All I Needed to Know About Life I learned in the Garden

George is a retired teacher. NO, that’s not quite true. He’s still teaching. He spends his Saturday mornings teaching composting classes at the community garden center. He delights in getting his hands dirty, but enjoys even more watching the children get their hands dirty feeding the earth worms, turning the piles of compost and tending the plants in the multigenerational community garden.

He sits and talks with the kids about how math and science are a part of gardening. Then he shares a little gardening history, gives them little hands-on quizzes and talks about the difference between healthy home grown food and the junk found in their backpacks. Sometimes they will even prepare a salad, or share some of the fresh strawberries. He started this garden with the hope that the kids would come if it looked like fun. It succeeded beyond all expectations and now many of the kids bring their families along. Others have started their own family garden in the backyard at home. One family even lined the sidewalk with chile peppers and rainbow chard.

George, the kids and some volunteers made some interesting observations about the garden as an outdoor classroom. Part of this article came from their comments.

Why the Garden is Better Than TV
■ The scenes change faster than the images on the TV cartoons. Just watch a hummingbird.
■ There is real life terror, from flesh & blood monsters. I’m talking about fire ants, mosquitoes, hornets, spiders and snakes.
■ The music is fast paced and even more cacophonous than your favorite music channel, particularly when the cicadas and grackles are performing.
■ You can’t smell the TV screen like you can fresh moist earth, tomato vines or roses.
■ There are no reruns in the garden. Each season is different and unique, and each day comes with its own surprises, just waiting for you to discover.

Lessons Learned and Lasting Values Cultivated
In a society that seems to be preoccupied with values and virtues, perhaps we should turn to the garden for a few lessons. These are a few of the lessons we can learn from the people-plant connection, lessons for all ages.

Patience A thirty second sound bite doesn’t teach us how to wait for results, but growing roses and tomatoes does.

Planning ahead Part of gardening is preparation for the future. We have to formulate expectations and then work toward them. Knowing that we can actually influence the future is empowering, for both children and adults.

Responsibility The plants in the garden depend on us for water, care and sustenance. We soon learn the consequences of failure to meet our responsibilities, but we also experience the joy that comes from fulfilling these obligations.

Cooperation We learn not only to cooperate with others, but also with the forces of nature, the climate and even the plants themselves.

Handling disappointment We experience both success and disappointment in the garden. Sometimes we know loss through no fault of our own. Life doesn’t always happen the way we wish it would. We all must learn to accept and grow from loss. We also have to learn how to graciously accept the gift of success.

Faith It takes a lot of faith to plant a seed and expect to smell a flower or taste the salad sometime in the future. This act of gardening also requires confidence in ourselves and trust in the future.

Confidence We learn in the garden that we can be a part of the growth process, in both ourselves and the living things that we are cultivating. We learn that we can succeed. Confidence is the seed that produces such beautiful flowers as pride and self-worth.

Empowerment In the garden we are empowered by making decisions, experiencing success and being in a partnership with the Creator.

We may think we are cultivating a few flowers, herbs or vegetables, but the real harvest is ourselves. We all have a lot to learn, and teach, in the garden. If you want to discover these lessons for yourself, take a child by the hand and work with him or her in the garden. It will all come to you, each virtue in its own season.

Adapted from Garden Projects for the Classroom and Special Learning Programs,
by Hank Bruce & Tomi Jill Folk, published by Petals & Pages Press, 2004, petals_pages@msn.com

New Books for Older Readers

That's the way the headline read about a new series of books Tomi and I have launched for folks who have achieved the status of ELDER. The following is the story of how the genre we are calliong "Elder Fiction began.

Seniors Illustrated was inspired by and created for our elders, both at home and in senior care communities. These are short stories with older adults as the heroes and heroines. There will be between two and four new titles released per year. Each is written to respect and honor our elders, but can be enjoyed by all ages. Sally Lamas, a gifted artist, is doing a fantastic job with the illustrations.

