Ain't Easy Being Green

Kermit the Frog, of Muppet fame, made popular the song, "It 's Not Easy Being Green." Kermit was more than likely introducing kids to the idea that some things are different- like say skin color- and that different is sometimes a bit difficult. That is all well and good, but when someone in the here and now starts talking about "being Green," they are more than likely hitting on the topics of global warming, co2 build up in the atmosphere, drilling for oil in sensitive locales, depletion of the earth's resources and the like.

It's a complicated discussion to say the least and we won't resolve it here, but there are some thoughts that might serve us all well to take into account. I think the basic goal of "Living Green" should be to use what we have wisely, diversify into other means as they become available and practical, protect that that needs protecting, and improving our own lot where ever and when ever we can. But having said that, I do think you can take some "green issues" too far. Some would have you abandon petroleum use all together. That would be foolish and counter productive. Solar is nice, but to be effective you must employ massive batteries to store the energy as it is developed. Those batteries require perhaps more energy to build than the oil they save in the process. Surely the technology will catch up at some point, but that has not happened yet and it will be a while. And disposing of those batteries when they can no longer function is perhaps the least Green thing we could possibly do at this point and time. Wind energy strikes my fancy as well, but it has many of the holdbacks of solar development. We can burn coal; it puts pollutants in the air. We can burn wood; same problem. We can develop nuclear, but we all know there is currently no prospect for safely storing the waste products which last next to forever. Green. A wonderful idea that is tough to achieve. Certainly truly living in this fashion involves some compromise with some of the comforts we have come to call "normal."

However! It's not a new concept. There are "folk" who have lived this way for centuries. Shunned mechanization in part or full. Avoided anything unnatural. Forsaken many creature comforts that demand the unsustainable consumption of resources and causes pollution. Steered clear of the modern in favor of the traditional.

I am speaking of course of the Amish people. They live simply, and close to the earth. I see similarities between the way they live and the way the Native Americans lived before the white man made things problematic and virtually impossible to continue. Close to the land. Sustained by the land and their own energy which comes back to them in the form of food and a way of live which itself is sustainable.

Where I grew up, the Amish buggies were part of the ordinary life. I always enjoyed seeing them but was never surprised by seeing them. It is their basic form of transportation. Where do you think the rating of "horse power" comes from? A one horse power buggy can haul a small family to church, the store, to visit neighbors. The horse eats the grass that grows on the farm. The waste products of what the horse eats nourishes the soil which grows the food for the family. The family sells the excess food or hay and uses the proceeds to meet their minimal needs like material for making clothing.

A two horse buggy can haul the family and the neighbors and a few of the kids from the nearby farms. Again, the horses eat the grass on the farm or the hay from the field. The by products enrich the soil which grows even better crops and the cycle continues. Very efficient. Provides all their needs, unless of course they were to need a TV, an iPod, a computer, a Ford or Chevy van, a John Deer tractor, a flashy suit with shiny shoes, a washer and dryer or even electricity!- all of which they do not need, do not want, and do not have. They live a simple life. They live Green. It is hard to do. It is a hard life. But for them it is the right life and a good life and we would do well to take a serious look at what Green is really all about.

There are exceptions to every rule. But there are also some basics that are worth mentioning. Most Amish live on farms that are from 40 to 60 acres. That is enough land, God willing, to grow enough of a crop to feed the family with a small left over for sale, and graze 40 to 60 head of dairy cattle. The milk from the cows is generally the cash crop of the family and again helps to provide nourishment for the family. A farm that size is large enough to provide for the family and still small enough to be worked by "horsepower." Horses, as we have seen, provide the transportation. They also power the mowers for cutting the hay, tilling and harrowing the fields, and hauling the crops back to the barn when the harvest is ready.

The beauty of the countryside in what we lovingly call "Dutch" country is breathtakingly pastoral. I found these gents sitting on a bench in Lancaster County contemplating the beauty of the Amish farm land before them. If you can sit and look out over the farm lands and watch the plows pulled by horse teams in the field and not get relaxed and happy, you probably have little possibility of achieving either any time soon.
Not only the life of these people is simple, but so too is their clothing. Uniform-like in its "uniformity" and nearly always black and white- no flashing colors here- it is pleasing to the eye and a treat to see, especially on the children as they come and go to school, to work, to church in their bonnets and straw hats...

