Food groups

We hear a lot about the unhealthy diets kids are eating these days, but frankly I think they may be teaching nutrition a little bit too well here in the Unionville schools.
Five-sixths of the Tally-ho clan went out to dinner at Longwood Family Restaurant on Saturday. I ordered a gyro sandwich, and the waiter listed my choices for a vegetable: Brussels sprouts, corn, mac and cheese....
That was all I needed to hear: "Oooo! Mac and cheese, please!" I said.
The Young Relative fixed me with a withering look.
"How, exactly," he demanded, "is mac and cheese a vegetable?"
Then again, perhaps I should listen to him about nutrients: earlier that day, he ran his personal best time ever in the "Run for Our Sons" 5K at Patton Middle School.

Brew pub in Kennett?

Here's some exciting news: there might be a new brew pub opening in Kennett! I was just at Inverbrook Farm's Spring Sale here in West Marlborough, and a very nice lady from the Kennett Brewing Company was there pouring samples on the patio. I tried a very hoppy brew called Xtra C and it was delicious. The woman said they hoped to open in downtown Kennett shortly, but she couldn't divulge any details yet -- all hush-hush -- so I signed up for their email list. I will keep you posted!
The sale -- in which local vendors bring their wares out to the farm -- was just delightful. While I was looking at the offerings from Talula's Table, another shopper told me that I simply must buy their Kennett Mushroom Dip. I obeyed and I'm glad I did: it's simple and exquisite.
Among the other vendors were Anne Eder and her Chansonette orchids; Nomadic Pies, a regular at the Kennett Farmer's Market; Dale Hendricks with some beautiful plants from his Green Light Plants; seeds from Happy Cat Farm; potting soil from the Organic Mechanic Soil Company in Modena; reusable sandwich bags and recycled cloth napkins from Logical Living; Bessie's handmade aprons and bags; Arden & James Eco-goods; pottery by Ardenheim Clayworks; art by Dan McShane (loved his sketch of a fox chasing a hen in a pumpkin patch!); Heirloom Jewelry; Philabucks; Three Birds Bouquets; U Bee Well; and Vidalia's Vintage (old Tupperware and typewriters).
On my way out a woman was standing in the driveway, her eyes shut and her blissful face upturned to the glorious spring sunshine. She "came to" after a moment and apologized; I told her I understood perfectly.
Thank you to Claire Murray for the invitation! A great event.

A plea

One reason I started writing this column several years ago was in reaction to all the cheap, snarky meanness and point-scoring that seems to pass for civil discourse in society today. My point in mentioning this is that the political season is upon us, and here in Unionville we've already seen some perhaps overheated election rhetoric. You may disagree with what your local politicians are doing; goodness knows I do sometimes. But please, let's be mature ladies and gentlemen about it. Making accusations and personal attacks is polarizing, it's embarrassing, it's divisive, it's uncalled for, and perhaps worst of all it discourages good people from getting involved in politics. We can do better.

Frozen yogurt

I celebrated the end (I hope) of a particularly unpleasant cold by treating myself to a frozen yogurt at Opayo, a terrific little self-service place tucked away in the New Garden Shopping Center, near the Giant and Pat's Pizza. They give you an empty dish and you pipe out as much frozen yogurt as you want, in any mixture of flavors, and then add any of the 80 toppings and sauces. I had a big dish of chocolate and vanilla yogurt topped with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and chocolate chips, and it was delicious.
And a big shout-out to my wonderful pal Susan, who took pity on me when I was sick, picked me up in her giant red pickup (which makes any trip more fun) and drove me to the grocery store so I could stock up on soup, crackers and orange juice. (And a bonus: while we were at the store we ran into a foxhunting pal of hers who had just gotten kicked in the leg by a horse, big-time. One look at her bruises and all of a sudden my stuffed head, glassy eyes and hacking cough seemed like nothing to complain about.)

Bloodroot

There seems to be a bumper crop this year of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), one of my favorite spring wildflowers. (Oh, who am I kidding? I love ALL spring wildflowers.) "The red juice from the underground stem was used by Indians as a dye for baskets, clothing, and war paint, as well as for insect repellent," according to my well-worn Audubon field guide. It's a member of the poppy family and you can see it growing along the side of country roads. I found these beauties along Hood Road on Thursday.

Close to the edge

I was surprised to learn how far the territory of the Jennersville Y extends.
A young mother I know from the gym, normally the most energetic of souls, posted that she was flat-out sick on the sofa and wouldn't be coming to class. I felt sorry for her and offered to take her some gingersnaps I'd just baked. She was enormously grateful, and I said I'd be right over after class.
"Just tell me how to get to your house," I texted.
I knew I was in for a drive when her instructions started out: Take the bypass beyond Nottingham and turn left.
It turns out she lives very close to the Maryland border, south of Oxford. An unexpected little jaunt! I was so glad I could help her out.

Little League

The Young Relative has started playing Little League baseball, so I'm sure I will become as familiar with the URA fields as I did with the Patton Middle School soccer fields. It felt so good sitting out there on the bleachers in the sun the other day! The kids seemed to be having a great time -- one boy even scored a home run -- and, wow, they really throw the ball much faster than I recall from my brother's stint in Little League many years ago.
Toward the end of the afternoon the unmistakable, mouth-watering scent of BBQ started wafting across Route 82 from Hood's outside BBQ grill. Well played, Hood's. Well played.