Roaming Angus moving on...

dear shoppers, Those of you who are lucky enough to receive Andrew King, of Roaming Angus' newsletter, know by now that the farmer is moving on from our market.

After six years or getting up at an ungodly hour to drive from Cobleskill NY to our Library Lot,  his behemoth coolers and sometimes sleepy daughter, Anna, in tow, he is going to sleep in - just a little. He isn't giving up farming - just selling at our farmer's market, the only one he currently sells at. The economics of it just don't make sense any more, he says.

Yes, we will miss his delicious grass-fed beef, his brats, eggs and plump chickens.

But beyond that, I know I speak on behalf of the committee and many shoppers when I say that we will miss his indomitable , kind spirit.

If you do get his newsletter, than you've read his very earnest posts about the farming life

Sometimes more laundry list than lyrical (he tells us his daily chores, when pipes freeze or when a calf is born with mundane asides like: 'Reminds me, I really should get the lights hooked up on the tractor again).... they tell the story of a man who NEVER stops working - from way before sun-up and to way beyond sun-down. And yet, despite this, Andrew never complains. When the weather is bad, he always says, "it could be worse."

I will never forget the day I helped him set up a brand spanking new tent at the market. These tents costs vendors around $200 and they take a beating and rarely lasts beyond a season. Still vendors stretch them out as long as they can.

No sooner had we put the new tent in place, I stepped back to admire it, when a furious gust of wind blew through and broke one of the metal connectors.   I looked at him - incredulous. He shrugged his shoulders and said "it was going to happen eventually, might as well happen its first time out."

Of course, he jerry-rigged  the tent himself, just as he fixes his own truck and anything else on the farm that needs tinkering.

For a guy who started out as kind of shy, he's made lots of friends at our market over the years. People who knew they could count on getting a little farm lore and King wisdom with their chicken thighs and spare ribs every week.

Please join us for a slice of Happy Trails cake tomorrow at the market tent at around 11:30 when we bid adieu to one of our favorite, most dedicated vendors.

Worry not - he 'll be here next week, for our final "summer market" with lots of specials...

In his honor here is a recipe for old school Sunday night beef stew from The Pioneer Woman.

Don't forget to pick up our winter market schedule "cards" at the market tent.

And, don't miss the Miss Saigon shows at Irvington Town Hall Theater tonight and tomorrow night...starring lots of Hastings talent.

This is your last chance to get your carving knife sharpened at the market before Thanksgiving...

See you at the market!

Pascale