• What does a Seniors Illustrated book look like?
  Each title is paperback, about 60 to 70 pages in an easy to hold 8 ½ x 11 format, with a glossy cover. This size is convenient for arthritic hands.
• They have full page illustrations on the left page and accompanying text on the facing page. This gives the visual impact first, followed by the words in large print.
• There is white space than is commonly found in adult literature. This makes it easier to focus and read with impaired vision, or cognitive limitations.
• The pictures are black & white outline form so that individual readers can color them if they so desire.
• This can reinforce the story by expanding the visual and verbal information to include physical input.
• The act of coloring makes the reader a partner in the story. It also provides readers the opportunity to make their own interpretations and decisions, another empowering activity.
• Many readers have chosen to add details or background to these illustrations as an outlet for their creativity.
  

Poetry is a part of each Senior’s Illustrated book. The format and rhyme of a poem is often a great memory trigger and many individuals with cognitive impairment can interpret lines of a poem better than prose.

Along with each short story is a page or two of activities that relate to the story, and sometimes, a quiz, or short commentary.

Why did we create Seniors Illustrated?
It all started when we were doing a horticultural therapy training program for the staff at a senior care community last year. As we entered the activities room we noticed a stack of Little Golden Books on the table. You know, those little children’s books with the children’s stories and lots of pictures. After our program we complimented the activity director on their intergenerational program.

She said, "Oh, we don’t have an intergenerational program. Why did you think we did?"

We pointed to the Little Golden Books on the table and started to explain that we assumed the elders living there were reading them to the children who visited.

She responded, "That’s all we could find for many or our seniors who have trouble following the plot in a novel, or even holding a big book in arthritic hands." She then spread some of the books out on the table. "This is the best we could do."

We contacted a number of our friends involved in senior care, rehab programs and hospitals. They all decried the lack of reading material written and formatted for our senior citizens.

Others agreed that they had attempted to provide opportunities to read by supplying children’s picture books. This is minimally effective at best. The characters and plots don’t speak to the interests of senior citizens. The presentation doesn’t provide the mental stimulation that can be most beneficial for persons with cognitive impairments and memory limitations.

To remedy this situation, we launched this series of senior short story / picture books written specifically for our elders. Seniors Illustrated stories are written and illustrated to entertain, amuse, inspire and engage mature readers, including those with physical and mental limitations. Subject matter varies from senior romance to elder heroes making a difference in the world, poetry for inspiration and conversation, a little humor and a few activities.
The first two volumes are out now.

Seniors Illustrated Volume 1 features two great short stories: Barefoot in the Grass and Fisherman, Fisherman written by Hank Bruce and illustrated by Sally Lamas. You will also enjoy two thought provoking poems by Tomi Jill Folk; Celebrate & Enjoy Life
Barefoot in the Grass introduces Flo and Claire, pranksters who brighten the lives of (almost) all at the Whispering Winds Senior Center. Come, let them add some sparkle to your day. Be prepared to smile, perhaps even laugh out loud.
Fisherman, Fisherman is about an elderly gentleman who befriends a young teen about to become a gang member. Together they go after the biggest fish in the canal, with only a homemade cane pole. Each of them is escaping a setting that would cast them in a role they do not want to play. Let Mr. Cal and Devon take you on a Florida adventure you will not soon forget. Based on a true story.

Seniors Illustrated Volume 2 features two more great short stories: Cactus Flowers & Friends and The Great Potato Drop. Both written by Hank Bruce and illustrated by Sally Lamas. You will also enjoy thought provoking poems by Tomi Jill Folk and a trivia quiz, along with more great ideas for activities and discussion.
In Cactus Flowers & Friends a couple wait six years for a plant to flower. When it does their friends throw a party to celebrate this rare event. The neighborhood comes together on the special night with great anticipation. The visitors include a little girl with special needs who becomes as important as the flowers themselves. This story might trigger some memories, or inspire someone to grow this dramatic "Queen of the Night."
In The Great Potato Drop a group of senior citizens tackle hunger when they arrange to have 45,000 pounds of potatoes dumped in the parking lot of Whispering Winds Senior Center. It becomes a truly unique adventure for the entire community. Won’t you join the them at the mountain of potatoes? Got any good potato recipes?
　
We were honored to receive the following comments from Kathryn Martin on Seniors Illustrated Vol 1

Kathryn Martin is a speaker, humorist, author and she plays Miz Maudie across the country. She has devoted her life to enriching the lives of America’s elders and giving the gift of laughter to everyone. Her website www.mizmaudie.com provides insight into her diverse talents. She had the following comments to make after reading Seniors Illustrated Vol. 1. This is what she had to say.

