My Farmers Market in June

Finally on my bike again! I haven't been out for a while, and it was just wonderful to bike to my Westside Community Farmers Market and bring home as many vegetables as I could stuff into my backpack.

My stuffed backpack, with the Westside Community Farmers Market in the background.

I promised I would not go on about medical issues, but I will just gripe briefly about the one that has kept me off my bike. I have an irregular heartbeat, and it waxes and wanes like the moon in its severity. I recently had a sleep study (during which I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I'm actually hopeful that the treatment for sleep apnea will improve other aspects of my life, so that may not be so bad). For some reason my heart kicked into a highly irregular pattern the night of the sleep study and continued for a solid week. It is (they tell me) not life threatening, but it sure is a gigantic pain in the tuchus. It's distracting, tiring, uncomfortable, and really, really annoying. I make plans, but I have to cancel them or modify them or do them very carefully in slow motion, resting often. I have friends older than I who run marathons or bike 50 miles. I've worked hard this spring to improve my health every way I can - but it would help if the old bod would meet me halfway.

OK, enough of that. I'm still struggling with it, but most of most days my heart does its thing in a mostly normal fashion - and I am profoundly grateful for "mostly normal."

The bike ride to my market is short, and perfect for my first ride in over a week. And I know that I won't get stranded if my heart gets over-excited - I will just come home by full electric power. That's a nice thought to carry with me.

It's early, but there is already a lot at the market, including some of the most lovely lettuce I have ever seen. The cool weather with plenty of rain is just what lettuce loves - so much the opposite of last year. The result is red leaf lettuce so lush, and romaine so crisp, that the huge heads are irresistible. There are also snap peas, the first baby summer squash, spring onions everywhere, and still some asparagus. I buy some of each, along with a jar of purple loosestrife honey, and I'm on my way home.


More photos from a lovely day:

My bike and backpack, Farmers Market tents in the background.

Glorious Market lettuce! This is one single head.

The Market is in the parking lot of the Dept. of Transportation building. The lot itself is not a beautiful setting, but the building has nice plantings - and I've always liked the bike racks.