Farmer's Market X 5

Sarasota, FL        High:  too high        Low: Not low enough

We've been here long enough Sparky is not going to post the weather temps any more...It's hot, so hot you can fry an egg on the hood of your car if you wanted to!  If we get a cooling spell, Sparky will publish the temps. But hey....it's gonna be hot back in Elkhart, IN this week, Eldy's home town. It's gonna be just as hot in Elkhart as it is here for a couple of days, in the high eighties!....But then they get lucky, and temps will go back down into the sixties...

But we're doing ok with the higher temps...We're trying to drink plenty of water, because we get dehydrated much faster with the temperatures climbing...Sparky is wearing her sunscreen every day and yes, mostly every day her sunglasses....

Today we went back to the Sarasota Farmer's Market. It's about our fifth time...What a great market atmosphere! The Sarasota 17 piece jazz band, called the Jazz Project, was playing this morning for a couple of hours. What a great place to sit and listen to some big band music for awhile....Of course, Eldy checked out the brass instruments as he made them for 43 years...These guys are playing some flugelhorns.

People come and walk their dogs through the market, sort of "check out my dog, will ya?" as they stroll....The flower booths are just gorgeous...and so are the flower shirted people who work there!

You can buy gorgeous, BIG houseplants there. Beautiful peace lilies which act as a natural air filter for your home, and fiddleleaf fig plants. Sparky thought 15.00 was very reasonable for a HUGE specimen, about three to four feet high!

All kinds of breakfast and lunch foods are served there..Sparky almost got some strawberry crepes for breakfast today from this guy....They looked yummy!

The big coffee wagon was there, Java Dawg.....It gets VERY busy as the morning progresses....

There is LOTS of organic produce to choose from....

And teas of all kinds are big at the market, too....Sparky is not a tea drinker, Eldo is, but only sweet tea, which is loaded with sugar, he knows.....

Later, we headed over to T.J. Carney's in Venice, a little Irish pub. It had GREAT burgers, Eldo reports! Sparky had some potato skins that were just so-so....And that was our outing for the day! See you later!

Farmer's Market Sarasota

Sarasota, FL       High:   80      Low:  55

Saturday morning is a VERY popular place in downtown Sarasota off Lemon Street. It's FARMER'S MARKET time, and all the sights, smells, and visual stimulation whets Sparky's appetite for food, beverage and all things colorful, foodie, and crafty. Wait a minute! California citrus? Sparky thought this was local stuff, and for the most part, it is. But it sure gives you pause for thought, and a question to ask when you go to buy produce. "Is this local?"

Sparky LOVES the colorful fruits and veggies....lots of it organic......Does she eat eggplant? Nope...But she thinks it's pretty!

The beets were beautiful, too. Does Sparky eat beets? Nope....

Next question is, what DOES Sparky eat? Corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey, roast beef, steak, brussels sprouts, salads, carrots, peas, pork, breakfast, restaurant food....lol.....Eldy's not laughing...He wishes Sparky liked to cook.

This pasta booth looked interesting....Some vegan blogger friends might be interested in this stuff, although it's carbs, not so good?...Sparky LOVES pasta....

Speaking of organic, hey, DUDE!....How much are your plants? Got any ORGANIC plants in there, tee hee hee......He had on a terrific tie dye shirt...Very cool, dude!

The line for fish tacos, chowder and fresh fish was halfway down the block!

And so was the line for the Java Dog...They must have really great coffees! They have upstairs seating, fun to overlook the market!

Speaking of "dawgs", there were some REALLY BIG ones being walked through the market today.

And some cool shoes walking around....hunh? (Sparky's attention span flits from anything and  everything when she's out somewhere, her attention is about equally divided between what's going on above ground and down on ground level, explains E.) Sparky kept moving around trying to get the fronts or sides of these cool lime green shoes, without attracting attention to herself with her camera, and that wasn't easy!

Lots of people to watch.....

Cool music to listen to...."Siesta John" had some great sounds and a nice voice....

Vegans, AVERT YOUR EYES!  Breakfast, anyone? It does look kinda gross, doesn't it? Sparky thought about a burger for breakfast, but passed it right by.....(Sparky is a little unusual, she likes dinner stuff for breakfast, like pizza, or leftover pasta offers E).

Some more cool rain barrels, different ones from the last time we were at the market.....

Another great, sunshiny day in Sarasota! Come to the Sarasota Farmer's Market! Every Saturday, 7:00 AM till 1:00 PM.... You won't be disappointed!