Woman trapped in house; subsisted on squash for ninety days

Don't they look like treasure? This is a one-day haul from Frog Pond Farms, in Bainbridge, NY. It's a half-hour scoot from Binghamton, but thoroughly worth it for the prices and the general feel of the place. There's no cash register. Every day there's the owner standing at the head of the line, tallying peoples' purchases out loud: "Three dollars on butternut, three dollars on delicata, eight dollars onions, four dollars red potatoes, and a dollar on parsley is nineteen dollars!" And you hand him your money and the next person steps up: "Five dollars tomatoes, a dollar on zucchini, three dollars on basil, three-fifty on cider, that's twelve fifty!" On it goes, all day long. Does his voice wear out? He seems weathered and durable, like he might have good stout chestnut fencerails under his clothes.

The thing I love most is the huge quantities of things for sale. Bushels of potatoes. Cases of tomatoes. Fifty pound bags of carrots. Frog Pond is a place for people who can, which makes me proud to be among the patronage.

For the record, I refrained from the fifty pound bag of carrots. I did come home with a trunk full of squash and potatoes, though.