Blankets for Homeless

Yes, I know, this is quite off topic. BUT....

If you would like to help the homeless, but aren't sure where to start, please consider giving a small donation to my new cause - blankets for the homeless.

Making a donation is EASY and it doesn't have to be big to make a big difference. More information at the link.

THANK YOU!
http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=12930&url=blanketsforthehomeless

SPRING BUSYNESS

At two days, already striking an adult pose.

I guess I need to explain why I've been absent for so long. I've signed with a publisher to write my urban foraging book. I can't tell you how excited I am about getting this book out! My first deliverable is due in May, so I've been doing a lot of writing, just not here in my blog pages.

Also, Spring and all its activities are full upon us right now. All 3 of our goats were bred in the fall, so we just had 7 (adorable!!!) kids added to our back yard in the last couple weeks.

Little Donatello (names are all courtesy of Noah.)

Our silver lace wyandotte chicks are almost to pullet size, so we'll be introducing them to our partridge rock and auracana hens soon.

Venus

Donatello

Emma's three (Gene Simmons, Patch and Groucho)

Long Day!!

I am teaching my urban foraging classes through Seattle Tilth now and have been busy teaching classes on the side as well.

So, please forgive my absence here. I will probably not be back, at least not entirely, until August (at which time I hope to complete the first draft of the book.) But please do stay tuned. There's so much more I'd like to share with you about this unusual, delightful lifestyle we've somehow gradually adopted!

IN THANKS TO KIND STRANGERS

This entry does not have a whole lot to do with food until we get to the link at the end of the article. But I have to write about it because it's a subject that never ceases to take me off guard and pleasantly surprise me.

After cleaning up the morning dishes, I jumped into our old pickup truck with the intention of mapping edible weeds for my book photographer. I stopped off at the library to drop off some books. Ordinarily, I would just leave the truck running, but for some reason I turned it off today.

I took a couple notes on edible plants growing right there at the library, then tried to start the truck up. "Bzzzz-z-z-z." No luck! I called Carlos who told me I had a set of jumper cables buried in the back somewhere. I found said jumpers just as the fellow parked next to me was walking to his truck. He saw them and immediately offered to help.

In the time we were attempting to charge my truck's battery, I learned he'd served two terms in Iraq and had been on the mission to remove Aristide from power in Haiti. It's not often I have an opportunity to ask a soldier about their mission, so in that vein, the dead battery did me some good.

After a pleasant 15 minutes of conversation, I once again tried to get the truck to turn over. "Bzzzz-z-z-z." Nope. I asked him for a ride to my house, about 10 blocks or so, explaining that my back and hip give me trouble when I walk. His response, "Oh, more than happy to help."

For this reason, I actually like getting stuck in a jam now and then - just to be reminded of how kind people can be. As a matter of fact, I don't ever recall being let down in such a situation.

A few years ago, Carlos and I had a flat tire while driving 100 miles down a dirt road through the mountains in Dominican Republic. The farm workers witnessing our trouble dropped everything at once and bent over backwards to help us.

Another time in Mexico, I had Carlos' kids on a very secluded beach south of Puerto Vallarta. On seeing us, a local farmer walked a good half mile to warn us of the rogue waves that had swept several people away from the beach in the past.

I learned about kind strangers when I was about 10 years old. The story on which I learned it was related to food and featured in Sun Magazine some years back. It can be read here ~ Mercy.

If you're reading this, thank you kind stranger!