Durable Local Economy at Grand Lake Market.

"The logic is clear: in a world threatened by ever higher energy prices and ever-scarcer fossil fuels, you're better off in a relatively self-sufficient county or state or region. In a world increasingly rocked by wild and threatening weather, durable economies will be more useful than dynamic ones. And in both cases, the increased sense of community and heightened skill at democratic decision making that a more local economy implies will not simply increase our levels of satisfaction with our lives, but also increase our chances of survival in a more dangerous world." 
 ~Bill McKibben from Deep Economy,The Wealth of Communities and Durable Future.

Today I present you some items from Grand Lake Farmers Market, representing our local economy. Fresh produce, grown locally, vendors with handmade products & great talent.  It's the kind of community I am proud to be a part of. We move through our days and slowly our world seems a little bit more dangerous and tenuous, but then my spirit is lifted by the possibility of our community creating urban gardens, making their own soap, medicines, and generally becoming self sufficient into itself.  It's a beautiful thing and completely in line with how our future might actually look and feel, right after we have exhausted all our natural resources to move products around the world freely. We would need more of these: The Institute of Urban Homesteading. These lovely people, I encountered today, were offering classes in gardening, urban animal husbandry, food preservation, brecraft, herbal medicines, and much more. Many urbanites already have in place orchards, drought tolerant gardens, compost systems, chicken coops, mushroom beds, food forests. It's the first signs of a new paradigm around creating a new "durable economy" no longer focused on unlimited growth and economic hyper-individualism, but sustaining strong local communities and healthier physical environments. Here are the following blessings I found today.

  Tasty sugar snap peas grown by Happy BoyFarms.

Cherries that Joe Gotelli & Sons told me arrived a few weeks later than expected.

Fresh made Kettle Corn by The Gold Miners Kettle makers. 

Capay Farms had these lovely radishes

Tomatero Farms had the first of sweet strawberries coming into season.

Nancy Funk Ceramics made these Sumo Soaps and more. 

 Oulen Studio  made hand crafted items so lovely. 

Buy local, Eat Organic, Save the Planet!

~Tarabud