Franklin Farmer's Market

Farmer's markets.  Could there be a more glorious place on earth?  

I heard the Franklin Farmer's Market was a good one when I visited the town of Franklin last week.  Being only a quick thirty minute drive away, Ralph and I decided to check it out Saturday morning.  I don't know how to say this without sounding like a total weirdo, but I am so inspired when I go to a good farmer's market.  You know how I mentioned that I love all things beautiful?  Well something about the raw, natural, colors and shapes of the produce and flowers and homemade products just sets my heart a flutter.  You can not find a more natural beauty than those that Mother Nature gives us.  

One of our bigger purchases was from the Bloomsbury Farm stand.  {Website here}  Go ahead and check out their website, because it's amazing, and so were the owners.  That photo gallery, the wedding venue, the vintage rentals, the crops…I can't deal with the beautifulness.  

Naturally, I forgot my good camera, but the way the light was shining on their produce made things look magical.  The iPhone photos just don't do it justice, but I basically wanted to buy everything.  

We ended up leaving that stand with a ton of peppers, okra, some cucumbers, and dill (anyone want to guess what we made?)

We ventured on to some other stands and found a smaller one (I forgot to get their name) where we picked up some more okra and peppers, as well as some tomatoes.  The family working there was so friendly and gave us a lot of tips on how to pickle okra.  I'll be sure to visit them again next time and get their info!  

The tomatoes didn't stand a chance against me at lunchtime and quickly made their way onto a fresh tomato sandwich.  

Next, we stopped by the Colvin Family Farm stand {Website here} and were helped by the friendliest guy.  We left with some radishes and a bunch of garlic, and he tossed in a tomatillo for us to try.  

I think one of the things I love most about going to farmer's markets is how passionate people are about their work.  Farming is a full time job, and I can only imagine how rewarding it is to share the fruits (literally) of your labor with other people.  Here I go being all inspired again…

Although I didn't get any pictures of our loot, we also got some goat cheese (it's soo good) and fresh farm eggs from the Noble-Springs Dairy stand.  {here you go}  You all know how I feel about goats, so I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was to find out they do farm tours.  They may have found themselves a regular visitor.  

Anyway, we left with quite a load of goods to bring home.  Our main goal for the trip was to gather supplies for our maiden voyage on a pickling adventure, but I think it's safe to say that we will be frequent visitors of this wonderful market.  

I have some bread and butter pickles going in the pantry, so check back tomorrow to see how that process went.  You all may be getting pickles for Christmas!