The Hunger Around the Corner

 Yes, it has been over a year since I have written.  For the past several years everything has been political, and that is not the type of blog I wished to have. I would start to write and then it would turn into a political rant that I really wanted to keep to myself.

I am back, at least at this moment, we will see about any future moments.

 I live in the 18th richest county in the country, according to the American Community Survey of 2016, put out by the US Census Bureau,. I have trouble connecting that to my personal experience. 

Since April, I have participated in food distributions through the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maryland.  Last week we fed 576 people. I talk to the people to whom we are giving food. Many have severe health issues requiring several surgeries, some have cancer, some were laid off due to Covid-19, some work jobs that just don't pay enough to pay the rent, and have the luxury of eating too. Many of them are seniors who were working in the service industry, who had their hours cut and cannot pay the bills. They are well past the normal retirement age. Some are social workers picking up food for their clients, special needs adults. Some are middle class families, who found themselves unemployed suddenly, with no hope of employment until the pandemic has passed. They have consumed their emergency funds and now are reaching a point of desperation. They did all of the things they were supposed to, and now find themselves waiting in line for 2.5 hours for $48 worth of groceries.

The older women seem the saddest. They seem tired. I see older woman in the line, when I ask her how she is doing oftentimes there is a pause, a catch in their throat, before they answer. They almost always say they are fine, but I know that they are not fine. One, outlined her cut in work hours, rent overdue, her car needed $1500 worth of repairs and that she needs it to get to work.  It all came out in a rush, in a smothered sob.  

These same folks will in conversation mention that if they have extra carrots from the pantry they will share them with a needy neighbor, so that they don't go hungry.  These are the people who have virtually nothing, and they are sharing their food. 

 Cars in the line often have adults from several families in them. Each one represents a separate household with babies and seniors included. They share a ride because poverty does not allow car payments, insurance and gas money.  We have had two cars break down in the line. We have rushed people through the line because their engine was running on just the vapors in the tank.

Many of the volunteers helping us go home with bags of food.  They want to help others, and also are uncomfortable taking charity, they have pride and a work ethic. They come regularly, they work hard.  One is 92 years old. One was laid off six weeks ago and has three kids. They want to be part of the solution, and they are hungry. They are giving what they can to others.

These are people living in the 18th richest county in the United States. Within a few of miles of this food line there are houses with three garage stalls, filled with Mercedes. The county does not have many of the services for the underserved populations (I have always hated that term, if you scan it quickly it can mis-read as un-deserved), because we are rich.  If your neighbors have garages filled with leather seated luxury cars, it doesn't fill your belly.  It makes it feel more empty. The people donating cash and food aren't driving up in fancy cars, most give regularly. Some stop and tell us that they are donating because they went through periods of hunger as a child, and they didn't want others to have to go through that.

The food programs are all supposed to be supplemental, but what if the people have nothing? The feeding of the hungry is left up to churches and non-profit organizations. The need has outstripped the resources of both of these groups. Many of the grants from the Cares Act were funneled into corporations that money could have fed all of these hungry people. The poor, working class and the middle class are feeding the hungry, if they can.  If they care.

We are going to have to scale back the food distribution because the funding is not available and the donations just cannot keep up with the need. We are cutting back to once a month, I try to tell each family in the car line the date of the next distribution as part of my conversation, some looked as if I had punched them in the gut when I gave them a date that was a month away.  Some questioned why, and then responded that they were glad we had been able to do it for eight months, because it helped them survive.  Others gripped the steering wheel and sighed, "A month. Oh."

There needs to be a state level and a federal level response to hunger in America. We are a rich country, where many go hungry. We have seven food pantries in the 18th richest county. Something is wrong.

We need to fix it.

Politics in Everything

I never wanted to write a political blog, but it seems today, everything is political.  Try to talk about the weather without touching for a moment on climate change. Talk about family health without talking about the costs of prescription drugs. Talk about the scenery without mentioning that all of the regulations have changed and that the EPA has been gutted and that climate change will make the whole world look different in the next 50 years.

I keep trying to write blog posts that cover a topic and aren't political and I can't seem to do that anymore.

