Lyfting Me Up

I have been told that people enjoy lists so here is one from me.

10. The shift in the feel of the air that shows up around August 23. Everything moves from Summer’s heat to a crisp clean feel. Once it shifts the next three months move to Autumn.

9. The Colorado State Fair. Growing up in Pueblo, we were reminded often that we lived in Pew-town. Well, when late August hit we were the center of the state’s attention. Yes, I plan to go this year—cane and all. There is something reassuring about an entire barn full of bunnies. Over the years I have sat in the free amphitheater to listen to an emerging young singer named Garth Brooks. Spent an August evening listening to Carlos Santana and Kenny G. I once even indulged my dad and went to hear Charlie Pride. And who would ever want to miss fried Oreos or pig races?

8. Palisade Peaches—I just finished my second one. There is nothing like them. The juice that drips off both sides of my mouth as I savor the essence of peachness, is my offering to the angels.

7. Real tomatoes—not the kind that as Garrison Keillor described “Made of styrofoam and strip mined somewhere in south Texas”. These tomatoes are grown on truck farms from Weld County to Las Animas.

6. Cicadas—I am mesmerized by their sounds on a just perfect August evening. I am sure other states have them but ours are often green— just like our mountain valleys.

5. Watching Rockies baseball and preseason Broncos football at the same time. What can I say.

4. Olathe sweet corn—or for that matter any sweet corn grown in our hot days and cool evenings. I just finished an ear tonight. Yes, my mom would brag about Iowa sweet corn. It is fantastic—but this ain’t Iowa.

3. The beginning of green chili season. The smell of roasted chili has no equal. There is nothing that can be eaten that green chili can’t improve. Try a PBJ with one plump chili in the middle and you will know I am right.

For you Hatch Chili fans, need I remind you that Whole Foods switched to Pueblo Chili for their “superior texture and flavor”.

2. Rocky Ford Cantaloupe—They are the essence of that blessed melon. There is nothing like them. This is a universally accepted fact around our nation. The problem is: what do you eat the rest of the year if you love cantaloupe? Not so cheap imitations.

1. Anything you can buy at DiSanti Farms market in August. There is nothing in the world of vegetables that this Pueblo truck farm has not mastered. Green beans with that perfect snap or canning tomatoes that turn into the best tomato sauce. Not only do they run a great business but they are wonderful people. And that makes anything taste better.

Onward and Upward,

Mark