Summer
The recent cool mornings, which are expected to continue this weekend, have brought us a hint that summer really isn’t as endless – “interminable” was the word then – as it seemed just a couple of weeks ago.
The Irish poet Thomas Moore immortalized “The Last Rose of Summer” in verse, but given that our thorned blossoms can last from April to December, we don’t have reason to pine for them as our friends in Eire’s northern latitudes do when the equinox is approaching.
And while some of our brethren in the Upper Midwest some years are just starting their tomato season, which may come in as a five-week firehosing of juice and paste and salads and sandwiches and canning and drying, we’ve got field-ripened love apples from mid-June to late October or beyond.
What makes the heart sink for some of us, though, is the end of peach season.
No mere mortal can describe a peach properly: It’s perfumery and sweetness and tartness and fruitiness and that fuzziness that would be objectionable in ary context you could name save this, the true passion fruit – and none of that really even begins to define it.
Truth is, though you can make peach cobblers, peach creams, peach pies, peach puddings, and even peach leathers, there’s only one best recipe: Wash a peach. Eat. Repeat.
Here’s the rub: You can’t repeat indefinitely. Peach season is drawing alarmingly fast to a close, and there’s not a dratted thing any of us can do about it except to eat ’em while they’re here.
The folks at McCullar Orchards say they’ll be at Mid-Town Farmers’ Market this Saturday morning. One can never predict for sure how produce and people will balance out, and far be it from us to start a feeding frenzy, but we’d bet that sleepyheads looking for the last one of summer (or even the penultimate peach) are going to be mightily disappointed.
TEELIN will grace us with their music from roughly 8 to 10. Being privileged with Dasha’s and Greg’s presence in the orchestral pavilion (that’s the musicians’ tent) is a bit like having our own miniature version of “Celtic Woman.” While they also add songs from off the Emerald Isle, there’s a shamrock flavor to their performance that makes one weep, laugh, yearn and celebrate. Come enjoy – and remember that our performers play for tips and produce.
PLEASE SHOW YOUR GRATITUDE.
Saturday, Sept. 4, is Children’s Day. Sue Castens will do face painting, a treasure hunt and other fun stuff with the youngsters. (That also means a one-day return of Providence Farm's fire-and-ice pickles and pesto.)
Liz and Madison Taylor will provide music, and Lafayette County Master Gardeners will be here to give advice, answer questions and share their enthusiasm for all green-thumb topics.
Wednesday market is still going strong; set your smart phone alarm or stick a Post-It on your forehead (write backward so you can read it in the mirror) to remind you to visit between noon and 5 p.m.
Solar electricity furnished for the market by Oxford Electric Department - Lynn Robbins, Superintendent.