So, I'm going to write about how my exercise plans for the fall were completely destroyed on my first day of my new exercise program, let's see if I can avoid politics. 

I had planned to start walking three times a week and swimming once a week.  Mixing it up a bit here and there with other activities, hitting the weight room at the public pool from time to time, etc.

Violet, my hound dog (hound melange-50% Treeing Walker Coonhound, 25% Bluetick Coonhound and 25% mystery-mutt according to her DNA results) (the politics-did I invade my dog's privacy by taking her DNA sample without her permission? She was not keen on the procedure.), was/is completely on-board with my exercise plans. When I walk, she walks, which makes us both mellower and healthier beings. She waited patiently while I moved objects out of her way and then hopped up into the back of the station wagon, scooted toward the back of the seat and gave me the signal that she was ready with her big brown eyes and waited, so that the hatch didn't whack her in the head. I drove to the local nature preserve that, unlike every other nature preserve I know of, allows dogs on lead. (the politics-what is natural? What is a natural state in a world completely changed by man?)

We arrived, all is perfectly normal, I choose a route that would give us just shy of two miles. Enough exercise to keep her from chewing random objects for a couple of days. The path starts with an overgrown, patch full of invasive species, multiflora roses make it beautiful in the spring, but this is early fall and it looks like a pile of brambles.  (the politics- Multiflora rose was once part of a beautification program, until they realized that it took over everywhere, oops) Violet charges from one spot to another, and then pauses excessively long for any exercise program, to take in the scents of every dog in the area and any small furry or feathered critter that might have passed by. (the politics- the population of birds in the Americas has plummeted possibly due to various factors including urbanization, climate change and pesticides) We amble down the path to the one hill down to the stream (the politics-eroded hill and the sediment that it adds to the body of  water below it) and the one hill away from the stream, the  rest is flat and mostly level packed sandy soil. 

We leave the invasives on the edges of the woods and head deeper in. We follow the path of the stream, which due to the moderate drought, was much smaller that it had been a month earlier. (the politics-the drought is part of the more extreme weather that is occurring due to global warming) I like this part of the trail, the path is narrow and covered in beech and oak leaves, Water trickles over the rocks. None of the trees are very old, so I figure that the area once had tobacco growing on it, like most of the land in the area a hundred years ago. (The politics-anything having to do with tobacco and small farm abandonment)

There are few other walkers.  (the politics-Americans' unhealthy habits, and a lack of engagement with the environment/outdoors) I breathe  trying to keep my brain from wandering through the crazy busy week scheduled ahead, county fair week and with my job, that makes it one of the two busiest weeks of the year. (the politics-anything having to do with the county fair) I look for patterns in bark, newly fallen trees, and anything different from the last time I had walked the path diverting my brain from my schedule. I see no one.  The path with the stream next to it turns and overlooks the small bay from atop a cliff, if you can peer through the leaves of all of the trees.  I'm sure a few years back there was a sweeping view, but it has all grown in.

We veer away from the cliff side and  head deeper into the woods again. There are more pines in this area.  There are some logs piled up near the trail, Violet gives them a thorough sniff, halting my progress, but any critters who might live there are apparently not home. We come to an unmarked intersection of paths (the politics-the under funding of parks and recreational areas), but since I carry the map of the area in my head, it isn't a problem. We turn right, in the direction of the car, we are at our half-way point. The path is an old road, wide, flat, and sandy Violet continues at a more consistent pace, the zoomies, as one of my friends calls them, have subsided. My mind keeps veering back to the million things I need to do in the next few days, I keep trying to focus on the present.  The sun was out, a few cumulus clouds puffing about, the temperature was veering on a bit too warm. 

Remember to bring the display, bring a snack the first few days because there's no food that I can eat there. Did I print enough brochures? Which shoes should I wear to make sure my back doesn't hurt? Where did I put the stuff for the geocaches that will be put out on Youth Day? What time should I get up? Did I buy the right stuff for the rest of the family to eat while I am crazy busy? Which volunteer said they could do the bake sale? Stop. Focus. Breathe. Walk. Enjoy the woods. You have been looking forward to this. I will walk on the days when I go in a little later. Violet needs this as much as me, gee, she looks much more relaxed.

