But of course there is a silver lining. The warm weather means that it's market season again.
Bloomington has a lovely Farmers' Market that runs from mid-May through the end of October. It's one of my favorite things about living here. The farmers set up around the old courthouse square, which is just six blocks from our house. All summer long, our Saturdays consist of waking up, pouring a travel mug of coffee, and walking to the market. The soil here is rich and more farmers than you might expect are choosing to grow an array of organic veggies rather than commodity corn and beans. We're able to buy almost all our produce, plus our eggs and meat, from the market. Plus, there are really good almond-chocolate croissants made by a Frenchman who now lives in Champaign-Urbana.
We've always brought Mila with us and now Eve gets to join us, too. I have to admit that we haven't quite gotten the hang of the trip as a family of four. The market is growing in vendors and popularity, so with the crowds, plus dog and baby-wrangling, it's a little tricky to actually get our groceries, too. Really though, it doesn't really matter how long it takes, or even if our slower pace means I missed the asparagus yesterday. See? We're having fun!
![]() |
Note Eve's awesome "locally grown" onesie. (Thanks Girls!) |