On a hazy morning in April, this Amish farm boy plows the field with his eight horse power machinery...
At the Shady Maple, the largest of the area farmers' markets, there is plenty to see, buy, sell....or eat. We visit the farmers' markets everywhere we go. These are some of the best. Farm produce is cheaper here than anywhere else I have ever seen. It is produced at a lower cost by simple means and thus can sell for less at market. A simple, a Green, concept!
Work is a family affair. If you are old enough to eat, you are nearly old enough to work in this community. See the kids stroll out to meet the work team in the field.
Wash day is every day when there is sunshine. Solar Dryer! How Green is that?
I always wondered what it was like to ride in one of those carriages!

We contracted with an Amish gentleman to take us for a ride in his buggy. He spoke openly and freely about his lifestyle. About farming methods. About waste in our society. This was a rare and candid access to this relatively closed society. We visited a farm on our jaunt in the carriage (photos below) and learned a lot. In all the years I spent here growing up, I never had this close of an access to the culture of the Amish. It made for an eye opening and fascinating day down on the farm.

"I'll show you how, little one, then you try it..."
The first alfalfa cutting of the year...in a perfect year you can get as many as five cuttings...
"Welcome to our humble home"
Our driver and guide gave permission for a photo (and all of the others for that matter). As a general rule, the Amish prefer not to have their picture taken. Certainly not without permission!

My artsy shot: "Amish Turn Signal"
The Greener we hope to live in this world the more sh-- we might have to put up with. Always remember the basic Green principle: Turn the sh-- into fertilizer and make it work for you! Spread it around....

This is the Green version of "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"

Agility Trials and Tribulations

We were going to an agility trial for dogs and we were relatively certain that we had followed the directions we had been given pretty well, so I was surprised to see this sign on the entry gate to the activity field and two course setups! Still, signs are often funny, misleading, double meaning or otherwise interesting so I am never truly surprised I guess.In the center of the picture below, you will see the gate with the "No Dogs" sign. OK. But a "no dumping" sign as well? With hundreds of dogs spending two days running at the site? Some body's gotta be a kidder!
This was the first time we were able to catch up with Marilyn's sister Julie at one of the many agility trials she runs with her two dogs. We had hoped to see her, make that "them", run in Phoenix, but plans had to change and so this trip to Bainbridge near Harrisburg was the next best available date and venue for us. Timing is everything. And speaking of that, here's Julie with the timing instrument at one of the judges' stations in the master's ring.

There's more to it than I am going to explain, but basically the dogs compete to see which one can run the obstacle course in the fastest time and with the least amount of contact with the jumps. I found it rather like a horse jumping show, but with a twist, as I have never seen a horse run through a tunnel or scramble over an A-frame or even across a narrow little bridge.

It was a wonderful day with Julie and the dogs and a lot of her friends who share the same sport. Generally, it was a laid back day, but not entirely. I couldn't help but notice that some of the trainers tried to psych out the competition by leaving the tailgate of the transport vehicle open with all those pretty and impressive ribbons displayed to the fullest. Some will say it is just a matter of taking pride in the accomplishments of the dog and trainer team. (But I ain't buying it...)

Here Julie puts one of the dogs through its paces. It's either Ranger or Strider- but truthfully I can't tell you which one is which. I'm hoping that neither the sister-in-law nor the dogs are offended by this shortcoming! I like to think they are going just soooo fast that no one can tell them apart.

After each round of the trial the course is changed. From what I could tell, the change was rather radical- enough so that neither the trainer nor the dog knew what to expect when it came time for them to run. A brief time period is given for the trainers to walk, or run as the case may be, the course before the competition starts again. I had almost as much fun watching the trainers and their various techniques of learning and preparing for the new course as I did when the dogs ran. I don't think it's necessarily supposed to be that way, but it worked for me.

I especially liked the "bob and weave poles" (for seven points if I remember correctly). I don't think they were actually called that, but I think you'll get the idea. Kind of like an up close and personal equivalent of the barrel weave at a rodeo. Border collies are some fast! And agile! And that's exactly the point!

Some family photos are better than others, eh, Julie? And this one- well, it rates right up there...
OK! Big finish now. Quick! Before the buzzer goes off!

