Springtime in Athens

Pastures of Rose Creek 

  There is so much going on in Athens this Saturday--- luckily, the weather is supposed to be an idyllic 75 degrees and sunny :) Okay, so..... The farmer's markets are back!!!! Nowadays farmer's markets aren't just for veggies.  You can find local cheesemakers, soaps, baked goods, flowers... You can buy locally produced meat, I could go on and on. With so many options, farmer's markets are a  fantastic way to support your neighbors and your community. I personally like to pick up a loaf of bread from Cast Iron Bakery. Their bread is dense, and travels well in my motorcycle bag. So when I leave The Refuge in the morning, I wrap up a little cheese to eat with it (so I don't have to choose between starving and spending money on fried fast food). Also, my friend Will Powers usually has delicious grass fed beef (that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND) from his farm, Pastures of Rose Creek, at the Oconee market.  Athens Farmers Market at Bishop Park opens 8a-noon this Saturday (and next Wednesday at City Hall from 4p-7p). Oconee's Farmer's Market starts April 5th as well, with Saturday and Tuesday markets in downtown Watkinsville. There are several other local markets... in Washington, Bishop (the tiny town just south of Athens), I'm sure there are others, please let me know about them.

 Also spring related, Plantapalooza is this Saturday. Plantapalooza three location plant sale. They are located at the Trial Gardens at UGA, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and UGA's Horticulture club. According to the website you can collect discount stamps at each location to be used at local nurseries (for up to 15% off total). "What makes this event so special is the variety of traditional and unique plans that you would have difficulty finding anywhere else - plus access to horticulture professors, garden curators and master gardeners to answer questions and help with your selections." (quote from the Bot Garden site).  AND if you're really a garden nerd, the 17th annual Old-Timey Heirloom Seed Swap, in Crawford, GA, is Saturday, 1p-6p, at 10 Legacy Rd. I am putting it on my calendar for next year because I already have plans for this Saturday....

This Saturday afternoon I will be at NPRDucati's Monster 1200 unveil party (1p to 5p). I saw the new beauty at the shop yesterday (when I stopped by to fix my license plate- read about that mildly amusing debacle here). So come by, enjoy a beer (or other refreshment ;), and talk shop with me while ogling (oogling?) and drooling over the sexiness that is Ducati's new Monster. I am very excited to take it on a test drive. I will fill you in on my opinion after I get to ride her. 

Finally, holy pollen count Batman! I drove through a yellow haze on my way to work this morning. It's been a while since I've seen anything like that. Onto slightly less irritating things (pun intended), I've started honking and making obnoxious gestures at people I catch texting and driving. Its easiest on four lane highways, and hopefully no one will go road-rage on me. Mostly, people just put their phone down and try to not look embarrassed. I understand it is difficult not to text and drive (to be fair, I must admit guilt here as well). But I ask you to try-pretty please with a cherry on top- to put your phone down and watch the road. Because if you hit me on my bike (because you don't see me) the chances are fairly good that you will kill me.

 There's a lot of other things going on in Athens this weekend. As in tonight there is a benefit for MyAthens at The GA Theatre, followed by a show featuring The Whiskey Gentry, Radiolucent, and The Defibulators.

 You can view a Google Calendar I use to keep track of the events I want to attend, organized here: Upcoming Events Calendar.  As always, feel free to contact me with ideas for places for me to visit, suggestions... or help me by drawing my attention to typos ;)

~Amanda Terranova

Other useful info:
Seed Swap article 
Bishop Park Address: 705 Sunset Dr, Athens, GA 30606
NPRDucati Address:  4071 Mars Hill Rd, Bogart, GA 30622