Summer is officially underway in Palisade, and it was rung in on Sunday with the town's second farmers market of the year. Locals filled the streets of downtown Palisade to soak up the sun and get fresh produce from local orchards.

"It's local, it's supporting the local business, it's fun," regular to the market Snow Losh said. "This is what a true farmers market is."

One local orchard says farmers markets, like this one, help boost their annual sales.

"It's great for Z's Orchard because we're kind of off the beaten path," owner Carol Zadrozny said. "The fact that we're on 33 3/4 Road between C and C 1/2 so you have to want to be going to Z's Orchard."

Locals say besides the fruit and veggies, farmers markets are also a great place to look for gifts.

"They go to North Carolina, they go to Tennessee. And plus, this year I got to do the Palisade peaches because they're better than Georgia's," Losh said. "It's been proven."

"Right now we're probably going to sell out of the peaches today," Zadrozny said. "The guys picked every peach that was ripe enough to bring and we're just starting."

As an added bonus this summer shoppers have even more fruits to choose from. some fruits made it through the winter for the first time in years, and farmers are thanking mild temperatures for it.

"They bloom early in the year and then we get a freeze and they're gone so we have the most gorgeous apricots today," Zadrozny said. "We also have plums which many times will freeze out."

And this time of year is also a time for farmers to kick back and relax after months of hard work at their orchards.

"Being a farmer is hard work, but we love it,' Zadrozny said. "So it's nice to have that reinforced by our great customers at market."

The Palisade Farmers Market is always open on Sundays from 10am to 2pm. Many of the same orchards who have booth in Palisade will also be selling their produce at the Grand Junction Farmers Market on Thursday nights and in Fruita on Saturdays.