Very attractive!!!! The book is so good, I never quit until I'd read the entire thing!!!
I find the book very attractive.

Front Cover: Shiny but not too shiny to create a glare for older eyes. FEELS good to the touch. Has a comforting feeling and size for arthritic hands to hold easily.

Inside: Print just right. Good quality paper... no glare to read...yet will accept coloring...
These are two stories that are impossible to put down without finishing! You've captured the essence without wasted words...Just easy enjoyable reading.. sense of anticipation... a little nervousness that the main characters will get caught.... the joy at seeing the "bad guys" put in their places.... then realizing how far they've been missing the mark... changing.... wonderful!!! I am really impressed.

Tomi's work is just woven into the whole thing so wonderfully. What a good idea to include something like that as so many of the older folks have enjoyed memorizing poems in their earlier years...lots of recitation... so still enjoy good poetry.

Sally's art work is really custom made.... It's easy to look at... has enough detail to back up the story ... gives one a picture of the characters and locale... yet simple and easy to color.
Then to put in suggested activities .. fantastic ideas.

I'd say from here, "You've got a hit on your hands!"
Kathryn

These books are available from www.amazon.conm or directly from Petals & Pages Press petals_pages@msn.com I would like to hear your thoughts on the value of materials written specifically for mature readers.

Peace, Hank

Gingerbread Friends, a Christmas Gift for All

Dear friends and visitors,
The following short story is from the latest book written by my wife, Tomi Jill Folk and myself. Windowsill Whimsy, Gardening & Horticultural Therapy Projects for Small Spaces was released at the American Horticultural Therapy Association conference in Lexington, KY on Nov 1st. It was written for activity directors, teachers, community workers and family members. It is already selling well, including some international orders.

In this collection of HT projects, activities and quizzes we included a few short stories. The following is an excerpt from this book. It is my Christmas gift to you. Hope you enjoy it.
Peace, Hank

Gingerbread Friends
A
short story
of the shared joy
and the simple blessings
that can be found in the wishes
of a small child and the wisdom of an old lady

Jessie had reached that point in the afternoon where school was BORING. She had enjoyed the reading class in the morning, and art was always fun. Today she had made a special picture to take home for her mother. But, now Mrs. Olsen seemed to have lost her enthusiasm as well. Last year they would have taken naps, but now they had to learn social studies and math in the afternoon. Jessie had always wondered if teachers took a nap at the same time the kids did. Several times she had tried to stay awake and find out, but she always fell asleep. Now, in first grade, there were no naps.

Today is was really cold outside. Wind whistled around the corners of the school and through the big blue spruce that stood by the flag pole. Jessie suddenly realized that Mrs. Olsen wasn’t looking at them, she wasn’t even looking at the book she was holding. She was looking out the window! And she was smiling. When she smiled like that it usually meant that the goldfinches and chickadees were having a snack at the sunflowers that had grown from the seeds they all planted last spring.

"Children!" she said. "Do you see what I see?"

Everyone turned their eyes toward the windows. Jessie stared at the sunflowers but couldn’t see any birds, just the big seedheads nodding at her in the wind.

"Look closely," Ms. Olsen told them all as she motioned for them to get out of their seats and follow her to the windows.

"IT’S SNOWING!" Tanya shouted.

Everyone of the children strained their eyes to see the first snow of the winter. Next week was Thanksgiving. The snow was late this year. Soon each of them had spotted a flake and followed it to the grass on the lawn, or the sidewalk. In a few minutes the beautiful crystals were appearing so fast that they seemed to be standing on tippy-toe on the blades of grass and the needles of the big old spruce at the corner of the playground. Then they would disappear into mini-puddles of water.

Everyone was hoping that there would be enough snow to do all the fun things we can do with it.

