Farm Share on The Bay

In yesterday's post I promised more photos of our farm pick up on the bay. 

We live on a big peninsula, a fat thumb that sticks out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On one side of the peninsula is the St. Lawrence River (Fleuve Saint-Laurent) and on the other is the much smaller (and warmer) Baie des Chaleurs (I only know it by it's French name). We're on the bay side. Where the water is warm enough to swim in the summer, or so I'm told. I'm not much of an ocean swimmer. 

There are many beautiful municipal beaches along the bay. Though they are visited by tourists and locals during the summer, they are never over populated. At least, not the ones around here.

It is at one of these municipal parks where our farm pick up is each week. I haven't actually been to the farm, I hope to go someday. The vegetables this family grows are beautiful. I would love to see the soil and surroundings where the food comes from.

For now, I'm content with getting to know the farmers. Thank goodness their English is good because my French is still at the less-than-basic level. (I had high hopes for starting language instruction this summer but moving and living in renos and releasing this e-book has thrown that off.)

I pick up our weekly veggies and the kids run down to the water. They play around in the driftwood till I'm done chatting. When I get down to the beach they go for a swim, goggles and all. They play with the boats they made last summer while we lived with my parents in Nova Scotia.

Laurent tells us he misses the surf in Nova Scotia, though I think the water is colder there (my kids are oblivious to cold ocean water it seems). There aren't many waves here in the bay. But an ocean beach without waves is better than no ocean beach at all.

And an ocean beach paired with farm vegetables - it doesn't get much better than that. 

This was our share from this past week, pictured at home on our deck. I can't believe all that beautiful broccoli. The bagels, pitas and organic, local, greenhouse tomatoes were purchased separately. The farm is also a bakery and they supply us with the few baked goods (I don't bake anymore) we eat during the week. We've since started a new food tradition - Friday morning bagels. 

I still miss our farm in Maine. I think it's ok to miss things you've loved and lost, like our beloved farm share. But even in that loss, there are new things to love and appreciate, like farm pick up on the bay.

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  • Ellen

    Ellen on July 28, 2012, 2:57 p.m.

    Lovely area and farm pick up. I just smile when I see good veggies! I sort of have to remind myself of that perspective - missing something lost - we had a wonderful csa in CT where we used to live. Got very spoiled by that and assumed (wrongly) that all csa would be like that. Oh well. Our csa now (3rd one since we've been here - other 2 were duds) is not as nice in variety, quantity or beauty, but it's okay. We don't have a garden to speak of this year (maybe next year!) so it's nice to have local organic stuff. I should really stop comparing my wonderful csa to this one...

    • in terms of learning French - go for it! I had 6 years in school and my two older ones learned it at home for about 3 years. Can I speak it well? No. Got to actually use it daily. Can I read it well? No. Although reading is easier than speaking it or listening to it.
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  • Rana

    Rana on July 29, 2012, 12:02 a.m.

    Renee, does this sustain you all for the week? I mean for my family that would be a lot because we are eating meat as well. Are you supplementing a lot of beans and pasta too? I would think that the lettuce in the picture would be enough for you for one or two days since there are five of you. I'm just being curious.

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    • renee

      renee on July 30, 2012, 11:18 a.m.

      Not a chance (smile). The broccoli is a good amount and then some (I blanched and froze a bit). But we eat that much lettuce in one lunch. Yes, we eat a lot of beans, not much pasta. We eat grains (oatmeal, quinoa, and brown rice mostly), lots of fruit, nuts, and seeds. 

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  • Pat in NH

    Pat in NH on July 29, 2012, 10:12 p.m.

    Thanks for this! We are in a lovely spot, (Seacoast, New Hampshire) -still your appreciation of the places you go is exhilarating! Ongoing battles with an impertinent groundhog (We call him DeNiro- "You talkin' to ME??" he sasses us! ) well, that ensures that I admire your Farm Pick Up, and I am inspired to enroll with a local "CSA" farmshare next spring. I receive your posts in my email, and it's the one email I make sure to read, no matter how busy I am. And, your Mom's blog is lovely as well. Gratitude is my attitude! <3 Pat

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    • renee

      renee on July 30, 2012, 11:20 a.m.

      Thank you so much Pat. I am always thrilled and humbled when people value reading my blog. Just tickled. You'd be happy to know, I'm visiting my mom right now - in NS. I do love being with her (and we eat really well!)

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