I wonder how close I will be able to park. I don't have my parking pass yet. I need to remember to bring my club's entries on entry day, crud I left them at the office, I'll have to go in, another hour. Has the weather forecast changed? Is there a tablecloth in the tote? I need more pens.

Hey, wait, my foot didn't plant right. My ankle is turning, jeez that was an awful loud pop. How did I end up on the ground? I hope I didn't do what I think I just did. Oh no. I let go of the leash.  I am so glad I spent the time training her, this better work now I really need it or she will follow her very long nose and I won't be able to find her. "Violet, wait, now come! Good girl! Ooh, you don't have to sit in my lap"  Dog secured, check.  Check the area. Completely smooth, hard packed sandy soil.  A leaf here and there no sticks, holes or other trip hazards.  Why the heck did this happen? Oh, there's a bit of blood on my knee and elbow, okay, just scrapes.

Walking possible? I plant my good foot,formerly my bad foot, broken 20 years before and now great for predicting thunderstorms and pull myself up onto the one that twisted and popped. I can put weight on it, but it doesn't feel right. Deep breath. Start walking to the car, you can do this, it's a half mile to the car. Phone in back pocket still, check, just in case I need to call home for help, but then I would have to wait 30 minutes and the foot would swell in the meantime, just walk, let's see how far I can make it.  Down the hill, back to the stream, over the little bridge, up the hill through the brambles, and there's the car. I feel pressure inside my ankle, it twinges as I get into the car, it has been twinging for fifteen minutes. Ten minute drive home, I can do this.

I spent the afternoon in Urgent Care (Politics- $40 copay for urgent care, $1000 copay for the emergency room if not admitted to the hospital, guess I know my choice, oh that's really not a choice is it? All the bills haven't come yet, I wonder if there are any surprises.), x-raying, etc. convinced it was a twisted ankle, since I was able to walk out of the woods. Maybe the wincing look on the woman waiting for her granddaughter should have told me otherwise. Maybe the avocado sized swelling on my ankle could have been a clue.  Fractured. All my plans fly out the window. Taking walks and swimming in the winter, yeah, that's how I will get into shape again.

It Doesn't Matter if You Don't Believe in Climate Change

As the weather in Maryland is reminding me more and more of Florida each year...we can't pretend we don't see what is happening.

Why do some of the media outlets support climate denying positions?

Because of their business model, of course. Their source of income is from advertisers.  Advertisers want us to buy things, in order for us to stop climate change we have to drastically stop buying things, and using energy.  The advertisers don't make money if we really take the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra to heart, because the most important piece of those big three is the Reduce.  Reduce consuming meat and cheese, reduce consuming factory produced items that have been shipped a long ways, reduce the amounts of electricity and gasoline, reduce flights, reduce food waste, reduce eating highly processed foods, reduce the size of homes...all this means that we need to spend less and the current American consumer economy is not designed to flourish under that model. The economy needs us to spend more each year or we end up in a recession. 

 

We need to change, this is not a political position, it is a scientific position, it is a survival position. If we do not change we will change the climate of the world so quickly that there will be mass migrations and upheaval as land floods, wells go dry and the rains either wash away the soil or the rains don't come at all.

 

What's to be done? We need the mindset of my grandparents and great grand parents, people who lived through the Depression, don't buy what you don't REALLY need, live frugally, don't waste food, and grow a garden and sometimes do without something. What does get bought is used until it is completely unusable and all types of re-use are expended, then the materials can be recycled.  Recycling should be the last resort, reduce and re-use are where the powerful change happens, recycling consumes more resources in the process.  All of this will come to a head very soon, many countries are now refusing to take our recycling, we don't have the landfill space for all that recycling, nor the capacity to recycle it, nor the markets for the recycled materials.  Soon (actually, it is well past the time, as this has been spoken of for decades), we will need to be more conscious of packaging, single use items like zip bags, bottles and those infuriatingly tough, sealed plastic bubbles that everything seems to be packed in will go the way of the dinosaurs. Shampoo bars, reusable cutlery sets of bamboo (my spouse received one of these at a recent business conference), metal straws (eliminating plastic straws is very low hanging fruit), and water in consumable bubbles are all happening now, there will be more innovations and some return to the "old" ways from before the time of plastics. Maybe the marketers can get behind these new/old ideas.

