I am on a reading jag. My current interest is Thanksgiving books for kids. The board books reviewed in the previous post are geared towards infants and toddlers. Now, this review showcases books geared for a slightly older age range of toddlers and preschoolers. All three are delightful storybooks geared for longer attention spans. And all three include interactive components.
I love giving books to the little ones and here are two board books for giving this Thanksgiving. The first is You’re My Little Cutie Pie by Nicola Edwards with illustrations by Natalie Marshall. The pair have released a series of books which I classify as peek-a-boo instead of lift-the-flap.
The second book is Where is Baby’s Turkey by Karen Katz which is a traditional lift-the-flap board book. These two board books are perfect for the chubby fingers of the sixteen-month-old in the family. And they celebrate one of my favorite holidays. Thanksgiving is about family.
Randy Wayne White penned Sanibel Flats over thirty years ago. This first in a long series is an action adventure featuring Doc Ford as an ex-operative returning home to focus on marine biology. His hopes for a quiet life are shattered by a request from an old high school buddy. The author creates plausibility for a return to action along with a gorgeous description of Florida’s barrier islands.
It is Halloween once again which means it is time for the October 2023 Wrap-Up. From a personal standpoint it has been yet another tough month. I have talked before of the feeling of having a shoe drop. Well, shoes are dropping all over the place. So many that my closet must be getting empty.
I realize everyone has time periods of difficulty. 2023 is mine. Hopefully, I will become a stronger person. Furthermore, I finally understand the anticipation of ushering in a New Year. I sure hope 2024 will bring more joy and less sadness, frustration and angst.
The debut novel, Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano is hard to pigeonhole. The story is set in a beach town and yet more than a summer beach novel. The main character, Kathleen Deane, is a newly retired, middle-aged woman recovering from the shock of being dumped after thirty years of marriage.
Candidly, the protagonist lets the reader know that the marriage wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. So, after decades of muddling through life, her husband Tom decides to travel the world to discover the meaning of life.
Meanwhile, Kathleen decides a change of scenery will get her life back on track. She buys a beach house. Sight unseen except through a grainy video. Then the “fun” begins. Environmental activism stirs the growth of the lead character as she struggles to reshape her own identity.
With one exception, the root vegetables were the stars of the garden this year. The white potatoes were actually grown outside of the big garden with limited access to irrigation. Yet, a small store of potatoes is still available from a mid-summer harvest. I attribute this to the abundance of rain in the early part of the season.
Storage onions were a mixed success. The number of onions was on par with recent years. However, the size was considerably smaller. A combination of haphazard harvesting along with a lack of rain in the latter part of the season created this outcome for the 2023 fall harvest.
Unfortunately, the beets tied for the worst performance of the year. Less than a dozen including the three that are still in the ground. Fortunately, carrots were good and those not harvested remain in the ground covered with straw to store until they are needed. As are the leeks.
The best crop production is the sweet potato. These root vegetables are tricky to grow this far west and north. Since they are a family favorite, I have found a nearly foolproof way to grow them.
First, Centennial Heirlooms are the type I grow. They are ready to dig in 100-110 days. Therefore, most years will produce a crop with our late May for a last freeze and mid-September for a first frost as the averages. Even the short 2020 season produced enough to store into the late fall.
Second, the slips are started by the end of March allowing enough time to grow to transplant size. I am still experimenting with water versus a growing medium as to how to produce the healthiest transplants. Ordering slips through the mail can be a back-up, but often they are too stressed to survive.
Next, a warm ground is required before planting. I achieve this by raising my sweet potato crop in raised beds. The soil warms faster inside the metal rings I use. But if you don’t have raised beds, a black tarp put in place in late spring will also work.
Finally, I water them and leave them alone. Instead of picking by the calendar date and curing for two weeks, I wait until the first frost. Then early the next day I “dig” them up. The raised beds allow me to dig with my hands instead of a pitchfork. The frost makes them sweet. But a delay in gathering the tubers will ruin the crop. This year’s harvest yielded about 20 pounds. Plenty to feed two through the winter.
Seeds saved for sowing in the garden next year can simply sort into an envelope or other seed storing container. However, dill seed to use in cooking requires cleaning the chaff. This outer cover of the seed is not desirable for consumption. It is a multi-stepped process to separate the seed from the chaff.
A warning- the process can be messy. Furthermore, working outdoors can result in a forest of dill next year.
I first use a colander to separate the largest of the stems from the seed material. Then I use a larger mesh sifter or sieve and shake down into a smaller meshed sifter. The lighter, smaller chaff passes through. Mostly seed remains.
An alternative method uses a light breeze outdoors or a fan indoors. The seed can be sifted back and forth utilizing the moving air to shake the chaff off the seed. Occasionally seed will also blow out/away. Indoors can get messy.
Harvesting edible dill seed is time consuming. Saving dill seed for growing next year is so much easier. However, I do like to have dill seed on hand for both winter soups and breads. So, I will take the time to at least harvest enough to fill a small spice jar. Now you know why spices are so expensive in the grocery store.
High heat hinders growth in the garden. The tomatoes are slow to set, and the cucumbers suffer as well. However, the potatoes enjoyed their underground lair. As a result, the harvest yielded some good-sized spuds with a wonderful taste. One can only hope for the same result next month from the sweet potatoes.
