.

Why?

Because I saw a sign.

Not just any sign, though.  This one was special, because it was my favorite kind.



Yeah, I know... I'm crazy.  It's a good, happy crazy, though, so I figure it's ok.

I was on the way to Cedar Summit Farm to pick up my family's milk for the week.  Once I discovered that lightly pasteurized, non-homogenized milk was so much more yummy and healthy than the typical milk that lines the grocery store shelves, I decided to only buy it that way.  It was a green choice, and a good one.

I had a hard time actually staying focused on it that day, though.

See, it wasn't just the sign that excited me.

It was the vegetables that I saw being sold there.  There was a beautiful and glorious variety!  Reds, oranges, greens, and browns blazed in the sun, all of them screaming,

"Rebecca!  Come back!  We need you!"

It was my duty, I felt, to comply with this demand.  I mean, just think about how cruel it would be to ignore those poor vegetables in their moment of need.  Why, that would make me a monster!

Obviously, I had to head back to this vegetable stand, ASAP.  


As soon as I finished making my milk purchase, I rushed my daughter into the car and drove off.  I tried to convince my car that it could finally reveal to me that it was a Transformer, thereby getting me to my destination way faster, but it didn't comply.

Thanks a lot, car...

After what felt like an eternity, I managed to arrive at the small parking lot that was practically in the middle of nowhere that this vegetable stand was located at.  Twilight zone, anyone?

I approached the stand with my daughter, taking in the beauty of the produce, as well as the intelligent arrangement he had used.



The vendor had a remarkable variety of organic vegetables.

He had the standard cucumbers, zucchini, kohlrabi, onions, and potatoes that I have seen at the local farmers market, but he also had so much more!

My salivary glands seemed to be working on overtime as I stared in awe at his tomatoes, sweet peas, and green beans.  I'm not a fan of beets, but the ones he had on display were overwhelmingly healthy.  These vegetables all continued to scream my name, pleading for me to liberate them from their confines within the stand.

I elected to purchase the grape tomatoes, green beans and sweet peas.  It would be a while before my own tomatoes were ready, and my sugar snap peas were pretty much destroyed by the heat wave.  Both were logical choices.  I never planted any green beans, so those were a necessity, as well.

Another important thing worth noting was his organization of the produce.

His placements were well thought out, and brought an element of creative design to the stand.

The large plastic buckets that held the cucumbers were lined with white grocery bags - a very environmentally responsible choice.  Reusing bags in this manner not only gave him direct control over color scheme, but also ensured that the bags had a second life. I applauded this green decision.

He also used plastic baskets of various colors to portion out and hold his produce.


These baskets brought extra life to his display.

He should really go into advertising.  He already has inherent talent in this field, after all!

Of course, if he did that, he wouldn't be around to sell his eye-catching and robust produce to me, so maybe I should just take that statement back!

Hey!

I can be selfish sometimes, can't I?

No?  Ok, then... 


He shouldn't go into advertising because the whole region would be harmed by the loss of his produce!  Yeah... that's my excuse.  Really....

These little gems on the side of the road are always my favorites.  I never expected to find vegetables being sold in the middle of nowhere, so this chance discovery was even more wonderful that it would have been if it was on a vacant lot in town, or a grocery store lot.

How do you feel about roadside stands?


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