The Market
Welcome to Milwaukee Wisconsin. This weekend Lori and I had to find a farmers market a little father away from home than usual. We were in Milwaukee moving our beloved Marquette student from a 2 girl 1st story apt. to a 3 girl 3rd floor apt. But that is a story for another time and probably needs to be told over a beer or two. Fortunately for us, the sleeping schedule of the 21 year old set allowed us plenty of time to visit a neighboring community's Farmers Market on Saturday morning.
Brookfield Farmer's Market was the closest open market to the downtown Milwaukee area we could find that was open. It was about 10 miles east of town. It is a small Farmers Market by Portland standards, but was well attended and it seemed as though everyone knew each other. It had the feel an after church social gathering. Booths were all homey and quaint. The offerings were dominated by homemade or very small operation food stuffs like; bakery items, cheese, meats, jams, and canned vegetables. This is Wisconsin and they take their brats seriously. One vendor was selling a local area favorite "Dog with a Bite". You can see it advertised to the left. Right above 
the Oxtail and Beef Tongue. They also had a few unique craft booths. We stopped and talked to a bird feeder maker who offered some feeders that let you put cut oranges on them. He said the oranges attracted cardinals (not all the way to Portland though), finches and the occasional hummingbird. We think we will try it in our backyard and see what it attracts other than yellow jackets.
the Oxtail and Beef Tongue. They also had a few unique craft booths. We stopped and talked to a bird feeder maker who offered some feeders that let you put cut oranges on them. He said the oranges attracted cardinals (not all the way to Portland though), finches and the occasional hummingbird. We think we will try it in our backyard and see what it attracts other than yellow jackets. 
Of course, what upstanding Wisconsin Farmers Market would be complete without an accordion player with a tip jar. Note the really nice Adirondack furniture in the background. The Table
Sorry folks. But living out of a hotel and with Anna's kitchen in a state of moving, our local farmers market eating was relegated to sharing a cherry walnut scone on the run. Not to worry, we came across some filler material while strolling the trendy Third Ward District in Milwaukee. Check this out. Lori says this business would be perfect for Portland. The sign says PedalTavern.com. It is a 16 person bicycle powered party on wheels. Yes, there are beer taps built in. This one was was just loading up. It comes with a designated driver/bartender who also helps pedal. My daughter and her friends have a saying. You know your in Wisconsin when... Well we knew we were in Wisconsin when we saw this bad boy start cruising down the street people pedaling, laughing and drinking beers. Too bad it was full or we would have joined them. It looked like a lot of fun!
Till next time.
