This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Art Enables's Facebook Wall.
Arrrgh! We apologize for the inconvenience -- Art Enables' website and servers are down, including email. We hope to have things returned to service by Tuesday, September 3rd. If you need to reach AE staff, please leave us a message on this page. Thank you! (Image: "Not Going to Tell You" by Mo Higgs)
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.
by Alex Binck
Summer races on by yet again. Summer is my favorite season, and when looking back on it, it always seems so short. I love the warm weather, the green growing things, swimming, life exploding out of every inch of dirt. But during the summer there’s always a certain eagerness for it to be over. By August, the craze of weeding, planting for fall, picking, trying to cram in more time with friends or trips to the beach, the heat, the bugs, the humidity… it can all start to get a little exhausting. Like most folks in the
DC area, I try to get out of town for a week or two every year around this time. When I was younger, vacations were mostly about lounging around, walking, playing board games, or reading: at any given moment, doing nothing or whatever I felt like. But lately it seems even vacations can be a mad scramble. In order to get in all of the relaxation and fun I want, my vacations need to be strictly regimented, every hour scheduled out. Even then, I rarely leave without a few regrets, things I didn’t get to do. And now I’m back. I successfully crammed the absolute maximum amount of rest and relaxation into my time away, and yet I don’t find myself feeling much more rested or relaxed. A little voice wonders: when will summer end? When will things slow down a little so I can finally rest?
It bothers me that I think this. Summer is a wonderful time; I know that after it’s over, I’ll remember it fondly, and look forward to the next one eagerly. I could work less but, relatively, I don’t work that much. Many farmers spend practically their every waking hour and then some working, and, if I want to be a successful farmer in the future, I’ll probably need to meet or exceed this level. Partly, this is because we live in a society where food and farmers are grossly undervalued, despite the fact that a more
important job is hard to imagine. This is true even more broadly: generally, the more direct and tangible benefit you bring to people’s lives in your work, the less money you will make. But, until society makes a real effort to consider these problems, this is the lot we’re stuck with. And maybe it’s not so bad. After all, the voice in my head doesn’t want summer to end because I hate it. It wants summer to end because I love it too much. Much better than the alternative, huh?
Click here for more Field Notes
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Art Enables's Facebook Wall.
It's Friday! Starting tomorrow, Art Enables will be closed for our traditional summer break. We will reopen September 3rd; any sales from the website will be shipped on the 3rd. Have a great rest of your summer and see you in September!
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Art Enables's Facebook Wall.
Art Enables salutes the Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go Go, on his birthday. ("Chuck Brown Tribute" by Violet Lucas)
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Art Enables's Facebook Wall.
Art Enables salutes the Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go Go, on his birthday. ("Chuck Brown Tribute" by Violet Lucas) This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Art Enables's Facebook Wall.
Only two days left before Art Enables closes for vacation! There are still some great items on sale, like Allison Bell's "Centering Through Yoga". Get 'em before they're gone (or we're gone on vacation!)
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Art Enables's Facebook Wall.
Only two days left before Art Enables closes for vacation! There are still some great items on sale, like Allison Bell's "Centering Through Yoga". Get 'em before they're gone (or we're gone on vacation!) This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Lambi Fund of Haiti.
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Lambi Fund of Haiti.
This post is a reprint of a post that originally appeared at Accokeek Foundation.
by Daniel Michaelson
The word squash comes from the Narragansett word askutashquash, meaning “a green thing eaten raw.” This Algonquian language was spoken in Rhode Island and other Algonquian groups had similar words for squash.
As you well know, not all squash is little and green and eaten raw. I’m sure by now you have enjoyed the yellow, green, long, and fat squash coming out of the Ecosystem Farm. When we use the word squash today, it may refer to three species of the genus Cucuribita. These include C. maxima (Hubbard, buttercup, and some varieties of giant pumpkins), C. moschata (Butternut squash, cheese pumpkins), and C. pepo (most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash, and zucchini). Winter squash are almost without exception C. maxima or C. moschata. Summer squash, which develop quickly and get eaten immature, are C. pepo. Most pumpkins are also C. pepo, but large, late, smooth, symmetrical forms of C. maxima and C. moschata are also referred to as pumpkins. The best commercially canned pumpkin is actually C. maxima of the variety Delicious, Boston Marrow, or something similar. The flesh of this squash is supposedly richer and more nutritious than that of C. pepo pumpkins.
C. maxima apparently originated in northern Argentina near the Andes, as it was found by the Spanish at the time of first contact, but it has never since been documented growing wildly. This species had not crossed into Central or North America at the time of the New World’s discovery by Europeans. C. moschata is a long-vining plant native to Mexico and Central America. C. pepo is native to the same region. Both C. moschata and C. pepo had been carried all over North America by the time of first contact.
So next time you have summer squash with friends, you can impress them by asking them to pass the askutashquash and telling them that you are about to eat C. pepo.
Click here to read more Field Notes