FRESH PICKED: Anne Cure of Cure Organic Farms on Valmont had some lovely green beans ready for early-morning buyers at Farmers Market Saturday.

Aug. 15 dawned cool and cloudy, but the crowd grew quickly at the Boulder County Farmers Market. A long line awaited Morton’s peaches by 7:45. Vendors had abundant offerings of green beans, zucchini, corn and broccoli, but good tomatoes were scarce. The tamale stand had its usual loyalists. Antonio Laudisio carefully prepared a cheese omelette with polenta (for me!). Signature-gatherers led by Sylvia Tawse worked to ban GMO sugar beets from Boulder open space. Silver Canyon coffee had opened by 6 a.m. to cater to the early-rising vendors, some of whom had been picking that morning.

By 10:30, though, the skies darkened and a light rain began falling. It didn’t last long, however, and the hot market in organic vegetables roared on into the afternoon.

Over at the Millennium Harvest House, play was suspended on some very intense matches in the annual Boulder Open Tennis Tournament. Disappointed, four women’s open semifinalists drifted off courts six and seven across the creek, waiting to resume when skies cleared and courts dried. The tournament’s finals – always intense – begin at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning, weather permitting. It looks to be cloudy and unseasonably cool.

(Bob Wells photos)

ABUNDANCE: Amy Tisdale of Red Wagon Organic Farm had huge mid-August selection.

DOUBLE DUTY: The winsome lasses at Black Cat Organic Farm grow vegetables for the market and for their restaurant.

Other articles by Bob Wells

• Flagstaff tree thinning: threat level still high - May 20th, 2011
• Is the tree-thinning orgy winding down yet? - May 16th, 2011
• Why we cancelled all the newspapers - March 25th, 2011
• Dogs versus cats - March 8th, 2011
• Elk in the shadow of Red Rocks - March 8th, 2011
• Getting ready for collapse with "food localization" - March 1st, 2011
• Live coverage from Cairo - January 28th, 2011
• World enviro-day draws scant Boulder crowd - October 11th, 2010
• A sun-splashed bash to dedicate CU's big new Visual Arts Complex - September 24th, 2010
• Weekend of thanks - September 19th, 2010