Why I Love My City

It rained today. (Fresh, perect corn, five ears for $3.)

Plenty of people still congregated around the stands at the farmer’s market, but throngs didn’t fill the walkways the way they do during hot summer weekends. (The last blackberries of the season.)

The extra elbow room was nice. (Yellow potatoes, for roasting.)

The rain painted my produce the most beautiful colors. (Delicious, beautiful late-season peaches.)

In spite of the downpour, folk singers with their guitars were posted like sentinels around the corners of the market. (Gluten-free pizza crusts.)

I listened to one woman sing Indigo Girls songs as I bought my carrots and peppers. (Savoy cabbage. For sauerkraut and for eating. The most wonderful cabbage of all.)

Fall will be here – officially – in three days. (Fresh Tolosana shelling beans. They cooked in fifteen minutes into creamy lavender-colored treats.)

Fall. I’m ready. My freezer is full of berries, tomatoes, basil, and corn. There’s a chill in the air tonight, and the smell of smoke.

Bring on the squash and the pumpkins. Bring on the apples and grapes. Bring on the vegetables that grow so beautifully here, even late into the winter. Bring on the cranberries.

I’m ready. Where did the summer go? But I’m ready.

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