This stuff IS fun- one really absorbs the atmosphere of the town with this local stuff. Many small towns are not just places to live, but to interact with. Not that it doesn't happen in neighborhoods in big cities and everywhere else, but I do think the process is easier in a small town.
Of course, at the rate I am turning my yard into a flower bed, it is also easier to get a reputation in a small town - and that crazy iris & daylily lady kinda springs to mind! ~Jan