Odds and Ends

I bought this amazing flower at the farmers' market on Saturday. Did you know that onions have blooms? Neither did I, but apparently this is what they look like. Ours is a soft lilac color, but they come in a range of gentle greyed pink and purple shades. They're beautiful and odd, and I love that the farmer didn't even bring them to his stand to sell but just as show-and-tell pieces. When I asked how much one would be he looked confused and finally asked back, "A dollar?"

This is well-worn territory already, but I must repeat that the farm stands this summer really are wonderful, and full of people who want to tell you about their food and are happy to see you curious about it. A week ago the people who run the meat and poultry stand in Rittenhouse Square brought with them a piglet that lazed in a small open crate. Lara fell in love with this tiny animal, petting it through the crate holes and not wanting to ever leave. We were amazed. She is usually a bundle of fears and idiosyncracies, the willfulness of the near future battling the anxiety of the present. But here she was, to the delight of the farmers and the shoppers barking her pattented gutteral pig noise with abandon at a new pink friend.