Farmers Market Spotlight: Welch Farms, LLC

     Ahhh, the Beatles classic song "Strawberry Fields Forever"...or what about "Who's In the Strawberry Patch with Sally" by Tony Orlando and Dawn...or even "Strawberry Letter #23" by Brothers Johnson...  I could even stretch as far as to list Prince singing "Strawberry Love" and Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing."   Hmmmmm, see a theme here?  Yup, you betcha - strawberries are mentioned in all those songs!  Folks eat them, drink their juice, and sing about them.  My personal favorite is dipped in chocolate or cut up with a sweet sprinkling of sugar...but I'll sing about them, too, if you'd like.
     I suppose I should have spotlighted Al and Christie Welch of Welch  (Berry) Farms earlier in the season, but quite honestly, I didn't think about the time of year in relation to the product they provide us with at the Market.  What can I say, I'm "strawberry" blond.  Sometimes I realize something after the bus left the station...days before.  Seems to me it should still be June and here we are at the tail end of August.  Even so, I want to tell you about this wonderful berry growing family.  
     Al and Christie grow the most luscious mouth wateringly amazing makes my taste buds sing berries!  And not just strawberries, either.  They also grow blackberries that are wider than my thumb.  Really!  I dream of growing berries like theirs some day, but until I actually plant the bushes and impatiently wait for them to grow, which may be 20 years from now, I'll stand in line at Welch's.  Yes, that's right.  I'll stand in line.  When Welch's is at the Chillicothe Farmers Market folks line up to buy the freshest berries around and I don't blame them one bit...I'm standing right there with them.
     I figure berry growing season might just be over for the year, but whether it is or not, I want to thank Al and Christie from the bottom of my stomach for the hard work they do to provide families all around with great tasting berries!  When they're at the Market it makes that particular morning all the better.  I also want to thank Christie for being a wonderful Chillicothe Farmer's Market President.  She's not only been a Market member for years, but she's also held a position on the board for more years than we've been here.   She helps keep us together and on track.
     So, there you have it folks.  Next time you see Al and Christie Welch at the Market make sure to stop by and say hi.  You'll be glad you did.  I'll be across from them, more than likely licking berry juice off my fingers...  Smiling & Waving, Sharon 
 
  

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