June Adventures

 

 I'm writing this in the midst of preparations for my first farmer's market this Saturday, sitting in a pile of lists and diagrams and to-do lists. I do enjoy this part, likely because I have the most control over putting together market things like the color of tablecloths and location of "About Allegretto" signs, as opposed to weather and which seeds germinate and customer demand and bloom times.
Another thing I now can control is the quality of my photography. Meet the Canon EOS Rebel T2I. I could not be more excited to have this beautiful piece of equipment that allows me to take the most gorgeous photographs of my whole life.

That aside, though.
Things are very worrisome, sometimes. Like now, when it's practically July and I only have one flower blooming, with everything else far behind. I'm not sure what happened. I likely will never know, though I can make some guesses...

See any flowers? I don't.

I try to remember that God wouldn't have put all of these amazing opportunities for me to market my flowers if I wasn't going to have flowers for them. This farmer's market for example--exactly what I wanted, small, new (Saturday will be the inaugural market), run by people I know.



I left a big gap in my marketing plan; I had a few avenues for flowers to go, but I knew it wouldn't be enough to move all of the product I would have. But I left it open, because I knew that something would be provided, I just didn't know what. And then I was asked to be a vendor. Too perfect.

And though I worry, I know that no matter what presents itself, I will find a way to make it work. For example, here I am a week before the first farmer's market with two tiny cosmos plants and two alone blooming, out of the hundreds of plants in the field. I have to bring something, I've already been advertised on Facebook as being at the first market. So now what?
Ditch-diving, of course.

           ditch-dive
           verb
                     gerund or present participle: ditch-diving
             To pull over one's vehicle to harvest flowers and/or foliage from the ditches alongside public roads.

Mostly legal.

I spent a few days scouting the roads around and about, eyes peeled for any color I could spot. I rescued this alfalfa or milk vetch or whatever it is early, just in case the ditch mowers came through before my appointed forage date. I combed the trails at my grandparents', too, as their soil and environment is slightly different from ours. 

On Friday I will go out with my clippers and scour the area for whatever I can find, and then I am going to arrange and bunch those suckers until they look more professional than the spray-painted daisies and chrysanthemums at the floral and gift across the street. 

Resourceful? Yes. Crazy? Also yes.