Lots of people talk about reducing, and very few actually want to do this, but it is getting to the point when we will no longer have the choice. All of the little changes are just little changes, we need big changes.  Better planned cities and towns with transport systems, smaller homes that are closer together to make those transport systems work, businesses integrated into the communities rather than far flung outside the communities to make commutes shorter and/or more teleworking. Solar and wind power used in every community that can use them. The list goes on and on!!

 

Now, if we all start doing our part, the world economy and climate are going to change and how we deal with that change will determine how countries (and species) come through to the next century.  We all need to remember that survival of the fittest, really means survival of the fittest for the current, changing conditions, if we do not adapt quickly we will find out the hard way that we are not the fittest. No one wants that.

If anyone who has made it this far still doubts that climate change is real please come visit my lilac bushes, they don't like our recent warm Decembers after chilly Novembers.  They flower slightly in December and then freeze in January.  They are clearly dying.  We were on the southern edge of being able to grow them successfully and now I think the line has moved farther north, inland and upland. There will be more plants to die off like this.  Still doubt?  Try to go skating on the ponds I skated on as a kid in Southern New England in early January, actually, no, don't try that, that's suicide. Here's some documentation on that, my husband sent me this article right as I clicked post on this Blog the first time, Rhode Island 2.5 degrees warmer!!

 

 I recently taught a group of kids about the impacts of climate change, one child raised her hand and said, "What if you don't believe in climate change?" The answer to that is, it doesn't matter if you believe it or not, it is going to happen anyway. (It turns out that she believes in climate change, but a family member is vehemently denying its existence, and makes fun of her efforts to be green.) Some of the kids asked "But hasn't the climate always changed?" Yes, but the earth on its own takes tens of thousands of years to change as much as it has in the last 150 years. Some of the older kids in the back of the room rolled their eyes, of course, they're 13.

Opening the Giant Can of Worms

I took a group of kids on a walk to a wetland and small wooded area two weeks ago, first many of them whined about the long walk, which was five short blocks. I purposely did it in the morning before it heated up. It seems as if we have gone too far in teaching kids about the dangers of ticks, there were about 8 of the 25 kids who would not approach the woods because of their fear of ticks, bugs, or anything else that might crawl. They complained of the heat in the direct sun on the boardwalk and would not enter the woods, even though the kids who did assured them that it was much cooler there.
They were supposed to be doing a scavenger hunt, but their drama was getting in the way.  It took longer trying to deal with the drama than it would have to actually do the scavenger hunt.

We walked back the five blocks, and I gathered them into the classroom to talk about why I just tortured them with walking five blocks in 83 degree humid weather. I started with the fact that I am trying to get them to understand the importance of the woodland and the wetland since climate change is going to be the biggest issue in their lives.  They seemed puzzled. I pointed out the severe thunderstorms that we had had nearly every evening for the past couple of weeks and asked if they remembered any other summer like this.  They didn't.  I pointed out that climate change was going to create more severe weather and that the severe thunderstorms and threats of tornadoes were going to be a more regular occurrence.  They questioned if I really knew what I was talking about.  I told them that 99.9% of scientists believe that climate change is real and that humans created it, they look bewildered.  I oulined how the increase in carbon in the atomosphere, due to the increased of use of fossil fuels in the last 150 years has created  this disaster.  They wanted to know why they hadn't been told about this.  I think they have been taught some of the science of it, but either the schools are afraid to take a stand politically or they couched it in terms the kids really didn't understand.  The kids felt like they had been lied to about it and said so.  Ah, equal time in the media, controversy gets more viewership than unpleasant truth.

I need to go back this week, to work with them again.  The lesson had veered into the "What can I do about this, I'm just a kid" territory and the "What if my dad doesn't believe in global warming? So, I will be making two meals that release similar amounts of carbon, half a hamburger patty and rice and beans for 11 people, and talk about it with them. We'll see how this goes...I had originally planned an exploratory hands on environmental unit done at the wetland, but that may need to wait.

