Road Trip Day 4 (Part 1) – Walker Farmer’s Market, Walker MN

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Thursday, July 29

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We were up early and helping Bob and Doris set up at the Walker Farmer’s Market. My photo tells me that it was 7:17 AM when I took this picture.

There was a group of Canada Geese across the street that grabbed my attention. The one second from left looked like he was in charge of their safety.

Pretty wildflowers near Bob and Doris’ stand.

Though the sun was bright, it seemed like a haze was covering it. Then is when I learned that smoke coming from Canada’s wildfires was in this area today.

We could smell the smoke.

Cerwin and Doris (his youngest sister) putting final touches on the stand that included homemade jam, their own maple syrup and honey from their bees.

An early customer

I was fascinated by the presentation of the vegetables at this stand. Her father is the one who takes care of the crops, then she helps him at market.

It seemed that as the sun got higher, the smoke got heavier.

A broad shot of the market. Notice Bob and Doris’ stand on the left (green canopy). We enjoyed meeting with the gardener next to them (orange canopy). My lawn chair was almost next to where he was standing. He had lots of customers because he is certified to advertise “organic”. He said most of the others with vegetables are very close to organic as well, but are not certified.

I enjoyed walking around and checking out some of the other stands.

He did beautiful work, but we are at a stage in life where we are trying to eliminate “stuff” in our house, not add things.

Wilder is the name of her oldest son.

I was fascinated by her pink snapdragons. They would make a beautiful bouquet for a mother of a new baby girl. I asked if she created a hybrid, but she said, “No, I bought the seeds and started them in January.”

She also had fresh sweet rolls. The icing (similar to Cinnabon) was sold separately. I think this was Cerwin’s piece. I snatched a few bites.

My only non-food purchase wat this birdfeeder. I am anxious to find a place for it among our many other feeders.

Roger was born in Trinidad and loves to bake bread. After living in New York City, his wife was offered a job in Minnesota. I love specialty breads and bought a Bramble Cranberry and Wild Rice loaf. Bramble is his last name. We are enjoying it with meals at Bob and Doris’. It is especially good toasted for breakfast.

Cerwin visited with this man who created the fire pit, along with coffee holders and other metal pieces.

Notice his coffee holder.

It was a busy and profitable day for Bob and Doris

As I sat behind their stand and watched customers come and go, I noticed that their feet were in perfect lighting for photographs. 🙂

Another photo of Roger’s bread from my lawn chair.

I was getting thirsty and decided to try a specialty drink rather than a coke or sprite. This was made from Kiwi and Apple juice.

More customers

Many on my end of the table were children or children and parents who came for honey sticks (honey in a tube). They sold 225 sticks. 🙂

Doris totaling this lady’s bill.

We enjoyed listening to this lady sing and play a variety of instruments. She is playing a washtub base in this photo.

By early afternoon the organic vegetable farmer to my right was selling out of produce, but still had some red beets and carrots.

After the red beets and carrots were gone, there were still a few onions and before long someone came for those.

His tomatoes went fast. He thought he had between 80 and 100 pounds. He was giving out tomato samples and offered one to me. It was as sweet as candy. He also offered me a taste of Kohlrabi which is called “German turnip”. It is a biennial vegetable, a low, stout cultivar of wild cabbage.

After the market closed at 2 PM, we went to Bemidji to get some supplies for the next few weeks of markets and visited their oldest son, Japheth’s, sewing machine shop. (More about that in my next post.)

The above photo gives you an accurate view of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that was affecting this area of northern Minnesota. It smelled like someone was having a campfire near us all day. Some areas saw ashes.