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If you think that all Athens is made of is Court Street and slumped student houses, you are sorely mistaken. Our campus is surrounded by seemingly-empty land; that land, however, is full of rich soil growing delicious vegetable, fruits and feeding free-range livestock. If you want to help support this invaluable side of Athens while filling your cabinets with healthy foods, visit the Athens Farmers Market, where many of these local farmers come to showcase the fruits of their labors.
tigersandstrawberries.com
The Farmers Market is held every Wednesday (from April until December) and Saturday (year-round) each week from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the old University Mall parking lot (located at 1000 East State Street) and is open to the entire community.
Audubon Magazine named it one of its “Cream of the Crop” of the nation’s farmer’s markets. With over 100 vendors, special events and the Market Cafe on Saturdays (where a not-for-profit organization hosts a kitchen where chefs can cook with the featured crops to sell) it’s not surprising that the Athens Farmers Market has gained a reputation for delicious foods and good people.
When I attended my first Farmers Market on September 12, I was astounded by the life that the market generated. Throughout the market, one can hear musicians playing at different sections, find home-made crafts and sample the delicious goods that are being offered. My particular favorite was one apple-grower who let me taste any apple I wanted, told me what type of foods would compliment each distinctive taste and what kind of bite each apple would deliver. He knew his stuff, and I walked away with half a peck of apples for $5. In case you don’t know your farmer’s measurements, that’s a lot of apples.
I walked in with only $10 cash and was able to buy the most delicious apples I had yet to taste, a home-made loaf of sweet onion corn bread, a few large sweet potatoes and was met with the wonderful hospitality of the generous and hard-working vendors.
Without even noticing, I had spend the whole three hours meandering around the market, meeting and greeting the large scope of people in attendance and taking in the sights of a community coming together to better each other. With my purchases, I was able to support my local farmers and they, in turn, gave me home-grown, healthy and, most importantly, delicious food. It was truly a blissful way to spend my Saturday morning.
The campus of Ohio University is all a buzz with the starting of the new school year, and, honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming. Cars whizzing by on the small, bricked streets during the day, police sirens whaling at night and all the shuffling to new classes with new people can leave one’s brain flattened like the empty Bud Light can on the street from last Saturday’s house party. If you need a break from the modern age and wish for peace of mind, then I recommend you achieve your bliss by going on a hike while the air is still a little warm.
The hiking trails at Strouds Run should be experienced by anyone who is looking for something invigorating for both the body and the soul. My friends and I especially enjoyed the Broken Rock Trail, but there are many to choose from. Some are bike trails as well as foot trails, but all are peaceful and beautiful glimpses of nature and what Athens may have looked like pre-colonization. My friend Jeremy once found an arrow head in this area dated about 3,000 years ago (though, we were later warned not to take any archeological findings from the sites) and it truly inspired us to know that the land we sit on was once home to many different people. Thus, it should be appreciated and respected.
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At the end of August, my friends Danielle, Jeremy and I found a hiking route at The Ridges (which is a beautiful and historical place, despite the ghost stories) that winds you through an encompassing and beautiful patch of forest. Sure, you can hear the band practicing at Pedan Stadium for some of the walk, but you’ll soon leave the modern world behind and retreat into the calming and blissful atmosphere of nature. Follow this trail long enough and you will find yourself at Radar Hill, which overlooks all of Athens from a remarkable and inspiring distance.
Here we walked silently for a long time while Jeremy strummed on his guitar until we found an already constructed and safe place to make a campfire, where we cooked pockets of meat and potatoes under the fire and watched the sun set behind the hills. The sky turned pink, then to purple, then to black. It was beautiful, and I suggest, as a citizen of the world and our community, that you experience it. Be sure to be safe and leave nothing behind.
What better way to respect ourselves and our land than to take time out of our hectic lives to find peace and quiet in nature? It is one of my favorite ways to find true bliss. With the way the sun has been shining and temperatures have been more than tolerable, if not a little too toasty, there is no excuse not to go outside after classes for the day are finished and experience the warmth of nature.