Alex was thinking about building a snow fort. Shawna had never seen snow before and was wondering what it felt like to have it melt in your hand. When Carlita closed her eyes she imagined she could feel the wind in her face as she rode her sled down Gourley’s hill. Freddie and Tucker had visions of snowball fights. Michelle was trying to remember where she had put her ice skates last spring.

Jessie’s joy turned to sadness when she thought about the last time they had snow. It was last spring. She could remember helping her neighbor, Old Mrs. Carter, shovel her walk. Tears formed in her eyes when she thought about her neighbor falling and breaking her hip. She remembered running in the house to call 911. She remembered bringing out blankets and a big old quilt to keep Ms. Carter warm until help came. She remembered them lifting the old lady onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. She remembered that Mrs. Carter never came home.

She went back to her seat and got a tissue from her backpack.

Ms. Olsen came over and sat down beside her.

Jessie told her all about how her neighbor had been taken to a hospital, then a nursing home.

"Would you like to visit her?" The teacher asked, as she put her arms around the sadness, giving Jessie a comfortable hug.

"Can I?" Jessie asked in return.

"Of course. I think Mrs. Carter would like to have a visit from you."

The smile returned as Jessie wiped her eyes and tucked the tissue in her pocket. "When can we?"

"The Holly Hill Senior Care Center is only a couple blocks from here. Let’s call your mother and see if it’s all right for you to go."

Jessie’s mother wasn’t certain that it would be good for Jessie to see all those old folks at "the home" but finally agreed to let her visit their former neighbor.

By the time school was out there was a soft layer of fresh new snow all over the grass and the trees, but it was all melted on the walkways and the parking lot. There is a magic in the first snow of winter. Jessie had put on her coat and started for the door when she remembered the picture she had drawn for her mother earlier that day. She raced back to her desk and carefully tucked it into her backpack.

When they got to the Holly Hill Senior Care Center, Jessie thought that it looked a lot like a school. There were sidewalks, a parking lot, spruce and holly trees, and there was even a bird feeder right outside the dinning room windows. When they stepped inside she saw several people in wheelchairs, a nurse and several other people who seemed to be very busy. There were bouquets of flowers in the lobby and a big old sandy colored dog keeping an elderly gentleman company down the hall.

"Levenia Carter is in room 143, down this hall and to the right," the lady at the desk said. Then she thought about it for a moment. "Is she expecting you? She doesn’t get many visitors."

"We’re going to surprise her," Jessie announced. "I even brought her a picture I made today." This piece of artwork had been intended for Jesse’s mother but it seemed Mrs. Carter might need it more.

They went down the hall and made a right turn. There was room 143, beside the door was a name plate that said in small red letters "Ms. Levenia Carter." Inside the room was a bed, a night stand, a small table with a TV on it and a rocking chair by the window. That rocking chair was slowly rocking back and forth, but its back was to them so they couldn’t see its occupant.

"Mrs. Carter, Ma’am?" Jessie asked as a way of announcing their presence.

Slowly the wrinkled dark brown face surrounded by a halo of snow white hair appeared from the side of the rocker. There was a brief moment of pondering, then a smile spread across the entire face and a hand reached for the aluminum walker that waited beside the chair.

"Lord Almighty, if’n you ain’t a sight to behold." She stood and grasped the walker with both hands. "Come over here, Child, let me look at you. My how you’ve growed."

Then she looked at Ms. Olsen and deep lines crossed her forehead. "Who might this be? I know it ain’t your Mamma."

Jessie introduced her teacher and they slowly walked down to the end of the hall where there was a sitting room with some comfortable chairs and a window where they could continue to watch the snow falling on the shrubbery and trees outside.

"I remember the last time it snowed. You saved my life when you called them medics." She paused for a long moment, then continued. "Child, I surely do miss you. Come here and give me a hug."

They talked about snow and Thanksgiving and winter and Christmas. Jessie always like to hear Mrs. Carter talk about her childhood in Georgia where she grew up. Her father had been a sharecropper and life was tough. She didn’t get to go to school much and didn’t learn to read until she moved north with her husband after their farm was sold.

When Jessie gave her the picture she kissed the child and held the colorful drawing of a gingerbread man to her heart. She would pause every few seconds to look at it again.

