I just figured something out… and I’m not yet sure how I feel about it.I’ve been fooled, by hooded agents of now uncertain origin.

I have been going to a nearby Farmers Market fairly regularly, since I moved here in March. It’s a new experience, and although it doesn’t change, it provides enough variety to keep me coming back.

Plus, I have been eating excelent green grapes and tomatos. Lots of tomatos. They’ve replaced cookies, and I make a tomato plate every night, or nearly.

I’ve been buying them at the market, and primarily buying from the same vendor each time. That is typical me. Others would try everyone’s tomatos.

I like the ones from here, and I like the idea of buying from the cute, but plain mennonite gal, who wears an FM radio on her money belt.

She is in the corner location, and as you look around, most of the corners in sight are traditional booths, with autehntic – what do we know – coistumed farmers.

All selling tomatos as polished and clean and perfect as any grocery store. Not a one looks like it’s a farm fresh tomoto. I don’t doubt it’s freshness, but what I do doubt, are the tomotos origins at 6am this morning… or probably 4am.

One truck comes to wherever wholsale foods are distributed in nthis area. One truck sells tomotos, all professionally graded and finsihed, to everyone.

One supplier, or maybe a few, but they’re big trucks. Pro farms. The EXACT same tomotos you could be buying at Zehers, but without the chemicals… added for shelf life I assume.

EVeryone buys the same stuff, or slightly different, but from the same trucks. Almost none of what we see for sale is from the vendors farm. They’re all just employyes, or self employed importer exporters. Some may be farmers who will contribute later in the season, but many are just vendors, who could be selling mops, or grapes.

This market is a mall. Different faces, some touristy and vendors to match every nationality in the region. Real German paistries… or so we believe.

The tip off to me was a thought, that just hit me while I was busy thinking other things. It was, tonight I was at Zehrs. They didn’t have any tomotos left. The display was virtually empty, save for some “day old” quality rejects.

Did that seem right, or do they put them all away at 9 in a fridge. I don’t know, but it occured to me, the same people may be selling them tomorrow – Saturday at either of the two markets… out of a horse charage.

Why not. This market is, after all, mostly a tourist market, setting itself above the bar, so it’s worth a trip away from your own town’s retail – -err, I mean farmers market.

You could put on a John Deer hat and sell something too. Today’s Carney equivilant. The pitchamn selling the mop wil be there, and so will the kids crayons that change colour.

I’m not sure how I feel about it. I may still go there and support the town… the concept. The illusion.

And pet a horse.

I like the $1 pickle too.