Fruits of the Season

Zucchini bread, harvard beets, fresh peas with onion, raspberries so sweet you can eat them like candy, and beautiful juicy onions with firm, shiny flesh. We've been hunting and gathering at the Farmer's Market again. It's such a seasonal pleasure to talk to and purchase from the folks who grow and sell fresh produce around here. I get to enjoy the shopping, the cooking, the eating and knowing that I'm helping to support local agriculture. It's also a pleasure to know that the foods have few if any chemicals and use up little energy in making their way to market.

I have the added joy of teaching my son to shell peas or snap green beans, just like my grandparents taught me to do. Oh, the beans I have snapped. They'd line a path right to my dad's final resting place at Fort Snelling Cemetery. He adored green bean season and could eat dinner plates full of fresh, cooked green beans, then sop up the juice with a piece of bread. Our hobby farm also boasted raspberries and blackberries galore. We could sit out in the evening with raspberry pie and ice cream, watching fireflies flit around the yard. I'm trying to preserve the memories in mason jars on the pantry shelf--something I can pull out next winter, glowing peaches and plums for a frosty night.

Trails

Yesterday I was reminded of what a beautiful state we live in when I biked from Sparta to Kendall on the Elroy-Sparta Trail. I especially like the trail system because the grade is never more than 3 percent. Even if you aren't in shape, trust me, you can bike a long ways at that grade. The Elroy-Sparta Trail runs through beautiful countryside--hills, forests, hidden valleys. Some peacocks almost scared us off our bikes. We enjoyed the surreal experience of walking through the three train tunnels in the pitch dark and dripping wet. In places the trail was crowded with couples, families, kids, and a few more competitive bikers. We made the obligatory lunch stop at Gina's Pies are Square in Wilton. (We recommend the peach pie.) It was an idyllic day.

My only sadness was in the distance we had to travel to get to the trails. While I enjoyed the scenery, I wished we could access it more quickly and with less fossil fuel use. I encourage everyone to enjoy the trail system we do have here in Marshfield and to support efforts to extend it. Trails provide us all with healthy and safe means to enjoying the outdoors.