I have committed to myself to find a good butcher shop and another green grocer near home--so today was devoted to that end.

There are still a few butchers in the area and I tried the first one this morning---the jury is still out on him but there is promise. The need to do that is the closing of our butcher up at the cottage---who had supplied virtually all of our meat (beef, pork, and poultry). I am still sad about that. The business was 102 years old, all in the same family and it just seemed like the current owner (about 40) got tired of it

The search for a local green grocer took me west toward Lancaster. In 1972, I was doing a project for M&M/Mars north of Lancaster and I found an excellent Old Order Mennonite family along my route that had a stand out front. I stopped there at least once a week in summer and fall. I not only got all of our vegetables I got our bread and on occasion a pie or cookies---baked in the wood fired stove/oven.

The stand was always tended by one of the daughters who was maybe 15, cute as could be, with blond pigtails and always a warm smile. She would run out of the house, in bare feet, when a customer stopped. It seems strange to me, but today her replacement would more likely be wearing flip flops!

As I was thinking about this trip last night, I thought of her---and realized that she would now be 62---and her grandchildren could well be tending the stand

So---today the former stand is still there---but empty. It has been replaced by a pole building behind the barn of probably 40' x 40'---and has a variety of fruits and vegetables far beyond that of 1972. Today's buys included jalapenos, Cheyennes, and habaneros (I bought four pint boxes at $1 ea., which was all they had out). Green beans, bell peppers, cantaloupes, peaches, corn, tomatoes---including heirloom varieties, candy onions--and a flower for the bride

At the counter were two young girls--about 15 but they were not daughters of the owners---I did tell them the story. Another change, one of the girls had braces on her teeth---something that would never have happened when I was young. That would be seen as far too vain.

So---the peppers are mostly in the dehydrator, and for dinner will be a nice looking steak, corn on the cob and sliced heirloom tomato

All in all--it was a productive day