Kind of Excited for Fall?

Happy Saturday! :D

My Mom and I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, and headed off to the Farmer’s Market for the morning!

The week long heat wave seems to have FINALLY passed, and a thick layer of clouds helped it almost feel like an early Fall morning. Almost!

The produce was as bountiful and colorful as ever.

For the first time this summer, I spied okra everywhere. I have no idea what I’m going to do with the .33lbs of it that I bought, but I’m pretty sure okra-loving Kath will have some sort of recipe I can try!

There were also bright, vibrant zucchini blossoms popping up. Now those, I wouldn’t even begin to know what to do with. Usually they’re stuffed and fried. You know I like to stuff things, but frying? Eh, I’ll leave it to the professionals. ;)

Summer Harvest in full swing!

In the middle of the summer harvest were some butternut and acorn squash which, I’ll admit, kind of made me excited for Fall… Butternut Squash Ravioli with Walnut Butter & Bacon, anyone? ;)

Of course there was LOADS of sweet corn, which my Mom and I split a baker’s dozen of.

And my favorite goat cheese stand was back after a few weeks away – Reichart’s Dairy Air!

So many choices of smooth, tangy, mouth-watering cheeses to choose from.

I’ve tried the plain and chive, so this time I went with Sundried Tomato & Basil.

The woman who owns the dairy farm said the cheese is made from the goat’s milk the day after they’re milked. Fresh as can be!

Now I just have to think of a way to use it (besides on a spoon and directly into my mouth. ;) )

Ok, Fall was definitely in the air, because our favorite iron-welded sculpture company (what, you don’t have a favorite iron-welded sculpture company?!) had all their Halloween and Fall-themed goods out.

It was hard convincing my Mom not to buy it all!

This was new – a little monkey swinging from it’s tail!

My heart will always belong to the flying pig though. SO CUTE.

Ok, I really like the snails too. ;)

The late-season flowers were stopping traffic they were so beautiful.

Every third person I passed had a bright, beautiful bouquet tucked inside their market bag.

PINK! :D

Of course we had samples, including nut butters!

I tried all three, natch.

Some fresh fruit.

Including yellow watermelon!

It was the craziest thing ever! People kept asking the woman working the booth – “what’s that yellow watermelon looking thing?” Every time she’d say “Yellow watermelon.” HA! It tasted just the same as the pink kind – so crazy!

Oh, and an apple cider doughnut sample. As unbelievable as it sounds. ;)

On the way out, we saw Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley makin’ the rounds. He’s a good ‘ol farm boy, and I like him. Although he did admit last year that he’s never used an ATM, which was pretty horrifying.

After the market I went to DSW to get a pair of walking shoes for Italy. These are Anne Klein and they are SO comf!

This afternoon Ben and I are headed to a local sweet corn festival (freaking out!!!! :mrgreen: ) Then we’re celebrating the fact that we won’t grill ourselves by being outside by grilling some steaks for dinner!

Hope your Saturday is going well! :D