Soon it was time to go. They walked Mrs. Carter back to her room and put on their coats. After one last hug. Mrs Carter opened the drawer of her night stand and removed a roll of tape. She taped the picture on the wall right beside the window. "There. Now every time I gets lonely I can just look at my Gingerbread Friend." She laughed and everyone hugged again.

Jessie had so many questions she wanted to ask as Ms. Olsen backed out of the parking space and onto the street. She wanted to ask about what it was like to get old. She wanted to ask why everyone seemed so lonely. She wanted to ask why those people had to stay there. She wanted to ask if Ms. Olsen was going to get old and stay there. She wanted to ask if she was going to get old and live there. She wanted to ask why Ms. Carter couldn’t come home again. But she held all these questions inside.

It was on the way to her house that the idea came to Jessie. "Ms. Olsen, could we do something?"

"Umm. Maybe. What do you want to do?" She asked as they reached Jessie’s driveway.

"Could we come back again? Can we visit Mrs. Carter next week?" Jessie asked hesitantly.

The teacher was quiet for a moment, then answered, "I don’t know. Do your think your parents will allow it?"

They did visit the old lady the again, the week after Thanksgiving. Mrs. Carter seemed to have a sparkle in her eyes. Jessie was pleased to see her picture of the "Gingerbread Friend" still taped on the wall where the old lady could see it from anywhere in the room.

They had a nice visit. Mrs. Carter told them about how, when she was just a youngster herself she helped bake gingerbread cookies, because that was all they had to decorate their Christmas tree. "We was too poor to buy ornaments, and us children could eat them cookies when no one was looking."

When they left they walked down the hall passing lonely men and women in chairs and wheelchairs. They all looked so sad, but they smiled when she waved at them and said "Merry Christmas."

"Ms. Olsen, I wish we could do something." Jessie said as they stepped out into the wind and snow that was swirling around the parking lot. "Can we?"

"Well that depends. I think a trip to MacDonald's will spoil your dinner. I don’t think your parents would like that very much."

"No. That’s not what I was thinking." There was a sparkle in her eyes as she spoke. "I wish all of us from school could come over and visit with Mrs. Carter and all the other people here. They all seem so lonely."

"We’ll have to talk to the rest of the students, all of your parents and these folks here too." Ms. Olsen was hesitating, not sure this was a good idea, but proud of Jessie for thinking of it.

"But, it was so much fun to hear her tell the story about her Christmas when she made all the gingerbread cookies." Jessie was using her ‘please, may I’ voice.

An idea was forming in Ms. Olsen’s mind. "I think that would be a lot of fun for everyone. Let’s find out what we can do."

By the next afternoon Jessie and her friends were on the Internet looking for recipes for gingerbread and Mrs. Olsen had spent her lunch hour with the principle. Jessie’s wish was about to come true.

It was Friday afternoon when the bus pulled up to the school and all the children in Ms. Olsen’s class piled in, each one carrying cookie cutters, eggs, flour, milk bowls, gingerbread cookie cutters and cookie sheets.

When they arrived at the Holly Hill Senior Center, there was a big Christmas tree in the lobby. Christmas carols were playing and there were dozens of folks with wheelchairs and walkers waiting for them. It seemed like everyone was talking at once as the lady in the blue uniform and Santa hat led them all down the hall to the dining room and kitchen.

They gathered around the tables and started to read recipes, crack eggs, measure milk and flour. Everyone was talking at once and everyone was getting dusty with the flour and sticky with the egg whites, and everyone was having fun. They worked in teams to mix the gingerbread cookie dough, stamp out the shapes with the gingerbread people cookie cutters, put them on the cookie pans, and march them into the kitchen where the chefs would put them in the ovens. Soon the tables were filled with hundreds and hundreds of "Gingerbread Friends."

As soon as they were cool everyone started decorating and trimming them with icing, candy and colored sugar sprinkles. Each table was a mess and every hand had sticky fingers, but everyone was smiling and laughing.

Finally it was time to take the cookies out to the empty tree in the lobby.

Trays, and boxes and rolling carts were filled with "Gingerbread Friends." Everyone in a wheelchair had a tray of cookies on their laps as they formed a parade from the dining room to the lobby. The school children were pushing the wheelchairs of their new found grand-friends, and everyone was singing Christmas carols as they paraded down the hall.

