Fall specialty farmers markets have started cropping up everywhere for the end of the season.  We went across the water to check out one in a new waterfront neighborhood about 30 minutes away.

You can tell we’re in the coastal part of the state…

Fresh oysters, anyone?

The market was bustling.

Peppers, perhaps?

There were people, pets, and…goats?

A goat on a leash?

Yep.  A walking advertisement.

I wonder if Tasha's the farmer's name or the goat's name.

Sometimes I’m amazed at the bounty.  And sometimes I’m amazed because I have no idea what the bounty is.

I have no idea what these are.

I think these are some kind of pumpkin/squash/porch decoration thing…

What says Fall better than pumpkin-looking things?

But what mesmerized my crew was the water.  Yep, water.  Like we don’t have that at home.

By request, I took several pictures of wet hands.

I guess they’re right.  It’s not every day we come across a two-tiered brick fountain out in our pasture or something.  The closest we get is when the hose springs another leak and sprays someone while filling water buckets.

Oh, a leaf. Sure, let's get a picture. Ya don't see one of those every day.

And yes, the kids were in their work clothes.  And yes, everyone commented on their overalls.  And yes, our kids looked up at me each time like “Why in the world does everyone keep talking about our pants?”

We enjoyed chatting with these farmers. They were speaking our language!

One thing I did find interesting was several booths which were not at all local products.  Like, not even regional products.

Pure Vermont maple syrup.

I have a question–which I never thought about until we started growing our own food.  When you go to a farmer’s market (or a farm stand in a parking lot, or a roadside pick-up truck) to buy fresh food, do you generally assume the person selling it is the person that grew it?  Or made it?  Or at least that it’s local?

Do you even care? If you do, I suggest you ask.

If you don’t, I suggest you don’t ask.

Because I’ve been both delightfully surprised and surprisingly shocked by the answers I’ve gotten over the last year or two of visiting different markets wherever we are.