SHOPPING AT THE FARMERS MARKET

Farmers Market, Colfax, NC

Like many males of our time including my two-year old grandson, I’ve had a romance with vehicles all my life.  And one of my long-standing joys in life is taking a drive to nowhere in particular on a Saturday morning with a coffee and just letting the journey play out until a great photograph possibly presents itself or I stumble onto someplace that commands my attention.

This morning was no exception as I found myself turning into the local Farmers Market on a slightly overcast and rainy October morning.  Since it was still relatively early and the weather was less than ideal, there were few customers walking around and I was eagerly greeted as I passed each stand.  As I strolled around the various marketplaces, one particular stand caught my attention.  I had recently lost a dwarf pine in my backyard that wasn’t able to adapt to its new environment of part sun and relative dryness close to mature trees, so I needed to replace it. 

A smiling woman approached me sensing that I just might bring the luck of that first paying customer of the day.  I explained what I was looking for this morning and she pointed out some small holly bushes that had bright red berries on every branch which I immediately took a liking to.  Then she set the hook for a multiple sale and told me that “I need to tell you that these female bushes will only set berries if a male bush pollinates them, so you don’t come back next year disappointed.”

She took me to the other side of her display and showed me the male bushes of the same price with the caveat that “the male bushes are pretty ugly but they will service multiple female bushes.”  Not particularly interested in purchasing a trunk full of these bushes I responded that “My goodness, if these guys are not very attractive and also promiscuous, I don’t see how the females would ever pollinate with them!”  Being a good salesperson, she replied “Well that’s because there’s generally only one male available so their options are rather limited.”  “Oh, I get it”, I said, “kind of like beer proves that God loves all of us and enables everyone to mate regardless of their looks.  Does it help to water the bushes with a good craft beer every now and then?”  “Couldn’t hurt”, she replied. 

I still didn’t buy an armful of holly bushes, but after that exchange, how could I not at least buy another bush called Asiatic Jasmine which she then showed me that could tolerate shade, remain celibate and conserve moisture so it wouldn’t diminish my craft beer supply?