From Skilled Hands

Fall in Northeast Ohio is a sensory experience; the crisp quality of the air, the colors when the leaves start to change, and then when they explode with color. The smell of the leaves as they fall on the ground, the sound of them as one walks through them. Apples and cider, their beautiful colors and wonderful aromas.

The Village of Peninsula, population 602, is a beautiful place to experience Fall. The Cuyahoga Valley abounds with life, from the trees and flowers, to the animals and insects, to the people who come to drink it all in.

On Saturday mornings, from the end of May to the beginning of October, the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy sponsors a Farmers’ Market at Heritage Farms. Local vendors bring vegetables and fruit, eggs, flowers, coffee, cheeses and meats, breads and pastries, and a bit of craft. There is always something to taste, and music to enjoy.

The Market is one of the projects of the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy. The Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy (CVCC) is a private, non-profit corporation, chartered in Ohio, and headquartered in the Cuyahoga Valley between Cleveland and Akron. CVCC is a small think-and-do tank working to re-envision and rebuild local-regional farming and food systems in Northeast Ohio – systems purposefully designed to reconnect food in the public’s mind to farming and land, to community and nature.

Take a look at last Saturday’s Market. We’ll be enjoying potatoes and onions, beans and beets, scones, foccacia, and roasted vegetable and cheese loaf over the next week or so. And if you’re in our neck of the woods, come on over. We’ll have a cup of coffee, stroll through the Village and relax. The Village of Peninsula, gently resisting change since 1832.

On the way to the Market. I didn’t see the tree until I posted the photo.

The red barn houses additional items for sale.

Mums and pumpkins are another sign of Fall in my town.

The Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy provides information about it’s many projects.

The beautiful farmhouse at Heritage Farms is over 100 years old.

The skilled hands of the chef make wonderful things to eat, including foccacia and scones.

Fresh picked corn and apples at the Market.

When I left the Farmers’ Market, I returned to our studio, just in time to see the steam engine roll into the Village. Perfect.

As always, My Town Monday is the product of the imagination of one of Amarillo, Texas’ own, Travis Erwin. Wander on over there and see what Travis and the other MTM clan have to say.

Besides her family, Cuyahoga Valley artist Pat Raeder’s main interests are animals and gardening. She considers herself lucky because she gets to play with dirt all year long. Each has its season: from the middle of August through Thanksgiving, and into the new year, Pat works with clay. In April, she begins the design process for her incredibly beautiful gardens.

Synchronicity is an interesting thing. Although Pat had taken a sculpture class in art school, she didn’t focus on clay. About 35 years ago, Pat Raeder’s husband was given a potter’s wheel and a kiln. He gave it to Pat for Christmas, and they put it in their basement. Teaching herself to throw on the potter’s wheel, Pat’s work slowly improved. But throwing wasn’t her main interest. She began to notice other potters’ work, and the variety of styles and techniques. Finding her niche in hand building, Pat has made jewelry, garden art, animals and this series. The repetition involved in producing the work over many years is a process of study and refinement, so that the artist’s hands and heart know what to do. Pat said that once she started thinking about the Jungle Series, new ideas “kept popping.” I am glad they did.