Businesses – Page 29 – Sequim Daily Photo

Farmers Market 2

Sequim’s Saturday Farmer’s Market has a selection of many of the sorts of things you’d expect. Local purveyor Nash’s Farm has a front and center presence with fresh produce. And there’s honey, interesting condiments, and, of course, lavender.

Crafts people are well represented. This person makes interesting variations on bird houses: gnome dwellings. Apparently the designer has enough experience with these creatures that s/he issues warnings.

And there are things at the market I can’t say I’ve seen before, such as chainmaille. Is this yet another fashion trend I’ve missed?

These are dog leashes. They are knit and then felted. In addition to being soft they are very strong. They’re on the wish lists of all the stylin’ dogs.

Farmers Market 1

Sequim’s Farmer’s Market is going full swing this month. Even though it doesn’t look crowded it was quite lively last Saturday with lots of people coming and going on Washington Street.

I understand that the plaza of our new Civic Center is destined to be the site of the Farmer’s Market but I guess it wasn’t ready in time this year to lock in all the arrangements. For now it’s split between two spots not far from each other on Washington Street.

Victor’s Lavender

Over the years I’ve heard interesting lavender talks at the Sequim Lavender Festival. Last weekend I heard one of the best yet at Victor’s Lavender. Any lavender farm is pretty by its nature and Victor’s is no exception. But Victor’s Lavender has one special difference: Victor Gonzalez.

Victor is an expert in growing and propagating lavender which he freely admits he learned through trial and error. He came from a farm family that legally emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. when he was 15 years old. His strong work ethic eventually landed him a job at a local Sequim farm whose manager was interested in growing lavender, a plant Victor had never heard of. Failures taught Victor one lesson after another until he was successfully propagating tens of thousands of plants. Today he not only produces lavender plants and products commercially he also consults internationally on cultivating lavender, including trips for the USAID’s Farmer-to-Farmer program. Click here for more information about Victor. He’s an interesting guy!

Here’s the front view of Victor’s operation. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the police car parked in front.

Summer pleasure

The raspberries at Greysmarsh Farm are ripening. I love raspberries and I love picking them. I’m a forager at heart. I also love reaching into the freezer and pulling out berries I’ve harvested. It’s fun to be surrounded by happy people picking, too. As I walk down the rows of plants as I pick I hear snippets of conversations. I lost track of how many times I heard “vanilla ice cream” as I picked. Perfect pairing!

I came home with over five pounds. The raspberry sorbet I made is already gone. I may have to find some vanilla ice cream. There are some raspberries waiting for their gastronomic soul mate.

Did somebody say “lavender?”

Workers were busy harvesting lavender at Graysmarsh Farm this week. Soon bundles will scent cars and luggage as our visitors head home after this weekend’s Lavender Festival. Some farms pre-pick bundles for lavender lovers and some are harvesting the herb to dry or distill it for lotions, soaps and essential oil.

Professionals harvest and shape the bushes at the same time.

These bundles were waiting at Jardin du Soleil last week. Lavender bouquets typically run $5 to $6.

Lookin’ good!

Next weekend, July 17-19, is Sequim’s annual Lavender Weekend, an event celebrating all things lavender. As with any crop, timing can be tricky. But this year the lavender fields got the memo and are already showing off blooms. This is a view taken recently at Jardin du Soleil.

The festival features tours of our many lavender farms, a street fair, music performances, and a variety of other community events. Visitors can find an array of lavender in shades from deep purple to pink and white with varieties grown for essential oils, cooking, dried foliage, and classically beautiful landscaping. Most farms sell lavender plants, dried and fresh bouquets, and lavender infused products from soaps and lotions to spices. The view above is Olympic Lavender Farm.

Inside Fudd’s

Last week I posted a photograph of the front of Fudd’s, a new fish and chips restaurant on West Washington. Earlier this week I was downtown and hungry. There was Fudd’s. The photo above was my “smokey chowder.” One word: Yum! They were out of clam chowder but this seafood chowder was no second best. Great flavor, plenty of clams and rich without the pasty glop that is sometimes passed off as chowder.

DH opted for fish and chips. This was the “small” version. They also offer a medium and large. The fish was fresh and lightly coated. I had a little taste and I’d like to try it again. Usually I don’t care much for the chips. These were very tasty, nicely seasoned and crunchy. I had french fry envy. Nothing seemed greasy, one of the reasons I usually avoid fried foods.

The inside of the restaurant is simple but clean. The prices seemed reasonable.