Dear Friends,
This Friday, Gail and I will be driving up to Asheville to spend a few days visiting friends. It will be the first time we have been back since July, and I hear that the leaves are just beginning to change color there.
The car ride we take to get there is just as enjoyable as the destination. The Blue Ridge Mountains always thrill us. As we leave the city and its suburbs and enter North Georgia, their peaks rise up along the horizon and, in some places, their layered ridges look as if they reach back to infinity.
Of course, we take our dogs Lucy and Leo on these journeys. And, during these 3-1/2 hour drives, we’ve developed a pattern of stopping at certain rest areas to “take a break,” get something to drink or just stretch our legs.
One of our favorite stopping places is a produce market right next to the North Carolina state line called Osage Farms. Open from May to October, they carry only locally grown produce, along with cheeses and baked items. Gail is a sucker for the apple blueberry bread, and we both love their peaches, peppers and green beans when in season. The area surrounding this market is fertile valley land, and we drive past rows of cabbage, tomatoes, corn and other crops long before we arrive.
While it may be out in the country, Osage is a sophisticated operation. The IBM cash registers inventory purchases and keep track of our zip codes. The staff wear official “Osage” t-shirts and the shelves stay stocked with new items that arrive regularly on trucks and in small trailers. Little shopping carts are parked in front of the wooden pavilion where the produce stands are located. Each fruit or vegetable bin carries a little sign indicating the Georgia or Carolina town where it was grown and harvested. And, if you want to more to eat than just fruits and veggies, a BBQ stand a few yards away from the pavilion offers pulled, smoked and fragrant pork and chicken.
We look forward to stopping at Osage Farms, not because it is restful – the place is always bustling with customers – but because it is a rest stop for our souls. The produce is fresh, the service is friendly and we like supporting the local farming community. Best of all, we enjoy the soothing pleasure of cooking and sharing a simple meal of sweet potatoes, beans, squash or other delicious vegetables later that evening in Asheville. It’s a ritual connects us to the earth’s bounty and to each other. And, we crave the experience as much as we do the buttered beans themselves.
So, as I fill my belly on Friday, I expect that I’ll also be filled with gratitude for the food and the downtime time with my partner. And, right now, I’m especially grateful for the reminder that we must return to whatever garden feeds our spirits on a regular basis so that we don’t become too hungry.
Warmly,
Terry
Rev. Terry Davis