Meetin' the Locals

It's been a busy few weeks here in the Cusolito household, with a 10 day trip to our Nation's Capitol and then the birth of my niece.

Here's a post I started before we left but was only able to finish tonight.

Kids offer a great way to meet new people. I've been especially aware of this fact as I take my kids to swimming lessons each day. The beach is full of families, most of them with young children. Children automatically gravitate to each other on the beach, at the playground, in the park, on the city bus, etc. All parents have to do is take the opportunity to say hello to each other and chat a bit.

So far at the beach we've met several families from our own town that we didn't know and many from the neighboring towns. I met a mom who literally lives around the corner from us. I've also been the "local" person others meet. Just the other day, a dad said hello when his son wandered nearby. Turns out, they're on vacation here from California, so by talking to me, he got to "meet the locals."

As you venture out, look for ways to interact with others- whether you're on vacation or in your own hometown or city. Your life will be richer for it. And so will your kids' lives.
I also encourage you to consider who you tend to interact with and to stretch yourself a bit.  People tend to stick to their own social, ethnic, or racial group. I'm NOT suggesting that you approach someone purely on the basis of their race, ethnicity, or social standing. But pay attention to your internal inclinations and try to break out of them.

If you are Caucasian and a Chinese-American child talks to your child, don't simply smile politely at the other parent or caregiver from a distance. Walk right up. Say hello and introduce yourself. If you meet someone new to the area, share a few local spots a new resident or vacationer might not know. I did this last fall in a coffee shop. I later ran into that person in the very store I had suggested. Our later interactions developed into a new friendship. Last week, my daughter kept watching a couple of girls. They were doing the same- watching and seeming interested but too shy to talk to each other. I said hello to the girls and struck up a conversation with their mom. She seemed new to town so I told her about the Farmer's Market. We ran into each other there later in the day. My daughter was so excited. (I confess, so was I!) When we saw them at the beach another day, my daughter reacted as if they were old friends.

(Obviously, you'll want to talk to your kids about stranger safety. I basically tell mine that talking to unknown adults is OK as long as a known adult is with them. Remember: other than blood relatives, everyone was a stranger to you once.)

Here are some suggested ways to enter into a conversation:

1. Many people read on the beach, in the park, on the T (or Metro, L, or Tube). Strike up a conversation about the book a person is reading. I asked a woman about the book she was reading (I had just finished it). Days later, we spoke about it again. 
2. Ask a simple question. For example, "Do you live in town?" or "How old are your kids?"
3. If your children are already interacting with their kids, focus on the kids. What are their names, ages, grade in school, etc. Eventually you may move into other territory.
4. Smile and say hello. If your kids are with you, people will often focus on the kids, as above. My husband, son, and I had the most amazing conversation with a husband and wife on a city bus in Florence, Italy. Our son was the "way in." Even though our Italian was severely limited and their English was nearly as limited as our Italian, we connected in a very meaningful way through words, gestures, smiles, and laughs.

Sometimes my interactions with others lead to longer-term relationships. Other times, we exchange a conversation and never see each other again. I recently had a brief exchange with my bagger at the grocery store in Bethesda, MD. The man told my friend and I about his "younger days" growing up in rural Alabama.  We laughed and joked with each other and then my friend and I were on our way with our groceries. I'll never see that man again, but boy was my grocery shopping experience fun!

I know not all people are as outgoing as me, which is why I'm suggesting that parents who venture out with their kids have an opportunity to meet each other. I had a nice exchange with a mom and her kids from Northern England on the train home from Washington, DC. She simply turned to me and asked, "Would your kids like to have a go with the cards?" She broke the ice and then we chatted a bit more. She's another person I'll never see again, but our conversation was a nice addition to our 7 hour train ride.

Have you had any fun interactions with strangers lately? Where did you meet? What was your "way in." Did it lead to a lasting friendship?

A Beach Tail

In honor of summertime here in the northern hemisphere, I thought I'd mention a book I recently discovered- A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams.

Taken from the author's, website: 

"Gregory and his father are spending a day at the beach. When Greg finds a stick and draws a lion in the sand, they name him Sandy Lion. "Don't go in the water, and don't leave Sandy," Dad says. Greg follows his father's advice. But he still manages to travel down the beach quite a way before he realizes he can no longer see the blue umbrella where Dad has settled on the dolphin towel.

