Barter

Back in February, I wrote about the new bakery that opened in our area. We've continued to patronize the bakery and have been happy to see it continue to succeed. We have talked to them about their desire to use more local ingredients and offered to grow more herbs this year so that we could provide some of their stock. We started a new bed in the Spring and dedicated most of it to herbs--basil, cilantro, sage, thyme, and rosemary. We tried to grow oregano as well but couldn't get a single seed to start up for us. The cool weather has hampered the more woody herbs' progress a bit, but I told the bakery yesterday that we had a good batch ready for them. This morning I delivered about 3 ounces of basil, 2 ounces of sage, and an ounce of thyme, and brought home a bag of whole grain rolls. I can't describe in words the feeling of growing something, being able to provide fresh, organic, local ingredients, and receiving something we need in exchange. What's more, the bakery is able to get the ingredients they need at a much lower cost to them. It has a feeling of such satisfaction and accomplishment to be able to somehow amplify our resources to gain more of what we can't do ourselves. Check it out:

BEFORE

AFTER

I love it. I've been trying to slow down a bit more, and have found myself more apt to muse, so I hope to be blogging more in the coming months. I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful growing season!