Sounds like summer . . .

But it's not! It's an unseasonably warm December 27th. I started my leisurely Saturday with a trip to a new farmers market. When I returned home I did a little gardening. IN DECEMBER!

Indianapolis has a relatively new Winter Farmers Market on Saturday mornings at 25th and Central, in the renovating Mapleton Fall Creek neighborhood. I had just run out of the apples I picked from my neighbor's tree, so I decided to check it out.



I had lots of varieties to choose from. I bought some Grimes for baking and a couple of good red apples to eat fresh. I got to use one of the three new shopping bags I got for Christmas. Two are nylon and fold up into tiny bundles. One even has a clip so I can attach it to my purse or belt loop. The third is a big canvas shopper from Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville store. I love them all!



I saw these funny fingerling potatoes. Their odd shapes reminded me of ginger root. The same stand offered beautiful winter squash. But I've still got plenty of potatoes and squash from my own garden, so I settled for photos.



Sunset Acres had samples of all their cheeses. I tasted several and decided on the horseradish white cheddar and the white colby. Yum! I also picked up some Fromage a Trois goat cheese featuring a white layer, a sundried tomato layer and a pesto layer.


My last stop was the chicken and egg stand. I bought these beautiful brown eggs and got to see photos of their chickens and Quonset hut-like mobile chicken coops. Their free range chickens are protected by a hard-working guard dog and a puppy in training. The grown dog is training the puppy. The humans just watch in awe. Hawks and eagles are their most dangerous predators. So the dogs watch the ground and the sky. Good dogs!

I talked to my friend, Kyle, who is organizing a downtown food co-op. I might plant extras of some vegetables so I can be a supplier. My dragon tongue beans and sungold orange cherry tomatoes are real eye-catchers, and tasty, too!

I stopped by the homes of a couple of friends on my way home. I still have lots of summer cherries in my freezer and decided to share the wealth.

It was 67 degrees when I returned to Kay's Leaning Tree Farm. We'd had some rain, so the ground was a bit muddy. But it seemed like the right time to move a couple of rogue asparagus plants from the front yard to the asparagus patch in back. I'd been meaning to get around to that chore for eight years. Dormant roots, wet soil, perfect! I hope they like their new home.

It felt great to have a summer-like day in late December. Today we're back to a high in the 30's. It's winter again.