It's ALIVE!

Ah, you all thought the blog was dead, but it was just dormant.
For a while there I needed to cope with the world in which we live, to face the ugliness that we call "us", you know, the one that precedes "them"?  I couldn't write because all that came out was anger and frustration at the hatefulness that seethes through our society. That's not what I want my blog to be about, and if I couldn't say anything that I would want to read myself, I wasn't going to write.

The problem is that I need to write, there is just some force within me that drives me to write.  I try to imagine who I would be in a society before reading and writing became common, and I can't. The roles for women were pretty circumscribed, and unless your family was noble, the females weren't educated, and even then it wasn't a guarantee.  My family was not noble. My fate would have been to be a spinster in someone else's house, a farmer's wife, or a craftman's wife, the option of the strange woman at the edge of the village, who was assumed to be a witch, would have been possible too.


The other thing to imagine is who am I in this society? What is my role here? I can read and write.  I need to read and write, but to what purpose? To entertain a few of my friends online or a greater good?

I teach.  Many days the lessons seem superficial, at other times some of the kids really seem to understand what I am trying to Say, with a capital S. When it clicks, it is glorious, when it doesn't it's just a day at work and I go home.

What is it that I am trying to say? The world is fascinating,

Humidity

complex,

Hickory bark

beautiful,

Frost on car

mystifying,

Pine cone in leaves

  wondrous

Box turtle

 and joyful

Land Art

Googly eyed snacks

and that we need to bring these great ideas, concepts and beauty to the forefront. But how?
Ah, my conundrum.

I have been doing some reading to get me out of the paralyzed thought pattern that I have been in since November 2016, some of my recent reading is about joy and nature, two books that aggregate the science on two of my favorite, connected, topics. I highly recommend both books.


The Nature Fix
Joyful

Now to fill this rut and move on.

Snow Track Highway

 We had snow last week and I learned all sorts of things were going on in my yard without my knowledge.

At the north end of the property, I found fox tracks going across the corner leading to and from my neighbors' properties, new ones appeared virtually every day.  They often don't venture far onto the property, and often walk along the northwest boundary which is covered in prickly wineberry vines. The large male fox comes most frequently, and two smaller foxes came along with him once in a while. 

 

Why the highway? Why there? My husband came up with a theory that seems to fit. On either side of our property are the homes of single male humans, both have a history of feeding stray and/or mooching cats. The cats look pretty plump and well cared for, so I am betting mooching. I think the fox may be benefiting from their largess. Picking up an evening snack of kibble may be the reason for the regularity of their visits.  They are not sniffing out the chicken coop or run, they don't get within 100 feet of either, so they are not waiting to see if we make a mistake in locking up the girls.

 

We knew they were here at night, just after Christmas my daughter went to get something out of one of the cars in the driveway.  She donned her new holiday headlamp and zipped out the door without turning on the porch or spotlight. There was a child-like scream followed by  more animalistic noises, coming from a very few feet from where she was sprinting (She doesn't walk outside she runs, that's just how she has always been...). She whipped around and threw and crashed herself back into the house (that's what it sounded like from the kitchen) and breathlessly yelled, "What__ was__ that??!!  Her father heard the animal scream from inside the house, and soon we were googling fox sounds, apparently she had startled a vixen, who in turn then more than startled her.

I guess we need to walk the goofy hunting dog around the edge of the property more often.

Squirrel's Last Stand

The snow revealed other stories, most of them don't end well for the squirrels. Apparently, at least three met their ends by a hawk or an owl not far from the fox tracks.  Their tracks hop out into undisturbed snow, there are  spots where an obvious struggle took place and then no body and no other tracks.

 

Assorted comings and goings

The cats, of course, crossed the yard repeatedly, checking out the bird feeders and heading toward the homes of their favorite middle aged, kibble pouring men. 

 

Until yesterday, there were no chicken tracks in the snow.  The girls had room service when the temperatures were very low, and when it warmed the door was opened for them to sun themselves, but they declined to get snow on their toes. Finally yesterday, they took their opportunity and ran for the bird feeder rather than their own shelter, snacked for a bit and then hung out in their nest box areas.

