Aren't big tips just the greatest? As the owner of Well Minded, I don't always get a gratuity, but I sure appreciate it when I do. Today I got an awesome tip from a client who is also a friend. She is away for a while, and I'm caring for her dogs, so she was unable to pick up her CSA basket from Farmyard today. Instead, she gave it to me as a tip, and I couldn't be happier about it! I've had the pleasure of testing out some of the gorgeous produce from Farmyard before, as my client friend can't always consume all she receives, but I've never had a whole basket, so I'm quite excited, and already planning what to make with it for the next few days.
I was provided an address and a Farmyard tote to return when picking up this week's haul. 
Although I needed my navigation system to find the neighborhood, once I got there, the house was unmistakable. The front yard presented rows of tomatoes, lettuce, squash, and the like. When I pulled up, it was something out of a Norman Rockwell Painting, only modern. Rebecca waived and greeted me warmly. She knew who I was, even though we'd never met. She was collecting some small yellow tomatoes from the garden, and her bucket was overflowing, literally, so I followed behind, picking up the dropped tomatoes that trailed behind her.
She invited me into her home, where her big yellow lab lumbered a welcome just as warm. Rebecca took my tote and handed me a fresh one full of her garden's bounty. It included a bunch of sorrel, some giant zucchini, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, a variety of small tomatoes, two jalapeños, some garlic, a bunch of apples, and a dozen eggs. Gorgeous! Rebecca explained what I was receiving and even provided a recipe for using the sorrel, something I've honestly never cooked with. I'm excited to try it!
I am especially impressed with the eggs. As a verging-upon vegan individual who loves her eggs, it makes me feel better about falling off the wagon when I know they come from happy, healthy, pampered chickens, which is the case with Farmyard. We've considered getting our own chickens because they make great pets and provide eggs, but haven't taken the plunge quite, yet. I love caring for my clients' chickens, and often get tipped in eggs, Little House on the Prairie-style. 
The kids just loved the jewel-toned eggs and couldn't keep their hands off of them. They are beautiful.
As I started the car, Porter chomped into a freshly picked apple, which was satisfying to us both.
What a wonderful first experience we had at Farmyard. We've been considering signing up for a CSA for quite some time, and this might be just the thing to send us over the edge!