On my recent trip to Cañon City, I bought Tammi Hartung’s Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using and Enjoying More than 100 Herbs from Mel’s Mills. The book, most recently published in 2011, is an excellent choice for serious gardeners wanting a complete resource manual on herbs.
Gardening is a demanding exercise. But in my experience herbs are a bit easier than vegetables. My dill forest on the back patio self-seeds every year. Some would consider this a weed patch but we love the smell and use the dill in many of our dishes. Not to mention their necessity in canning pickles.
Other herbs in my garden are perennials such as oregano, sage, horseradish and horehound. Armed with Ms. Hartung’s Homegrown Herbs, I am anxious to try Gotu Kola, chamomile and catnip. This wonderful resource guide will be invaluable to my efforts. Serious gardeners need to add this book to their home library.
The wonky weather has also affected my home garden. One of the two-inch pieces of hail took out an entire potato plant and knocked off some green tomatoes. And many blossoms. The cold rains of the first three weeks of the month gave great moisture to the ground and we are no longer in a drought. However, crops are taking their time ripening.
So far only the patio tomatoes have turned red. A handful of beets and cucumbers have been harvested and just one eggplant has been picked. But plenty of blossoms signal a productive month ahead even if the drip systems need to run.
Furthermore, the herbs are the most prolific I have ever seen. I could participate in a Farmer’s Market if I had a license to sell herbs. The dill has benefited from both robins and humans picking off the caterpillars of the swallowtail butterflies. In turn, chickens enjoyed both the insects and the small pieces of dill mixed in with other grasses as a supplement to their regular diet.
Parsley, sage and horehound are all thriving. And a new book added to the library contains great recipes for these and other herbs in the garden. Look for the Homegrown Herbs book review coming in August.
My motivation for buying the text was to see what solutions were offered as well as where migration would lead to. What will happen to the industries operating in areas suffering the most from climate change? Will the northern states become temperate enough? Or will climate change bring even colder winters? These questions and many more can’t be answered now. The author does address them to a certain extent. Furthermore, his analysis on the insurance systems addressing both fire and flood were spot on. Current rules and regulations compound the problem.
Climate change is a controversial subject. For the most part, The Great Displacement covers the topic fairly. But naturally, with few answers to share. No one can see into the future. Yet, we need to address present concerns so the future will include a habitable planet for our children’s children.
This book is worth reading and discussing.
Con Pollo is a bilingual story book penned by Jimmy Fallon and Jenifer Lopez and illustrated by Andrea Campos. It is a perfect find for a child who is being raised bilingual. Such as my grandson who just turned one. Naturally, books are the go-to gift for this little guy born much earlier than expected. However, he is catching up quickly due to his parents’ love, persistence, and dedication. His little book collection includes those written in English, Spanish and a handful like Con Pollo which blend the two languages.
Ruth Ware highlights the dangers of software hacking in her latest suspense novel Zero Days. The term represents the release of hidden malware or spyware in seemingly innocent apps or programs. But the heart of the story is the anguished resilience of the protagonist and her quest to find her husband’s attacker.
Jacintha “Jack” Cross is testing the onsite security of a company by breaking into headquarters, penetrating through physical barriers. Each step of the way, husband Gabe guides her via earpiece as he tries breaking into the security systems network from the safety of their home. In reality, Jack is in the safer spot.
Things go wrong for the “pen” testers. Horribly wrong.
An early start translated into prime parking near Macon Plaza and the historic city library. From there it was a short backtrack down to Main Street. As I strolled up and down several blocks numerous coffee shops greeted the other early birds.
A few shops such as Cheryl’s Book Nook and Mel’s Mill welcomed those strolling by with doors propped open to allow the cool morning air to circulate. I spent time browsing through the used books finding an Erica Ferencik novel at the former and Tammi Hartung’s Homegrown Herbs at the latter. Hartung is a resident of the area. Mel’s Mill showcased local honey, herbal teas and regionally sourced flours and sunflower oil. I could have spent all day loitering in this natural health store!
Another open door first thing in the morning was found at the Chamber of Commerce. The entire Royal Gorge Region was represented at the office. One could easily spend a week based out of Canon City exploring the beauty of this hidden gem of the Rockies. I left with a plethora of guides and maps outlining trails and recommending historic museums and sites.
One of the blends of old and new is the downtown public library. Located on peaceful Macon Plaza, the original Carnegie Library remains with a new extension allowing room for computers and an upstairs children’s library.
My visit coincided with a silent quilt auction to support the library. The displayed quilts accented the restored stenciling and the original tile and wood work of the Carnegie section. Furthermore, numerous quilts decorated the remainder of the library as well.
Across the plaza from the library is the former post office which now serves as the Fremont Center for the Arts. Additional murals are joined by rotating art collections. June 2023 showcased a theme of Openings, Doorways and Windows.
An added bonus was the incased display of old postal boxes. Varied community meetings and events are held in the event center.
This week at the library I spied To Fudge Or Not To Fudge on the “New” table. This second in a series by Nancy Coco (byline of Nancy J. Parra) caught my eye with the colorful lilacs on the cover. They brought back memories of last June’s trip to Mackinac Island.
Picking up the paperback, a quick glance proved my instincts were right. The cozy mystery is set on the wonderful tourist haven of Mackinac Island. However, the book is not recently published-the copyright states 2014. So, this new library addition is new to the library. A quick internet search reveals the success of the “Candy-Coated” series with over a dozen books released.
