On a recent Saturday morning, after coffee at the Charles, I was struck by the beautifully displayed fruit and vegetables in one of the farmers market stalls on Mt. Auburn Street.

I asked the proprietor if it would be OK to take some photos,  then, like every other visitor to the stand, asked him what on earth those shiny pale white, pink and reddish berries were.  One customer guessed elderberries, but the proprietor, Frank Buso, said they’re  currents ($4 a pound).   Buso said  he grows them–and everything else in the stand–at his farm in Lincoln– located on Battle Road in the Minuteman National Park.  [Click here for Minute Centennial Celebration events].

Busa’s is one of a handful of  farms leased at very low cost (approximately$25 an acre) from the Park itself. The goal,according to  Park spokesman Lew Sedaris,  is to help preserve the scene of the 1775 Revolutionary War battle fought in Lexington, Lincoln and Concord –much as other national parks preserve their natural settings.

 Busa started his Lincoln  farm  two  years ago–after his family sold its farm, also called Busa’s, in Lexington. Now, Busa sells  fruits and vegetables at farmers markets in  Bedford, Lexingtonn Arlington and Cambridge.      

Compared with Haymarket–where you take a chance on freshness– Busa’s and the other Harvard Square stands are a bit pricey–$4 for a pint of blueberries, $2 for a head of  lettuce, a bunch of scallions or basil.  Hot peppers are 5 for a dollar, and tomatoes go for $3.00 a pound.  But everything at Busa’s looks delicious. Although I’d already done my  shopping for the week,   I found the stand worth visiting for both the conversation and the view.

                                                                   Photos and text c. Anita M. Harris, 2009.

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscomblog.

Yesterday was sparkling cold and sunny so Sheila and I decided to drive up to Salem to visit Treasures Over Time, one of  the loveliest shops I’ve ever been in–and for someone whose favorite sport is shopping, that’s saying a lot.

Founded by proprietors Nestor and Sivan Sergott,  the shop, recently relocated to 139 Washington Street, features  gems and geology: hand chosen, hand made decorative, home and office and jewelry items made by international artists and artisans from mineral materials all over the world.

As the Webite explains, Treasures Over Time is all about time. The hundreds of millions of years it took nature to present us with her gifts. Time brings diversity of form, color, texture, morphology, landscape and clues about ancient life into our lives.

Serpentine Vase

Some of my favorite pieces are made of serpentine–rock sculpted into useful objects, then fired at high temperatures, which brings out their colors.

We also loved the jewelry–and the

Pendant

fantastic collection of fossils, and        rough mineral specimens, all beautifully displayed  in the two-room  store.

Full disclosure,  Sivan’s grandmother and mine were sisters; one reason for the trip was to discuss  a show of photographs of rock formations I took on the South Coast of Australia–which, we agreed will happen sometime this Spring.

Anita

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, of Cambridge, MA.