Swish Swoosh! Greg's journey takes him past such landmarks as a jellyfish, a sandcastle, a ghost crab hole and more. How will he find his way back to Dad? Fortunately, he has his stick and Sandy's tail with him the whole way.

This rhythmic text is paired with Floyd Cooper's brilliant illustrations, revealing the trip down the beach entirely from a child's point of view. The art and text show a gentle father-son bond and reassures young readers even as they share Greg's moment of worry."

One detail that I especially love is that this book portrays an African-American father and son spending time together. Their race is not mentioned in the text, rather Floyd Cooper's lovely illustrations reveal this detail. Race is not the focus of the story as is the case in so many books about children of color in which the plot focuses on slavery, racism, the civil rights movement, etc. Those books are important, of course, but they need to be balanced with books like this one that portray a "slice of life" for people of color in which their race does not define the plot of the book.

For more on this topic, please check out  the Publisher's Weekly blogpost by Elizabeth Bluemle titled "The Elephant in the Room." You can also follow The Open Book, (children's book publisher Lee and Low's blog), and Coloring Between the Lines (Author/illustrator Anne Sibley OBrien's Blog).

As I think back on my years as a Grade 4 Teacher, I'm sure the books I read with my class were too heavily focused on social issues and not enough on "slice of life stories." I am much more aware of this issue now that I have kids of my own and I write for children, too. Plus, there are more good examples being published every day. I hope you'll support these books by purchasing them or checking them out of the library. As demand grows, publishers will seek more titles. (Two great publishers to check out are Lee and Low and Shen's Books).

Are you a teacher, parent, or homeschooler? Have you considered this point of view regarding books about children of color? Analyze the books you read with your kids. Are people of different races, ethnicities and religions represented? In those books you've read, is the character's race, ethnicity, or religion the defining characteristic? Can you recommend any good books to us?

The Locavore Way

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know how much I support local farmers and gardening. In earlier posts (here and  here), I offered suggestions for planting vegetables with kids (A reader recently told me she planted lettuce in a window box after reading my post. I hadn't thought of that. Great idea!) I also shared stories about our garden successes (here, here and here ). Joining CSA's or visiting farmer's markets has also been discussed on this blog by me and others.

By patronizing farmer's markets, you can meet the people who grow your food, meet your neighbors, and support local agriculture and the economy. By bringing your children to the market, you help them learn that produce does not come with stickers on it or in plastic bags. If you and your children interact with the farmers and other vendors, they can learn about life cycles, farming in general, and economics, to name a few subjects. Many times, the farmers at farmer's markets will welcome you to visit their farms and some encourage volunteer work in exchange for fresh produce. This is "Mucking about and meeting the locals" at its best.

Just this week at the ORR Farmer's Market, I talked to Zack from Lucky Field Organics who encouraged me to try kohlrabi. He suggested several ways to prepare it before sending me on my way with my purchase. I took mine home, peeled it, sliced it thin, and cooked it in a cast iron skillet in a little olive oil. The only seasoning was a little salt and pepper. Even though I need to perfect my cooking technique, my son still loved it! Next week I'll buy another one and use it in an Asian style slaw also featuring a lovely savoy cabbage from our garden. If Zack had not suggested kohlrabi and offered cooking tips, I would not have bought it. This is the kind of service and interaction you can expect from a farmer's market.

For those of you who are new to the idea of being a "locavore" (someone who seeks out and savors locally grown and raised food), I recommend The Locavore Way by Amy Cotler as a great place to learn more about this endeavor. She offers practical tips for getting started, including a point I've made here: start small and add a little bit at a time. If you can attend one farmer's market this year and purchase produce for one great meal, that's terrific. If you belong to a CSA or have a small garden, great. But don't think you need to be like Barbara Kingsolver and become a complete locavore (Her book about a year of eating locally, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life is a great adult read). As much as I strive to eat locally, the truth is I'm not a "full-time" locavore.  Being a locavore in the Northeast is hard during the winter and spring. And then there are the things I'm not willing to give up such as coffee, or chocolate, or even the occasional mango). I eat more locally than some but not as much as others and that's Ok. Find the amount that's right for you right now and keep looking for ways to support your local farmers, bakers, beekeepers, etc. It's good for your family's health, the planet's health, and the local economy.

