Bean Time

Nothing going on around here (which I like!), so I present to you some pretty dried beans (I think they are Calypso, but I'm not sure...)

(Of course, I see a little face in one!)

Good Luck!

I hope everyone had their Hoppin' John for good luck in the new year--we did, and it was YUM (as always!).

Eeny Beany Miney Mo

 After the grand opening of the library, we went (with friends who are very good sports) to the Lima Bean Faire! It's an annual fundraiser for the San Dieguito Heritage Museum in Encinitas.

In recent years, farmers in the Encinitas area have grown strawberries and, most famously, poinsettias. Before these crops, they grew, yes, lima beans!

It was super fun--we love little events like this. The main attraction was a bean cookoff, with dishes in different categories--and this year they expanded the rules to allow OTHER beans besides limas. Which is a good thing, because a few limas go a long way.

 Lima bean or random heart?

 There was a petting zoo, which I cannot resist. This is Sugar, a pygmy goat...

 ...and this is her friend Spice.

 Wooly sheep!

 Miniature horses!

 More sheep, cruising for food.

 A rooster with feathery legs!

 Gorgeous!

 Trophies for the bean cookoff winners.

 There is a general store, in front of which was a cakewalk.

 Inside: fake meat.

 This is some sort of contraption that harvested/processed the lima beans.

And the afternoon of good fun and good company was topped off with--what else?--a delicious ice cold beer.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt (no, really, I DID get a t-shirt!).