winter market?

One reason to prefer France over, say, Wisconsin, is that the outdoor markets in France are a year-round thing. You could argue that weather is on their side and you’d be right. It’s brisk out here even now, in the last weeks of our farmers markets. It would be cruel to expect anyone to stand outside on an average December day.

And yet, it’s a real slap for us, the buyers when the farmers go back home for the winter. It’s a reminder that life changes significantly when daylight savings time begins. The months ahead are to be endured. A bike ride to work will turn into an ordeal. Clenched teeth, fast, fast pedaling. The walk home from Whole Foods? Brutal.

Sadly, today was the next to the last week of the Westside Community Market. Time to stock up! – the signs tell us. Stock up and close the door behind you. Six months of waiting is about to begin.

Still, it was a pretty day and it all looked as if it will never end. Sure, the foods are different now than they were at the peak of the season. Make room for the roots. Some greens, some vine veggies, but mainly, it’s all about roots. And more roots.

Here, use this white turnip in a salad. Raw. Delicious. Sweeter than a radish.
Turnips? Sweet and delicious? Okay, next week it’ll be the turnip.




The vendors are hidden underneath caps and scarves that flutter like flags in gusty winds (reminder: this is it! See us now and see us next spring!), the same winds that bounce and knock at the flower pots.

How much?
$5 each.
Let me get some more cash…
No! Take them both for $5! We’re heading home.





Ahhh, it was good to be out there, stocking up, as it were. At least for the week ahead. I can’t think beyond that. And please don’t remind me that there is a winter indoor market downtown. I go there, I shop, listlessly. It’s not the same.

For today, though, we have this. Revel in it. These are the last moments. The last days of outdoor vending.