Farmers' markets both grand and intimate

Madison has 8 farmers' markets throughout the week in various locations. I usually go to the market right in my neighborhood, held on Tuesdays afternoons. There are no crowds and I can get all the veggies I need plus butter and cheese in about 10 minutes. That includes having time to chat with my favorite vendors or friends I bump into. It isn't crowded, but still has extras like a musician.

Madison also has the largest producer-only farmers' market in the US. (That means the people who grew the food are selling it.) It's Saturday mornings around the Capitol Square. There are crowds.

It's big! It's an event and a tourist destination and if you go all the way around, it's about a mile. A mile of farm vendors—so it has everything imaginable that grows in Wisconsin. This week we got wild hickory nuts, all shelled and ready to put into pancakes. (They are to very difficult to shell but delicious.) And, as a special treat, we spotted these wood sprites.