Dear Plants: It’s Finally Sunny and Warm, So…
We’re experiencing the year’s first stretch of sunny and very warm weather, and yes, it would be nice if all those early spring crops celebrated by suddenly ripening, but that’s just not realistic. We’re just coming out from a prolonged period of very chilly and rainy weather, so patience is a virtue.
I paid my first visit of the year to Lincoln Square Farmers Market in Chicago, and the display (above) on the red-checked table coverings at the stand of Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, Michigan) look very much like they did at Green City Market last week: a growing pile of asparagus and some hardy ramps.
Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan) had some asparagus, spring onions, jams and cider, along with lots of starter plants.
The Urban Canopy (Chicago) featured mostly root vegetables and mushrooms.
Bread knows no season, though, and Nourish (suburban Chicago) presented a wide variety of sourdough loaves, made with artisan grains from Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, Illinois and home-milled by owner Douglas Callegario (in the photo above).
Today’s small market haul: Yukon Gold potatoes from The Urban Canopy, asparagus from Mick Klug Farm, and a loaf of bread from Nourish made with einkorn (an ancient grain) and nigella, hemp, sesame and flax seeds.
Lake Waves: Some Tuesday Zen
After the record-setting years of 2019 and 2020 in which Lake Michigan was constantly over capacity, the water level had dropped quite a bit. That meant a break from waves crashing over the lakeshore. Recent rainfall hasn’t brought the lake all the way back, but the surf was up a little with Monday’s on-shore winds.
A minute of Ma Nature for you. You might need to turn to volume down a little because there’s lots of wind noise.
Zen waves are the best waves!