The Best of Spring Gardens

Every year or two we make it a point to visit Longwood Gardens on the former Dupont Estate in Pennsylvania, but very near the village of Kennett Square and the Delaware border. This year we traveled the extra few miles to visit Delaware and add that state to our states traveled map.

Longwood is one of the most fantastic garden displays in the world. The garden changes with the season and specialty shows coincide with holidays and special events. There are casual gardens, formal gardens, inside and outside gardens, waterfalls and ponds, streams, bell towers, garden planning areas, local summer garden idea centers...and on and on. If you love gardening, this is a must see stop on your travels. There is a modest fee to enter the enormous grounds and complex. There is something spectacular to see in every direction at all times. You will not be disappointed!

Spring was just beginning to "spring" on this trip. But not to worry, plenty of color and beauty...

In the main Spring garden area, some 250,000 bulbs were coming into bloom. Every size and shape and color imaginable is on display. There are often nearly as many photographers on location as there are flowers- but still plenty of room so that you won't feel crowded at all. Ever.


The solarium always has magnificent displays going. There are so many rooms in the building that nearly every garden environment can be displayed and explored- tropical, desert, temperate, rain forest, just to name a few. My favorite is always the lush bromeliad room, with its streams, waterfalls, misting heads and incredible layout. I could live in that room! (not shown here)

The orchid room is a real winner as well. You will see varieties here that you may not find anywhere else! Period.
Bird room? Bird of Paradise, yes. Flying birds? No.

Above and below, young and old alike can get good ideas in the Imagine Garden.
All of the species shown here are readily available and relatively easy to grow.
The massive formal gardens are meticulously kept and provide year round enjoyment. NOTHING is ever out of place in Longwood Gardens and this is especially true in "the formals." Put it on your list as "Gotta Do!"

Willy Wonka's Favorite Vacation Spot

Even Willy Wonka would love to vacation in Lititz, PA, home of the world famous Wilbur Chocolate Factory and Candy Americana Museum. From almost anywhere in town, you can catch the smell of chocolate wafting through the air. It's a candy lover's paradise. Where Hershey Chocolate has gone "theme park" and moved part of their operations oversees over the years, Wilbur keeps true to its candy roots, turning out, according to the Amish Country News, "100 million pounds of chocolate products a year" and furnishing product to America's largest and best known food processors. I have friends and family in the area who say it's the best chocolate in the world. Who am I to argue? The factory is a short walk away from the country's first hard pretzel factory and both are in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch (Amish, Mennonite, Quaker, Brethren) Country. So a stop in and around Lititz will provide a veritable plethora of fun and educational adventures and opportunities.

The museum displays hundreds, if not thousands, of cocoa tins, antique candy molds and holiday novelties, along with original art work and photographs, candy making equipment and other items of interest to the company and the area. There is an "area" of candy making open to the public, but not the entire factory. Still we had a great visit, enjoyed some excellent samples and got to talk with some of the candy makers.

One of the companies first products back in the 1860's was hard candy which was made for the train boys to sell on the trains (the tracks run right by the factory- the old station is now the information center). They still crank it out today.

We spent quite a while talking with candy specialty maker Kathy Blankenbiller. It is always so wonderful to speak with a person who loves her job. The excitement and enthusiasm they have for their work reflects well not only on themselves but on the company as well, and for sure Kathy is one talented girl! Her one of a kind creations are something to behold (if not eat).

In the photo above of the ice cream sundae, everything is some form of chocolate and completely edible. Same is true of the mask, fruit, eggs, coins in the photo below...

and in this nearly life size sowing basket below. Even looking at it close up, you could not be sure it wasn't the real thing. Amazing work!
All of these "works of art" are behind the sanitary glass half wall that separates the product from the public. Good thing! I didn't have to worry about whether or not Marilyn was going to lick the goodies...

