Farm Stand

I have a new ritual. Every Monday, I go to Patty's Farm Stand on Freeport Road and I buy produce. I buy more produce than I can carry by myself. They know me there as the pregnant lady who brings her own bags. Depending who's at the register, I don't even have to take the stuff out of my bag. I just tell them what's IN the bag and then they get someone to carry it to the car, along with the huge jug of local milk milked like that morning or something wonderful.

Yesterday, I took my enormous LL Bean tote bag (greatest wedding present ever!) and filled it until the straps sagged with Patty's homegrown strawberries, blueberries, sweet corn, watermelon, peaches (although the peaches may have come from out of town...) and spinach. There were a few tomatoes and spring onions, too. The whole thing was less than $30, which is good because Corey and I ate almost all of it already.

The sweet corn is apparently so good you can eat it without cooking. While I waited in line to pay, the old dude who usually carries my bag and calls me "sweetie" was showing a little boy how to open the corn and just eat it. "People usually cook the sugar out of corn," he said, munching the raw kernels with delight. "All you gotta do is boil it for a minute. Just one minute to heat it up!"

I feel frightened to eat the corn raw, but I am pretty excited to boil it for just one minute tonight...

Anyway, this same little boy was begging his mom for a banana. She said yes and he walked around the stand pretending it was a telephone. He eventually came up to me and stood beneath Baby Lev, rubbing my belly and telling his imaginary phone partner that there was a baby in there. Since I was busy stuffing my face with strawberries while I waited in line, I really didn't care all that much.

I always tell myself I will take my time at the farm stand and really look at their other stuff, like jams or locally ground flour or even the area where they sell potatoes and root vegetables. But then I see the fruit area and I get so excited I just shove it all in my bag and run to the checkout line. I'm in and out of there in under ten minutes and I spend the drive home trying not to get juice on my shirt. I usually fail at this.

Next Monday, I'm taking my time. No matter what! I will investigate the dry goods. Even if they have cherries.