The Real Thanksgiving

I bet I wasn't the only one thinking that this morning, when after several days of various degrees of rain, from drizzle to deluge, we were blessed with blue sky and sun!

It certainly made my Saturday morning volunteer photographer stint at the Bellingham Farmers Market easier and more pleasant -- I took 208 photos today, three or four times more than my recent weekly average.

"Eat Local" is still very much part of the market's atmosphere, but there are far fewer farmers there now, and crafters are prepared for holiday shoppers with a dizzying array of items, including these:
-- The perfect remedy for anything that ails me this winter!
-- Colorful birds hanging from delicate tied twig bundles -- they'd be a wonderful reminder of spring in the depths of January.
-- Earrings that made me think of how our fragile planet looks from outer space.
-- Charming tiny fresh bouquets to brighten a dark corner.
-- A intricately-patterned beret so beautiful that I'd hang it as art.
-- My favorite: knit your own miniature flock of chickens! There are also a couple of tiny chicks in the set, not shown here. (I tried knitting a simple scarf years ago, but it was a total disaster. The crafter who created these tiny chickens assured me that I could easily make them, and I may have a go.)

Today's blip shows a snippet of the ready-to-eat food vendors area at the market and some of the many people enjoying their treats in the lovely sunshine. Sunday's blip will be quite a contrast to this, as Phil and I will be participating again in the annual community tuna canning/Slow Food project.