Everyone took turns hanging their favorite "Gingerbread Friends" on the tree until that tree was so full of gingerbread ornaments that there wasn’t room for even one more "Gingerbread Friend."

But there were still hundreds left, all sizes and shapes of gingerbread men, gingerbread women, gingerbread girls and gingerbread boys.

"Look at all the cookies we have left over," the lady in the blue uniform moaned. "What are we going to do with all of these?"

Mrs. Carter had become quiet, and almost sad as the tree was filled with "Gingerbread Friends." Now she turned to all the people gathered in the lobby. They were all tired, well dusted with flour, dotted with icing in a rainbow of colors. Everyone became quiet while she braced herself against her walker.

"We are all so blessed here today. Look at us. We are warm. We got friends, music and more cookies than we can ever eat."

She paused and shifted to her other foot to ease the pain in her hip. "There’s folks out there," she pointed out the window at the swirling snow, "So poor they ain’t got Christmas trees, no presents, no warm places to live, so poor they ain’t even got a friend."

A big smile crossed her old and wrinkled face. "We can share our blessings. We can share our Gingerbread Friends.

And that’s the way it all started. The Gingerbread Friends were boxed up while coats, and scarves, and mittens and hand knitted caps were gathered from each room. Soon they were ready to deliver the Gingerbread Friends to the homeless shelter downtown, and the people who were in the Meals-on-Wheels program, the school for children with developmental disabilities. And other places that got added to the list as they loaded the Holly Hill vans and the school bus.

The next time you eat a gingerbread cookie,

or see a gingerbread house,

or gingerbread people on a Christmas tree

think of the Gingerbread Friends

and what grew from a wish made by little Jessie

and the vision of an old lady named Levenia.

Think of what can happen when we all join together

and share our joy, and share our blessings,

when we become a blessing to each other.

Peace isn't something we possess, it's something we share

Tumbleweed Soup, the Recipe

Tumbleweed Soup, The Recipe

You asked for it and here it is. Tumbleweed Soup has been a part of our visits to numerous Navajo and Pueblo communities in thew Southwest. As we share the soup we have frequently been told some great stories about this botanical "illegal alien." Several of you have asked for the recipe so here it is. This is one of several dozen information sheets the non-profit organization, Hunger Grow Away has available at no charge. If you would like to have a complete list please email me at hungergrowaway@q.com You can also check out the Hunger Grow Away website at www.hungergrowaway.com

Tumbleweed Soup

Too often we overlook some of the most nutritious plants that grow so willingly in our gardens and fields. The common dandelion is a very healthy food, as are lambsquarters, purslanes and amaranths. In a culture that harvests its food from the supermarket and depends on fast food restaurants to prepare their meals, we have not only become disconnected from the wild harvest, but from the family vegetable garden as well. We can reconnect with regional and cultural traditions, bring generations together and improve our nutrition when we make our food fun instead of fast; our meals a time to share with the family rather than the TV; and when we prepare our own dinner as a creative experience rather than rely on canned, frozen or packaged meals with artificial colors and flavoring, laced with preservatives and other additives. We can live healthier and have fun doing it.

In an attempt to make dinner an adventure and cooking fun
we humbly suggest TUMBLEWEED SOUP

Tumbleweed soup can be a great party, festival or celebration dish that makes for great conversation. This is more than just a meal. It calls for the active participation of all the guests and family members. It is recommended that this nutritious meal be used at special occasions where extended family and/or special guests are going to be present. Each dinner guest can be asked to bring one or more of the ingredients and all of the guests should be a part of the meal preparation.

The ultimate goal of tumbleweed soup is to actively engage all participants in the meal, regardless of age or physical limitations. This is a healthy and nutritious meal that can be enjoyed by all ages, including those with diabetes and those with poor teeth, or no teeth at all. It is low in fats, moderately low in carbohydrates and high in fiber. And it tastes good too.

