It's chilly, but it ain't winter anymore: Local lettuce at Gade Farm, Guilderland, NY

The girls and I went searching for local asparagus today. Well, in truth, I went searching for asparagus while Rae complained loudly that she didn't like asparagus and Bean tried to convince her that maybe it was the cooking that was the problem.

We settled on Gade Farm, mainly because that's the direction the car was pointing when the 4-year-old-twin bickering started to escalate in the backseat.

So there we found ourselves in the parking lot, huddling up in our sweaters, dodging raindrops, and thinking it seemed more like warm pie weather than asparagus season. Well, that was Rae's suggestion, anyway.

Rae: Pie, mommy, let's get a pie. Daddy likes pie. Let's get daddy a present. (Pie as a mitzvah).

Mommy: The pie is already made. (Pie as a mental-health aid.)

Bean: I love pie. (Pie as truth.)

And it seemed that Mother Nature agreed with Rae. There was no asparagus. Too cold and wet to pick it. So pie it would be. (Don't ask, these things happen.)

But surely there was something green.

Ahhh, Gade's did have its own lettuce. Big beautiful red-leaf heads for $1.29. Take that Price Chopper.

We got the lettuce and a very berry pie.

As a side note for those gardeners out there….Gade has a beautiful selection of herbs, annuals, and ever bearing strawberry plants.