
As I mentioned in the last post, I was really hoping to get some names for lamb orders, which I did, and we got some orders for Thanksgiving chickens, but I have to be honest and say that we only sold one chicken yesterday. I'm actually embarrassed to put that on here, but this is supposed to be an honest account of our farm (although if that were true, there'd be a lot more arguing and 'discussion' included! hahaha). A couple of people asked for one, but then said they were too big and left. A couple other people only wanted fresh ones (which sort of annoys me, since most of the time they're probably only going to take them home and put them in thier freezer). And then for lamb, there was lots of interest, but most people only wanted a piece of leg, or a chop, or some ground lamb. I kept telling them that a side is only about 20 lbs of meat, but no one has freezer space anymore. I don't understand it! We've only got a medium sized freezer, but it's got a side of pork, a quarter of beef, a little lamb, and some chickens in there. Then all my frozen peppers, berries, pumpkin, etc. off to the side. What are people putting in thier freezers? Fudgesicles and chicken nuggets?! (Don't let me fool you into thinking I'm too good for fudgesicles and chicken nuggets, I've got those too, but....you know what I mean!)

That is currently up for discussion because while we definately we made money, I don't think we made enough to cover my time and/or child care. Mark and his mom kept the kids, but it's a long, busy stretch with two kids from 7:30 to 1:30, so not to be ignored in the calculation of worth-while-ness.

It wasn't a completely negative experience however. All the vendors are really great. Gerry, the manager is fantastic! I felt the sense of community that I had hoped for. I met a lot of people who read this blog, which is always amazing to me, since it started out as a little 'newsletter' of sorts for family and friends and now seems to have taken on a bit of a following- if I could only translate that into $$! hahaha.) It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I had an outdoor booth (just plugged the freezer in outside-perfect!). I had a great spot, right by the door, totally unavoidable. I got to chat to people I rarely see. It was a morning without the kids! hahaha! I was also next to the market 'buskers'. There was the usual fiddler, then a piper came along who played the bodhran for a while and then a sweet little girl who did some tap/highland? dancing who were right beside me, and with the sun and breeze it couldn't have been a nicer day.

I think I may have made this out to sound like a pretty bad experience overall, which it really wasn't. We sold all the edamame, some of the oat cover crop seed (which was kind of a last minute, thrown together, zero effort idea), all the sunflowers (which I actually took just as display, but that's all anyone wanted so I sold them for a $1/handfull) and made some good contacts for lamb. Probably for a first showing, that's pretty decent. If we were planning on being there long-term I might be more heartened, but when it's something we were hoping to only have to do when we need to sell chickens, it wasn't an overwhelming success by any means. Yet, I have a feeling I'll be back in just 6 days from now, trying it again. That will truly tell the tale of the future for Barnyard Organics at the Market.
Hope all is well on this chilly September night in your corner of the world. This weather lately has been heavenly. Warm days and cold nights are my dreams come true.
-Sally
ps. It was really nice to meet some of you readers! Thanks for the support!
It is always interesting to find out what people really want isn't it? Almost always surprises me too.
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