Ingredients:
*2 cups tender new shoots from spring tumbleweed (Russian thistle, Salsola iberica)
*2 medium white potatoes, can substitute sunchokes
*1 medium sweet potato
*1 garden fresh onion, best with tops
*2-3 cloves fresh garlic
*3-5 garden fresh carrots
*1-2 stalks celery
1 parsnip
1 turnip or small rutabaga
1-2 apples
1 cup cabbage or kale
*1 large garden fresh tomato
*1 cup diced bell peppers any color
*½ cup chiles, fresh , frozen or canned.
*1 cup favorite salsa, best to use home made family recipe made with fresh from the garden vegetables
*1 cup cooked beans, garbanzo, pinto or your favorite
*½ cup (4oz) nopalitos (cactus pads), fresh harvested or canned
½ cup Shredded cheese for garnish
Juice from 1 lemon
*a great sense of humor
*a dash of adventure
*a pinch of courage to try something different

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are most important, others are optional. This can be adjusted to include what is seasonally available from your garden. Each dinner guest or family member can bring their favorite vegetable to add to the pot. Note: regional resources can be substituted, such as dandelions or mustard greens.

Optional additions, all harvested fresh from the garden:
Indian spinach, Lambsquarters
Red Aztec spinach (a variety of lambsquarters)
Purslane
Chard, stalks and leaves
Amaranth leaves
Beet greens
Wild onion, or garlic leaves
Squash
Anything else in season, either wild harvested or from the garden. Each dinner guest or family member can bring a wild harvested, traditional or uncommon vegetable favorite.

Herbs, fresh from the garden:
Each dinner guest or family member can bring a small amount of their favorite herb to add to the pot.
Basil
Cilantro
Fennel
Chives
Parsley
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme

Preparation:
Before you begin, turn off the TV.
Wash tumbleweed shoots and place in large soup pot. (If tumbleweed isn’t available you can use fresh dandelion, amaranth, lambsquarters or mustard or spinach leaves).
Dice onion and garlic, add to the tumbleweed.
Barely cover with water and bring to boil.
Use medium or low heat and cook for 15 minutes, or until tumbleweed becomes soft. Stir frequently.
Add small amount of water if necessary.
While the tumbleweed is cooking each participant can peel, wash and dice their vegetable contribution. Note: dicing the vegetables can make them easier for guests with dental problems to chew, it also assures that each dinner guest will get some of each vegetable.
After tumbleweed is cooked, place in a blender, along with the broth, and puree.
Pour back into soup pot and add the fresh vegetables, including the chiles. Do not add salt.
Cook on medium heat for 15 to 12 minutes while guests wash and prepare the herbs.
Add nopalitos, salsa, lemon juice and herbs, cook for another 10 minutes or until vegetables are done.

Note: peelings can be composted to become the soil for next year’s garden.

Serving tumbleweed soup:
Let soup cool slightly for about 10 minutes while each dinner guest sets their own place at the table and fresh juice is poured for everyone. Before you begin to dine turn off all cell phones and put on some good music.
Whole juice has less sugar than fruit drinks and punches, fewer additives and more nutrition. Apple, orange, tomato or vegetable juice goes will with tumbleweed soup.
Corn tortillas, corn bread or low fat corn chips and fresh salsa can be served as a companion to the soup. The corn products are nutritious and better for a diabetic diet than white flour based breads or tortillas.
Ladle one cup of soup into each bowl and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, a teaspoon of sour cream and a mixture of finely chopped chives, cilantro or parsley and diced red or yellow bell peppers. Several corn chips can be placed along the side of the bowl to add eye appeal
Tumbleweed soup makes a great dip for the chips, warm or cold.
Guests are encouraged to engage in active conversation, sharing memories of yesterday’s foods, cooking and dining, what was good about the family sitting at the table together, friends and neighbors dropping by, festivals, feasts and celebrations that centered around the joy of sharing a meal. Thoughts can also be shared about tomorrow’s meals, preparation, what is healthy and what isn’t, why everyone can be a part of the preparation and the after dinner chores.

After the meal:
All uneaten foods should be refrigerated as soon as possible to prevent spoilage.
Children present should clean the table and wash the dishes.
There should be pleasant conversation, music, dessert, coffee or tea and time to enjoy life after a good meal.

