Yes! Opening day for the Holt Farmers' Market was last Saturday, May 3

Opening day is always exciting: some new faces, and many returning  favorites. I bought Lavender Hand Balm from Rainbow's End Farm. Gwen is so knowledgeable, loves what she's doing, and is happy to share info about any of her products. I bought fudge from Fred's Beef Strips...sounds odd, I know. His wife makes cookies and fudge for Fred to sell in addition to the wonderful, preservative-free beef jerky strips he makes. Say hello to Fred; he'll let you taste a sample of the jerky, even if you don't buy any. Tip: the fudge is hard to pass up.  
I ordered five graduation cards from Carol, the Card Lady. I have three nephews, one niece and a next-door neighbor graduating this June! Expensive! But at least the cards, beautifully crafted and lovingly made, won't break my budget: most sell for $2-$3.   
One disappointment: I was SO looking forward to buying a bag of luscious spring greens; but due to the crazy spring we're having, none of the farms had any to sell! 
The good news? Greenman's Farm will have rhubarb, asparagus and fresh herbs for this Sat, May 10. These are all locally grown, and are typical spring vegetables in mid-Michigan.

   One of our newbies: Kolache Kitchen brings delicious Czech  baked goods to HFM. The Winklers, John and Loretta, are the vendors. John's sister owns the bakery in Owosso, and John says the Cream Horns are the best ever. The family recipe is generations old and may be available in the cookbook they sell; many of their recipes are. John also sells Pirogies, brats and kielbasa. When asked what made Czech kielbasa, etc. different from Polish-made, he answered, "Taste!!" While I'm not wanting to start a war between our Polish and Czech vendors, you'll want to try both and YOU decide which you prefer. Of course, you may like both. John's goods are works of love, of course, as are virtually all the items at the market. He wants to help keep the Czech heritage alive. Isn't it great to live with the diversity in America? 

I've barely touched the surface of what's exciting at the HFM. So, tune in next week for more. Better yet, stop by and see for yourself.