It doesn't get much fresher than this!

What a fun day! This morning, we went to the sale at the allotment outside our front door ("sale" makes it sound much larger and more commercial than it really was -- it's basically a group of ladies with a card table full of freshly picked produce). Just walking through the allotment was so cool -- people are growing all kinds of things likes cauliflower, onions, garlic, beets, strawberries, tomatoes, several types of beans, apples, pears, artichoke, etc., etc., etc. Here's a picture of the allotment from the bedroom window:










The ladies running the sale were hysterical. They thought Damian and I were silly city kids because we were so interested in everything and we were asking all kinds of questions. When Damian asked if the produce was organic, the apparent leader of the group looked at him like he had asked her if she enjoyed kicking puppies. They're serious about this -- no pesticides allowed! And the allotment won the "Best Allotment in Leeds" award for 2008...a fact you can learn by reading the large, handwritten sign that they have sitting on the table with the produce. Anyway, we bought some flowers, raspberries, gooseberries (we thoughtfully gave them to Lesley and mentioned how good a gooseberry crumble sounds!), carrots, peas, and green beans. I steamed and pureed the carrots, peas and beans for Ellie -- a couple hours of work payed off with two VERY small bowls of food. ;-) But it was all worth it when Ellie ate some of it tonight and loved it -- she definitely can tell the difference between the bland commercial stuff and the fresh stuff; and how cool to think that the veggies were on the vine or in the ground this morning and in her belly tonight!

After going to the sale, we spent the rest of the morning with Lesley, Brian, Thomas and Joseph (Emma was catching some zzz's after working last night). Ellie loves her cousins and all of the activity that they bring with them. She particularly loved watching Thomas's train set...over and over and over again. Here's Ellie and Cousin Joseph sitting next to the stone wall between the house and the allotment:

This afternoon, we went for a walk and picked billberries. I'm not sure what they are, but they look and taste a lot like blueberries. They grow on small bushes on the side of steep hills. It was absolutely beautiful and totally worth having permanently purple fingers and fingernails. Even Ellie and Thomas got in on the action. Thanks to their help, we were able to pick enough for a pie. Lesley is normally able to pick only enough for half a pie; then she has to freeze the berries and wait until the next summer to pick the rest. So one pie takes at least two years to bake -- can you imagine the horror if you accidentally burned it?!