Here's a  quick recipe for this time of year.

(If you're fairly skilled in the kitchen, it truly takes 30 minutes from start to finish. If you involve your kids in the cooking, as I suggest, it will take longer!)

Fresh Tomato Sauce over Pasta
Ingredients:

An assortment of tomatoes. This week we used cherry tomatoes and a variety of others we purchased at the farmer's market (I used one small box of cherry plus 5 larger tomatoes. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and cut the other tomatoes into bite-sized chunks.)

An onion or two, sliced thin
Chopped garlic (I used 5 cloves, but we LOVE garlic)
fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped (I used roughly a cup, maybe more)

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil to saute the onions
grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)
your favorite pasta

With fresh ingredients, it's almost impossible to mess this up, so don't worry about exact measurements.
Procedure:

1. Put the pasta water on to boil.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. When the oil shimmers, add the onions. Saute them until nearly soft. Then add the garlic.
3. Cook the garlic for 2-3 minutes, then add the tomatoes.
4. About this time, put the pasta into the boiling water.
5. Simmer the tomatoes, onion, and garlic over medium-low heat until the tomatoes are soft (roughly 10-15 minutes), adding half the basil about 5 minutes in and the rest at the end.
6. Salt and pepper to taste (likely very little, if any will be needed)
7. Drain the pasta. Serve the pasta with the sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese, if desired.

Add a nice green salad or maybe a focaccia from your local baker and you've got a delicious meal.

Are you a locavore? If so, what region or country do you live in? Are there times when eating locally is harder for you (such as winters here)? If you're not a locavore, would you consider trying to eat more locally? What roadblocks might you face? How might you work through them?

Where's Michelle?

Before I get to writing a new post, I want to apologize to my regular readers for my absence lately. I know many of you look for my posts and have probably been wondering what's going on.

This blog isn't meant to be a place for my personal stories, so I'll keep my explanation brief. A couple of weeks ago, I suffered an injury that has prevented me from working at my computer long enough to blog. (I have, however, drafted at least 4 posts in my mind... I just have to write them up). I'm on the mend now and expect to be back with a new post soon- perhaps by tonight.

Thanks for your patience.

ORR Farmer's Market

Between the July 4th holiday and the summer cold making it's way through my house, I haven't been able to post for a while. I will be back soon.

Until then, for my local readers, please remember to stop by the Tri-Town Farmer's Market from 3-7 pm every Tuesday at the Old Rochester Regional High School complex. Support your local farms and talk to the farmers about how your food was grown. Go in the main entrance and take a left. You can't miss it.

Last week, the market featured several local farms, (including Cervelli and Lucky Field Organics) a local bakery (Artisan Kitchen), a jewelry maker, a musician, and a "canteen" trailer selling hot food. There were others there but I forgot to note their names so I could share them here. I'll edit this post once I learn the names of the other weekly vendors. The Market Manager also told me she's working to locate other venders, so others may be there soon.

Update July 13th
Today's list of vendors:
Lucky Field Organics from Rochester
Cervelli Farm from Rochester
The Artisan Kitchen from Rochester
Franky's Franks- Organic, Natural, and Kosher Dogs
Green Knoll Designs (jewelry and clothing for little kids)
Great Cape Bakery from Marston's Mills, MA
Trip's Farm  from Westport, MA and Little Compton, RI
Christine's Flowers from Rochester
With music provided by Andrew Prete

Garden Progress

Our garden is growing beautifully this year. Unlike last year's terrible weather (during the month of June we had something like 26 days of rain), this year's has been perfect. We've harvested loads of lettuce, kale, and pea pods already. One jalapeno pepper plant already has a tiny pepper growing and the zucchini have set flowers which means squashes won't be far behind.

