Priorities ...

This good looking fellow and his wife have been hanging out at our bird feeder all winter along with several other cardinal pairs, blue jays, titmice, chickadees and woodpeckers. In the past years I've kept the feeders up all year, but sadly this year I'm not going to do that. I quit midstream last summer when I realized the feeders were bringing the deer into the yard. Besides eating birdseed they love hostas, lilies and my veggies. I will miss the bird families bringing their young to the feeder just outside my kitchen window in June and July, but hopefully I'll be able to harvest more food from the garden for my table.

I'm really getting excited about the coming spring and summer and fresh vine ripened tomatoes, juicy melons, peaches, strawberries and corn. I must be getting tired of winter squash and the like. I do try to eat with the seasons and locally as well. Yesterday I found fresh local swiss chard and romaine lettuce at one of our health food stores ... green house grown but still local!

This past Sunday we attended a pot luck supper at which the hostess served a wonderful angel food cake with whipped cream, fresh blueberries, raspberries, melons, grapes, etc. It was heavenly and I realized how much I miss those fruits during the winter. Sure they are out there but what is available now is flown in from South America and Mexico and of course are very pricey, both dollar wise and jet fuel wise. What's a fresh fruit lover to do???

Today at Whole Foods besides the berries from our southern hemisphere, there was rhubarb from Holland. And I overheard a brief conversation about which European butter is the best. The woman asking admitted that she is a "butter snob." Tempted as I was to grab some of the rhubarb, I passed it up, remembering that it won't be too long now before rhubarb will be coming in to the markets from a closer source.

I think about our planet and the damage we're doing and just wish we could all muster the grace to try and make this global warming thing a top priority. According to recent polls, since the financial meltdown in this country and President Obama's inauguration, global warming has dropped off the charts of what is important to most Americans. We are all of course really stressed and concerned about "right now" and how to keep our jobs and put food on our tables. Who can blame us? But isn't it time to consider that without a healthy planet all of us will suffer, especially all those cute 1st and 2nd graders who visit Whole Foods on field trips every week so that they can learn about food and nutrition?? What about some good old nutrition for the planet and getting away from our addiction to gas and oil??