Final finals

Working the market in the heat. It is 90 degrees. Ugh.

Happy Birthday Tina!!

Wrapped crottin ready to be priced for the weekend.

My final trip to the Triad Market. Little Carrie and I were up before dawn and had breakfast while Steve packed us up for our trip to the market. We were on the road at 6:45am and arrived at the market in 45 minutes. When we pulled up, a customer was waiting patiently to buy cheese. We hauled all of our heavy coolers out of the big blue Goat Lady Dairy truck and got ready for another day of selling goat cheese to the masses. It is easy to sell a product that is so tasty. It pretty much sells itself. All I have to do is keep the tasting plates stocked with samples. Folks are eager to shell out $6.00 for an 8oz tub of fresh chevre. The camembert were really ripe, and sold quite fast. The ash covered Sandy Creek also flew off of the table. The crottin were tasty, but we had a lot to sell and wound up bringing some home. The one cheese that consistently doesn't sell well is the Goat Lady Smoked Round. The texture is silky smooth and rich, but many people simply don't like smoked cheese. This is a really good version of a smoked cheese, but I would only use it in limited situations. It would go really well with tomatoes, or on a sandwich (like a BLT.) We rarely sell out of the smoked rounds, yet we keep making them. Steve really likes them.

Jan's tomatoes grown at Moon Creek Farm, an old tobacco farm.

The day warmed up quickly. By noon, I was sweating profusely. The occasional breeze didn't to much to cool things off. It was a bittersweet trip to market. I said goodbye to my neighboring farmers. They all said farewell and hoped that we'd come back sometime soon for a visit. They're a nice bunch of folks. Jan of Moon Creek Farm in Yanceyville asked what my future plans are. I told her that I plan on selling my house, move to the country, buy milk and make cheese. She said they'd love to come out and visit us. I invited them out to teach me how to garden. She grows the most amazing veggies and tomatoes. She and her husband bottle their own salsa and sell it at the market. She joked and said they can be our interns. I'd love that! I know bupkis about gardening. I've learned a bit while I've been here, but I don't have the complexion or constitution to be out in the sun for too long. Plus I loose patience quickly.

We were able to pack up and be out of there at 3:00. We had sold out of many of our cheese, so we called it a day. We drove home, unpacked, showered and relaxed. It was a long and hot day at the market.

I drove over to Ye Olde Country Kitchen for supper. Seafood buffet was the feature tonight. Pretty good fried clams, flounder, shrimp, and salad bar. I ate my fill and had a good salad with more pickled watermelon rind. I drove back through Liberty and decided I still had enough energy to check out some music. It's Saturday night. Why should I sit at home by myself on my last Saturday evening in North Carolina?

Bluegrass Ridge was calling my name. It's right off of Old Liberty Road, on my way home. I returned to the scene of my indoctrination into real North Carolina music. The same folks that I saw two months ago were there tonight. I walked in, grabbed a seat and watched old folks clog to the fine strains of the Carter Family's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." I stayed about an hour, listening to a sloppy set of bluegrass music. I was left alone. People don't seem to want to approach an unknown single woman as easily as a new couple. I stayed about an hour. The musicians were not light a fire in me tonight, so I called it a night around 9:40. I'm glad I went. I wish I could take Bluegrass Ridge home with me.