Field Trip

Had the day off and served as a chaperone on my younger son's class field trip to the farmer's market at Union Square. I've been on plenty of these trips, but never quite grow accustomed to the difficulty of keeping 20 first graders in line and relatively attentive. It's like herding cats.

Nevertheless, the weather was beautiful in the City today and it was a perfect day to wander through the stalls of veggies and flowers. Here are some images from the market and the walk back to school.

The irises, which have just started to open, were stunning. And like orchids, their appearance always elicits comparisons to human genitalia. Hmmm, I guess the fully open iris does resemble a woman aroused, with its delicate vulvular folds and subtle color variations from light centers to the more vibrantly-hued edges. Ok, stop that! Get your minds out of the gutter! (There's only room for me in the gutter right now.)

The red rose is the first I've seen blooming this season. Found it at the Jefferson Market Garden in my neighborhood. They have a pretty substantial bed of hybrid teas (on which I've commented before) and some mature climbers on the iron fence that surrounds the garden. I love clematis, by the way. This purple variety was climbing on a fence at school. These will die off by summer but will be replaced by morning glory in the school gardens.

And finally, these pink dahlias were at the farmers' market. I'm always amazed at dahlias because they come in so many sizes and colors and they continue to bloom for a long time. I don't know any of the science behind their cultivation, but I'm guessing they're pretty easy to hybridize, hence their incredible variety. When I lived in Tennessee I always had lots of dahlias in the garden. They're easy to grow, will survive fairly cold winters, are cheap, and widely available . . . even at Wal-Mart or Home Depot. For color in the garden, they're obviously much less work than roses and are a perfect flower for those who claim to possess a "brown thumb."