Here's a view of the garden taken early this evening:

In the left front corner, behind the fence, is the zucchini. Working toward the right you see parsley, then broccoli and red onions. In the back left corner is the cabbage. Pea pods are straight ahead being picked by my daughter with tomatoes to the right of that. (My kids eat more pea pods raw, right off the vines, then they do cooked). In the middle bed is the post with the hummingbird feeder I wrote about last time. Pole beans have just popped out of the ground and will soon be winding their way up the pole. Around the pole beans are peppers, eggplant, and marigolds. Outside the fence is lined with various flowers- marigolds to deter pests, cleome and cosmos to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and on the north side (behind the pea pods), sunflowers to attract birds in late summer. In the far back left of the photo, against the building, is our cold frame. We grew arugula and rosemary until mid-December last year, but I need to learn more about maintaining produce all winter long.

I'm thrilled with the results so far, but I want pause to tell you that we have been working on this garden for about 5 years. Our first year was a disaster- the seeds were washed away in heavy rain and rabbits ate all the plants we put in during one night. We gave up that year- we had a young son and it was too much to redo everything. The next year we got smart- built inexpensive raised beds and put a cheap fence around the whole thing. We had more success. Then we put in a real fence with a gate and added more compost to the beds. Terrific success. Then last year... virtually nothing was productive except the basil. It was a bad year.

My message... start small and add to your successes. If you planted a small garden, or in some pots, and had success this year, build on it. If things didn't go quite so well, as with our first year, take a step back and plan for how you'll improve next year. Take baby steps. You know the old saying: Rome wasn't built in a day! It's easy to get caught up in trying to do everything all at once. Cut yourself some slack and celebrate each step you take toward growing your own produce.

Here are some close-ups of the produce:

Cabbage

Eggplant

Romaine Lettuce

Pea Pods

How are your gardening efforts going? Some of you left comments that you were planting this year. Others told me in person. Please share your successes with us. What challenges are you facing?

Hummingbirds

A relatively easy way to bring wildlife to your yard or apartment window is to get a hummingbird feeder. There are many styles of feeders available. Ours hangs from a branch in the middle of our vegetable garden, but you can hang them from plant hangers right outside your windows, as well. You can also get ones that stake into the ground or suction cup to windows if you don't have a place for a hanger. A quick Internet search will reveal the hundreds of options available, but I recommend taking a trip to your local garden center to find one. The folks who work there will likely be knowledgeable about local hummingbirds and will be able to help you choose the feeder that's best for you. If you want a fancy hand-blown glass feeder, you can also find those in local gift shops.

Most experts recommend setting feeders up by mid-May here in New England, so you may not get any visitors if you do it now. You never know, though. I only set ours up last weekend and the steady flow of hummers started a day later. If you live in another part of the country or overseas, the feeding times will likely be different than here. In tropical areas you can feed them year-round. At a year-round feeder in Ecuador, a hummer landed on my finger when I stood very still nearby.

Kids love to watch these tiny birds zip around the yard and dip into the feeders to eat. Once hummers start visiting your feeder, your kids will be able to notice patterns in their feeding times. Challenge them to predict when the birds will come. I snapped my photos yesterday by sitting very quietly around the time when I knew the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds would arrive. Sure enough, minutes later, there they were.

If your kids are also inclined, they could start keeping a nature journal in which they record how many hummers they see, when they see them, how long they stay, what flowers they visit etc. (FYI...Hummers are especially drawn to red, tube-shaped flowers. Planting those in your garden will increase your hummingbird visitors. In our yard, cleome, and later trumpet vines, are the big draw). Artistically inclined kids can do their best to draw them. If the birds move too fast to draw, ask kids to draw the hummers' flight patterns using squiggly or dotted lines. Encourage linguistic learners to write poems or descriptions of the birds. More active kids can emulate the hummers quick movements with their bodies or create a dance that represents their movements. Have a musician on your hands? Have him compose a short song that captures the feeling of the hummers' movements. The possibilities are endless. Break out of the traditional school-like kind of responses and have fun!

By watching closely over a period of time, kids can make their own inferences about hummingbird behavior and then supplement their learning with books or articles. I strongly encourage you to let your children explore, observe, and make inferences before you go to "expert" resources. I am a writer, so I value books tremendously, but this blog focuses on "mucking about" to learn things on your own, first, after all! When you are ready for more information, here are some books you might try:

Do any of you have hummingbird feeders? Where do you live? Have they been active this year? Do you know what species you've been seeing? What strategies have you found work for attracting them to your yard? Do you have a book to recommend? Please share.