Uranium Mining

We live in New Mexico and a good portion of the work we do with Hunger Grow Away www.hungegrgowaway.com is with the Native American communities in the American Southwest. We have learned much from our Navajo and Pueblo friends. We have shared their laughter, and their grief. Unfortunately, much of this grief is the result of the uranium mining that was done in the 1950’s and 60’s. It was these people who went down into the mines and brought home the yellow dust. Many of the mines were on their tribal lands, and the mining companies did not feel the obligation to even close up the spent and abandoned mines.

The radioactive waste from the mining operations contaminated the land and the water. It was carried in the wind, into the homes, absorbed by their lungs, and even found its way into their food. My wife Tomi and I have been to the funerals of some of these miners who have died of cancer and lung diseases. We have heard the stories of the sheep and other animals born with deformities, the livestock dying from the water and the grass poisoned with the dust carried on the wind.

The Navajo tell the story of the “Yellow Choices.” It is told in various versions, and one is related in a fascinating book, Visits with the Old Indian Storyteller, by Tomi Jill Folk. This story is reprinted here with permission from the author.

The Yellow Choices
Long ago, the Great Mystery came to the people,and they were hungry, and the Great Mystery told the people, “You have a choice. You have a yellow choice. You can plant and grow, and your corn will have yellow pollen, and that will remind you of the friendship of the sun, and you will live in happiness and harmony, and you will know peace. This you grow upon the earth.

Or you can dig into the earth, you can wound and scar the Mother, and take the yellow stones. And if you do this, you will know suffering and pain and ignorance and great sorrow. And your children will pay for many generations yet to come for your ignorance and folly.”

Mount Taylor is a sacred mountain to the Navajo,and the nearby Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, the Zuni and the Hopi. Yet greed, (and a lack of concern for the basic rights and respect for the religious traditions of these people), is driving a new wave of uranium mining, and this beautiful and sacred mountain is one of their targets. We attended a public hearing conducted without notice by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency last fall. At this meeting they explained the new method of mining called in-situ mining.

This involves the use of millions and millions of gallons of water. This land is desert. Water is precious. Water is life. They use chemicals to dissolve the uranium and the contaminated waste water is pumped back into the ground where there is the very real danger that it will enter the aquifers that supply water, not only to the native communities but the cities like Albuquerque, Soccoro, Las Lunas and many others. As the wind carried the yellow dust of yesterday’s mining, the water may well carry the poison of greed far greater distances tomorrow.

The claim is that this is needed for our energy independence. They tell us that this uranium is destined for nuclear power plants, and the intention is to build more of these plants. But aside from the risks that accompany the mining, there is a problem of waste disposal. The construction of nuclear power plants is incredibly expensive, the energy produced is also very expensive, and the nuclear power plant itself is an ideal target for terrorist attack.

There are safe, renewable resources, primarily wind and solar power. The development of these safe alternatives would employ far more people, are much safer for us today, and all of tomorrow’s children.

The uranium mined could well be used in the creation of a new generation of nuclear weapons. That we could even contemplate this will ignite a new arms race with the potential for horrendous consequences at the very time when we all need to be working toward a peaceful cooperation to solve the problems of climate change and global warming. This new interest in mining is a flawed and very short sighted effort based on fear by some and greed by others. There is a better way.

John Denver wrote a song Let Us Begin, also known as What Are We Making Weapons for? And performed it around the world including the former Soviet Union where he served as a muscical good will ambassodor. He was joined in many performances of this powerful peace song by the popular Russian tenor, Alexander Gradsky. This song appears on the John Denver CD, One World. This is a powerful message for peace. I encourage you to seek the lyrics to thsi song, or hear it on it on YouTube.

How can we possible put all of tomorrow’s children at risk like this? How can we scar a sacred mountain like Mt Taylor? How can we justify poisoning the earth while ignoring the logical alternatives? How can we be so short-sighted?

I applaud the leaders of Acoma, Laguna, Zuni, Hopi, the Navajo and the other Native Americans who have the vision and wisdom to fight this. I also ask that you, the readers of this blog speak up, write to your representatives in congress, Make your voices heard.
Thank you.
Peace, Hank Bruce