Tall Trees and Trouble

Ben Franklin, famous for a lot of things (and this is not a history lesson) had good reason to fly his kite in the greater Philadelphia region. There are a lot of lightning and thunder storms here, and we got a vivid example of the power of electricity while camped under tall trees and at the top of a hill at Thousand Trails, Hershey, PA. You do know, I am sure, not to seek refuge under a tall tree in a storm. But coming into a beautiful camp on a beautiful day, you don't think too much about that. Besides, many of the open area spots had already been taken by week enders who arrived earlier in the day than we did. So there we were. Dark fell on a balmy and otherwise pleasant night. A few hours later a storm raged through the area. The dog was scared. Marilyn was scared. I was NOT, well, OK , I was scared too. A little. But not so scared I didn't hit the sack for a good night's sleep. One bolt of lightening lit up the night sky in a real flash, followed immediately by a near sonic boom. A few seconds passed. No tree fell on me. So I went back to sleep. But in the morning the reason why the time between the lightning and the thunder was nearly non existent became abundantly clear.... A tall tree next to the site in front of us was hit by the bolt and literally split in half. The burn mark was apparent only at the point of contact. The bark- all of it, all the way around the trunk, was blown away. Half the tree came down, the other remained standing, but the crack that divided one half from the other was readily apparent, even on the portion of the tree that remained standing..

As I said, nothing had hit us. But this camper was not so lucky, and his truck which pulled his fifth wheel took a pretty good hit. That will ruin an otherwise lovely day!

Lots of campers tell us they love to set up under the trees for the shade and the birds and the cooler temperatures. We prefer the open sites. This is why! If you enlarge this photo- look to the right of the picture (to the left of the pickup)- that coach is ours- close!

Nothing Better Than A Really Good Pretzel!

There really isn't much that's better than a good pretzel. And since I grew up in the town of Reading, Pennsylvania, "Pretzel Capital of the World" I consider myself something of an expert. I have, after all, tried most all of them at one time or another. My favorite was, is, and has always been, Sturgis Pretzels. We visited the original and restored site of the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in nearby Lititz, PA. You can read all about the history (fact and presumption) about the development of the pretzel as we know it today. But in a nutshell, Sturgis was a bakery, first and foremost, and they made bread. Occasionally, the bakers made snacks for themselves- how the pretzel recipe came to them is open for discussion, but to be sure it was SOFT pretzels they were making. One day after work, they made a batch of soft pretzels, but were so tired, they failed to take all of the pretzels out of the coal and wood fired ovens. The next day, the ovens were fired up- and much to the surprise of the bakers, they found their now "dried up and hard" pretzels still in the oven. Can you say "twice baked?" But rather than throw the product away, they sampled it and thought it was pretty good. Surely no one would ever pay for such a thing, but they gave out some samples and low and behold they became a big hit. The family of bakers at the Julius Sturgis Bakery had invented the hard pretzel!

This nifty little animated model shows the old fashioned way of baking the pretzels and along with some other displays is in the lobby of the plant where the tour begins.

Carol runs the tour...and a good tour it is!! No one leaves without learning to twist a pretzel using the "secret recipe" dough. The demonstration is run on a portion of the original twisting table. There is plenty of original and restored equipment on display, including the ovens on the floor of which the pretzels were baked.
Step one, roll out the dough on the table with your hands. "Just like so..." as the Dutchman says. Make a "U".
Take the two ends on the U and make a twist- symbolic of arms folded in prayer, then simply take the two remaining ends and cross them back to the loop and.....
... a pretzel is born. Now a bath in baking soda and into the oven. In the old days, the brown of the baked pretzel was achieved by soaking in straw water and lye- no longer.
I shot a couple of pics of the ovens in sepia tone to give them the look of the old time photos that may have been taken a long time ago- before color was an option.


Click the play button on the video below to watch Carol demonstrate the quick action pretzel twist. I still remember touring a working pretzel factory when I was in grade school and watching the line workers twist as fast as they could go. Machines took over the process a few years later, and today pretzels are actually extruded and never touched by hand at all. Still, the tradition of twisting the dough is preserved and taught as a matter of history. And it's just plain fun to do.

A note: before you start the video lean your head hard to the side---it seems you can't re-orient a video clip and I held the camera incorrectly to film it. Sorry about that!



A final word on pretzels. One company and one company alone makes a great cheese pretzel, my favorite of all times. And since the Sturgis family runs a couple divisions (it's all in the family) I don't mind recommending the Tom Sturgis Factory in Shillington (Reading) as well. My family's home in the area is only about a mile or so away from the Tom Sturgis Factory. Follow the link to buy cheese pretzels if you like. They are not available nearly anywhere else! Hard to find in stores! Look for cheese pretzels, little cheesers, and spicy cheesers. Mmmm. Mmmm. Good