Visit Farmers Market in the Market Street parking lot, Ottumwa, Wednesdays, 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm and Saturdays, 7:30 am – 10:30 am throughout the summer.
I am not ashamed to admit it, but I like markets. I spent a bit of time in Europe, and visiting the markets on Saturday morning was always a great thing to do – so much activity, such a variety of stuff, so many people to see.
Probably far more than markets, though, I enjoy being able to sleep in when life is wearing down (particularly late nights at work). I think it is a safe bet to say I like sleeping in during those weekend days a hell of a lot more than I like markets.
Anyway, near the end of August, I decided to try my hand at the Farmers Market. Knowing that a Wednesday night would almost certainly never happen, since I seldomly leave work before 7 pm, I planned to attend a Saturday morning event.
On this particular Saturday, I roused at my cutomary early time to give my son his warm milk and breakfast, then promptly dozed back off on the couch to the sounds of PBS cartoons. Somewhere around 8:30, I woke up for real and realized I was running late. By the time I left the house, it was 9:15, and the short drive over to Market Street revealed what I figured – Farmers get started early. And people in a small town, mostly from families of farmers, do not wait for their Farmers Market fruits and veggies.
As I arrived, there were two tents standing – and neither had much remaining. One, in fact, was packing up his squash. The other had tomatoes and corn art left. I thanked for them for their courtesy and went home.
Summary
So – lesson learned, for aspiring fresh fruit and vegetable Ottumwans (I have no idea what the proper noun is here – someone share if they know) – get there early!
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