Jan. 17th

After a long first day, walking through a rainy farmers market and muddy national park wasn’t exactly my idea of a great idea. My solution… the rain will subside, we can go do the outside activities then. Come to find out, the rain had no plan of stopping any time soon and ultimately I didn’t really need it to. I ended up truly enjoying both The Marine County Farmers Market and our hike through Muir Woods even with wet sticky jeans and damp feet.
Stepping out of the cozy warm bus into the clammy drizzle sounded pretty miserable but after meeting Jackie from Clucky Plucky Poultry, my wet socks and dripping ponytail kind of faded from my mind. Jackie and her husband own and operate Barrett Farms located in Lake County, California. They have dedicated their lives to raising certified organic chickens and hens to provide both Clucky Plucky Poultry and By Cracky Its Jackies Farm Fresh Eggs. They not only raise their animals themselves but their entire processing and packaging procedures are completed on their farm as well. Jackie’s stand had pictures of her farm, animals, machinery, and also her hard working husband on display to assure her customers Clucky Plucky Farms stands behind the claim they promote. It was definitely a refreshing idea after watching both Fresh and Food inc. earlier this month.
This was my first time at a legitimate farmers market and I was shocked at what variety the farmers were able to offer. The booths housed things from fresh eggs, to fruits I couldn’t pronounce, warm pastries, lavender eye masks and food from countries I most likely would have never been able to try. I had a delicious tart from an Afghan booth. I tried a blood orange and some Indian curry paste on a piece of spinach filled naan. It was weird to think I have been alive and eating for over eighteen years and I just in this hour and half I was exposed to probably fifty different foods I had never even heard of.
After gathering a random assortment of food for lunch later, we headed off to Muir Woods for our afternoon hike. The weather was damp and foggy but it made the gigantic redwoods feel even more mystical. The trees were enormous and the branches at the top provided a good deal of protection from the rain. It was hard to look around as you were walking because of the roots on the ground so we stopped about every 30 minutes to grab some water and notice the beautiful surroundings more deliberately. During one of our brief breaks David, Ms. Grunat’s son spotted a adult cougar about 45 feet away from the group sitting on an upcoming bridge crossing. Before the rest of the group could see, the cougar darted away up into the trees, but I was able to catch a glimpse of its long deep black tail. From then on I made sure I was walking in the middle of the group! We stopped for a short lunch on the summit of the mountain, I had a fresh pink lady apple, a blood orange, and some naan with roasted tomato paste, it was delicious!
Rain pouring down and everything this morning was definitely a highlight so far! I was inspired by the passion the farmers showed for their food and also by the distinct taste difference I felt at the Marine Farmers Market. I couldn’t have imagined a better place than the historical site of the beautiful redwoods to have my tasty lunch. Morning number two was a definite success!