Weekend Walking::Earth Day & The Market

This weekend we have been dog sitting for this little guy who happens to live downtown Charleston.  We are also about to be living downtown so we are going to be doing a lot of walking!

I was really excited to wake up Saturday and know I could walk to the downtown farmers market! Charleston has a vibrant weekly market at Marion Square and I’ve always loved it (even when visiting I’d try to stop by).

Ambrose Family Farms

Lowland FarmsOwl’s Nest Plantation

I am not familiar with this “Certified Naturally Grown” label (not sure why having worked at a farm stand/CSA for the last 2 years!) but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of it.

Loved the set up here with the bins running long way down the tent.  As with everything I do, I look for the form and the function. I believe well designed should be beautiful and vice versa!  So naturally the farm vendors who really “spoke” to me (who I purchased from and took photo’s of) were those that had beautiful, local (mostly organic) produce and well designed/displayed set up’s.

They have live music, local produce and lots of local food and art/craft vendors.  I saw a few I recognized and some new ones.  The market runs from April through December so things are just getting started.  I’ll be taking weekly walks to the market to pick up fresh produce while we are living so close.  After that, who knows but this gives me a chance to sample different produce from local farms and choose which CSA I’ll be joining!

I have been a suburbanite for EVER!  Everywhere I’ve ever lived required getting in a car and driving to almost every destination.  I have been walking everywhere since we’ve been here and I’m hereby pledging to take a weekly walk to the farmers market for my local produce over the next couple months! It feels great to be able to celebrate earth week this year by doing so much walking and supporting local farms and businesses.

How are you celebrating Earth Week/Earth Day?  Has your local farmers market opened up yet for the season?

 

Celebrating Mother Earth

Happy Earth Day.  Today I am grateful for the rain that mother earth is providing for all the beautiful spring blooms, buds, all the seeds I planted this week and the overflow from our roof that’s going into our rain barrel!

As I reflect on Earth Day, I have to say thanks to my HS Environmental science teacher for so passionately sharing his love of the environment with me.  My parents did their fair share too but if it wasn’t for Corky I might not be an avid composter, Master Gardener and recycler today.  I remember the first Earth Day I celebrated in DC in my senior year of HS.  A couple of friend and I skipped classes and headed down to the mall for the big Earth Day celebration, concert and vendors etc.  Any excuse for us to get out of class was a good one come final weeks of senior year!  It was so hot that day that many people waded into the reflecting pool by the Capital to cool off.   We would surely have been escorted to a cell if we tried that sort of thing today!  Ah, the good old days.

Never the less, I did stop and reminess upon this day as I was downtown yesterday taking in all the gorgeous spring blooms around the mall.  There are so many beautiful gardens in DC.  Some are right out in the open and some are meandering between the many museums.

I’ll be celebrating Earth Day tomorrow when the rain clears up by heading to the local park I hike in and picking up trash.  If you are in DC this weekend (or wherever you are!), do enjoy all the beautiful April showers and flowers.  This is also the last weekend of the annual Orchid exhibit at the Natural History Museum.  This year they did not dissapoint!

What will you be doing to celebrate and honor Mother Earth?

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