Good morning, everyone. It’s a fresh new Monday, and I’m feeling pretty chipper despite the gray skies and frigid temperatures, maybe because I just finished developing a handful of photos from this weekend’s Winter Fare farmers’ market in Greenfield. The place was packed — utterly slammed with produce-purchasing local food fanatics. It was awesome, but so much humanity made it hard to get a good picture. Before I share the few shots I did take, I wanted to remind you to stop by the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food event in North Adams tonight.

Finally, I was pretty excited to log into WordPress this morning and see that this is my 100th post here at Plate to Plate. Small change to some, for sure, but a nice little milestone. Later this week I’d like to share with you some photos I took of our last CSA distribution from the root cellar at Caretaker Farm, but for now, let’s take a peek at the Winter Fare farmers’ market.

Brrr! This farm, just over the border in New York State, will not be at the market, but many others will.

My concept of “nearby” has been, shall we say, enlarged since spending a year living out in the vast desert southwest. Just to get married at City Hall, Dano and I and our families had to drive up and over a mountain. Things are far apart out there.

It’s kind of like that out here in the Massachusetts hinterlands, too — I find myself driving far and near, and up and over mountains many more times than I’d ever thought possible as a kid growing up on a flat sandbar sticking out of the side of New York.

So when I say I’m heading to the Winter Fare Farmers’ Market in nearby Greenfield on Saturday, well, you have to take the whole “nearby” part with a grain or two of salt. At just shy of 40 miles it’s kind of nearby, sure — there’s just that mountain in the way.

Maybe it’s time for an ironic bumper sticker on the old Subaru: Will travel for local foods.

Winter Fare Farmers’ Market

Saturday, February 6 2010, 10 AM – 2 PM
Greenfield High School, 1 Lenox Avenue, Greenfield MA