To the Farmer's Market!

Our local farmer's market has changed considerably over the last five or six years, and I'm not sure how I feel about this.

When I first started going, it was a rather small, intimate gathering of like-minded people with the interest of local farming in mind. But recently, it has fallen under new management, and since then, we see more Coca Cola signs, Volkswagen display cars and mortgage company booths than ever before.

On the plus side (I guess, depending on your viewpoint), there are TONS more people attending this every Sunday. In fact, it's to the point of being packed most of the day. This, of course, is great for the local farming economy, but I worry that it's just too much.

Several years ago, it was at a farmer's market that I first realized the connection between my dream of farming and the possibility of making even a little supplemental income at it. This market was so small that it only really sold tomatoes, strawberries, melons and oodles of arts & crafts. I have a particular interest in raising chickens, and I was excited by the possibility of selling farm-fresh cage-free eggs. Now, as you may have guessed, there are at least three farm-fresh, cage-free egg vendors, so that market has been cornered.

I still hope to one day sell something at the famer's market, but I'll have to be creative. I didn't see anything regarding rabbits there, so that's a possibility. Hey, don't steal my idea!

But that's still a very long time down the road. I need to actually buy farmland first, right?

It's just that I sometimes feel like my dreams are slipping away. That the ideas I had years ago are being gobbled up by other people as farmland gets more expensive and everyone's on this back-to-the-land kick.

But I have faith that it will happen for us when it's meant to happen. Patience, Daniel-son!