 Today, after two days of above freezing day temperatures, the snow is almost gone. No more stories in the snow to read for a while.

Touching back on a previous topic:

Recipe Testing, the good the bad and the really ugly.

So far, for the smoothies we have made one berry/banana/spinach smoothie that tasted great, but looked like refried black beans in the glass. Really ugly.

A golden energy smoothie with steamed carrots, pineapple, oj and honey was next, two taste testers couldn't stand the texture, fibrous was their word, one had two sips and dumped the rest. I thought it was too sweet and the third tester thought it might be too tangy for kids  That one is a no.

The third one glowed green with spinach, bananas, maple syrup and vanilla with ground raw cashews and almond milk.  The flavor was good, but the bananas were dominant.  We know our audience is not crazy about bananas, so the banana would have to be toned down a bit. Maybe a bit of yogurt instead or more raw cashews. This would have to be a Ninja  Power Beverage, Alien Sipper or a Hulking Green Special to sell it to the 6-11 year old crowd. I liked the hint of maple.

Snow and Smoothies

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Three inches of snow and life in MD comes to a screeching halt.  Some of it has to do with temperatures much lower than we are used to and high winds, most everything was cancelled today, as the New Englander in me scoffs. Then I take a sip of decaf, lean back in my chair and think...an unscheduled day...hmmmmmm...the possibilities.

I'll write a blog, make Turkish Roasted Eggplant Salad a la Moosewood, aimlessly watch the birds at the feeder, play in the snow with the dog, and test smoothie recipes that I may do with one of my after school groups--no sense in making the kids drink stuff that's disgusting and turning them off.

Smoothies are very interesting things.  I was going through recipes online yesterday and wondering at the variety of options and thinking--people actually drink this stuff??? There are the standard sugar bombs that are mostly fruit, and some that add all sorts of odd stuff that would require a trip to Whole Paycheck and have questionable flavor, and then there are all those that the authors claim are kid approved.  Hah!!! I don't know where they are finding the kids who approve these things, but they certainly are not the kids who attend the after school programs.  One called for frozen butternut squash, frozen raw cauliflower, and frozen kale, and then adds oat milk, with Medjool dates for sweetness (Have you priced Medjool dates lately??) and a little pumpkin pie spice. So, this parent/blogger is still making baby food, but adding pumpkin spice and feeding it to her 4 year old.

I can already see the looks on the kids faces if I were to attempt to get them to make it.  I can also already hear all the requests to go to the restroom to hide from it.


I skip right past all of the recipes with essential oils, funky mystery protein powders, or anything that smacks of "medicine". I am looking at ones where I start with fruity, creamy flavors and slowly add a little veggie element.  The longer term object is to get the kids to transfer the stuff they learn to home, and if the parents have to buy a million new things, it just isn't going to happen.  A smoothie with fruit with a few salad vegetables tossed in or peanut butter--those might work--but not turmeric, spirulina, maca, and bee pollen.

At our house, we specialize in banana-peanut butter with cinnamon  or chocolate smoothies, they are kid approved, and usually made after said child has not been feeling well and hasn't been eating much, because it's a huge hunk of calories and fluids. If you have a truly "kid approved" smoothie recipe, I'd love to see it, but all the ingredients have to come from a standard grocery store and not be expensive.

I now pause in writing to try one of the recipes.

The chocolate/berry/spinach/banana/yogurt smoothie gets 2 1/2 thumbs up out of three. The half is because the kid is recovering from a really bad cold and can't really taste anything.  She said she thinks she would like it, if she could taste it. I was going to photograph it, but it had the color of refried black beans, maybe a blind taste test would work better. The recipe called for vanilla yogurt, but I only had plain goat milk yogurt, so I substituted that and added extra vanilla and a little of the forbidden--sugar! I didn't have just frozen blueberries, so I did a frozen mixed berry. We generally don't keep ice cubes in the house, so I used a frozen banana to thicken...as I have said before, I can't follow a recipe. Our blender is showing its multi-decade age, so I blended the spinach and soy milk together first, because I have done this before and chunks of floating greens are not appealing.

Now just to create a nutrition lesson to go with it!