Esther 4 14

Sun finally shines on farmers markets

Radishes aren’t exactly 16-year-old Katrina Calderon’s favorite crop for sale at Vancouver’s new Evergreen Farmers Market on the east side.

It’s not that she doesn’t like the taste of them, it’s just that picking them the day before market can be a little dicey, she said.

“You get poked by the leaves and it hurts,” said Calderon, sitting behind the cash box at the Bautista Farm booth on a partly rainy Saturday morning.

The asparagus, which should be in season through the end of the month, isn’t as unruly, she said, with a quick nod to her 10-year-old sister, Kara Meraz, who spent much of the previous day bunching the pointy green vegetables.

Farmers markets across Clark County are experiencing a bit of a slow start this year, with the cold, wet weather setting harvest times back by three weeks to a month on every crop.

But finally, as the sun has slowly started to poke through the clouds, things are beginning to pick up.

“It’s a weather-dependant game,” said Jordan Boldt, executive director of the Vancouver Farmers Market near Esther Short Park. “Growers have had some success using greenhouses to get through the start of the season, and things are coming back. The weather’s starting to get better.”

Clark County is home to a growing number of farmers markets. Some, like the one Boldt runs, are massive, with dozens of vendors. Others, like the east-side market, are smaller, with only a few handfuls of local booths.

But all of them have one thing in common — they’re a place to find fresh, newly picked produce grown by local farmers.

“You’re not going to find a lot of locally grown produce in chain stores,” Boldt said. “Often, things there are grown in California and are at least a few days old. They’re picked before they’re ripe and ripen on a truck or on the shelf.”

Farmers market goods, on the other hand, are often picked either the evening before or morning of the sale, he said.

The markets also provide an opportunity for buyers to talk directly with growers or those that make the variety of other products for sale.

Ross Stark, a beekeeper operating The Garden of Beeden stand at the Evergreen market, said he loves answering questions and telling people more about what he does.

“I get a lot of people skills from being here,” Stark said. “I like selling products, and people come back and tell me how much they liked them. I can not make a penny and just be happy hearing that.

Scriptural Commentary: Esther 4:14

This is a great verse. Esther was afraid to approach the king and ask him to save her people because approaching him without being asked was risking her life. When Mordecai answers her, it shows a lot of faith. He's basically saying... if you don't do it, God will still save our people, but you and I will die. And maybe this is the reason that God has put you here. As it turned out, it was. ... I think that is a good thing to ponder as we approach all of our problems. Yes, it is very true that God will accomplish his purposes on this earth without us, if need be. But being where we are, and who we are, we all have unique opportunities to participate in his work. And perhaps we are exactly where we are for such a time as this. Today, wherever we are, and whatever position we are in, let's overcome our fears, and stand up for God and his work.

Handbook of Biblical Hebrew

Hard sayings of the Bible

An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books

For such a time as this, Esther 4:14

Cyclopaedia bibliographica, a library manual of theological and general literature, and guide to books for authors, preachers, students, and literary men. Analytical, bibliographical, and biographical