Char's Gardening"As the Garden Grows, so does the Gardener"

I think most of us gardeners are asking ourselves what are we to do in January.   Since the weather here has been a bit warmer yesterday and today I thought it was about time for an outing or two.  First up, a visit to the Port City Market in Pensacola.  This market is small but it does the job.  At the market there were artists, veggie farmers, a farmer selling local organic meat, and another person selling organic coffee.

Port City Market

Honestly, I am not sure who I was more happy to find, Green Acres Farm who had the pasture raised meats or Keens Beans with organic coffee.  Let’s just say, since the morning was still a bit chilly the coffee sure was great.

Second up, a visit to the beach.  I haven’t been to the beach in quite sometime.  My last visit to the beach was not a good one.  The beach  was strewn with tar balls, and if that’s not bad enough, seeing the birds swooping into the water, knowing that they would inevitably have oil on them, was just more than I could take.  So I have stayed away.  But today was beautiful and I couldn’t resist a visit. There were still men with equipment on the beach, I presume to see how much oil is below the top sand layers,  but today, no tar ball could be seen with the naked eye.  The birds were enjoying the day and I had a ball collecting shells.

The water was cold but beautiful

Pelicans enjoying the day

Pelican flying

Shells collected

I would like to make it very clear that the “great” idea of starting a farmers market was all mine.  The Navarre Garden Club had nothing to do with it and it seems I misunderstood the NGC president Sharon.  I am a new member to the NGC, and at a point in my life where I would like to become active in the community.  But I now see I am pretty clueless to how this works.  It seems in my desire for fresh produce, I have stirred a pot I did not know existed.  As of this time my “great” idea is being laid to rest.

Are you kidding me.  Does not almost every community have a Farmers Market.  Well, that would be every community but mine.  I went to my monthly garden club meeting today all excited because as chair of the Civic Development Committee I thought I had a great idea.  I want to bring a Farmers Market in our town.  As chair for the Civic Development Committee, I figure the farmers market could fall under something I could head up.  There are lots of farms in the north part of our county, surely some of them would like to bring their produce to sell.  I’m rather new to this community so I was unaware of a previous effort to bring a Farmers Market to our community.  The best place for the farmers market would either be at the central park or at one of the parks along the beach.  Sharon, the president of our garden club, was, I think, trying to save me a lot of trouble when she all but said, “it’s not going to happen.”  It seems the Greater Navarre Beach Art Association tried but failed to bring a market to our community.   The reason for their failure angers me.  The chamber of commerce is against it.  I am not political but I hate “Good ole Boy Politics.” One of the members of the chamber of commerce, a realtor, doesn’t want a farmers market placed on the beach because that would  be competition for “her” store.  The main public park doesn’t allow money making businesses on it’s property.  The latter makes sense to me, but using politics for personal profit at the expense of the community, now that just drives me crazy.   I’m at a loss as to where to go from here.  I was hoping someone out there might have a suggestion as to what could be done.  I don’t want to be bullied, but at the same time don’t want to waste my time on a battle that can’t be won.

Are You Kidding Me!