CULTIVATING NOURISHMENT

Avocado Squash is a summer squash from Korea that looks just like an avocado! But interestingly enough, it also has a creamy texture reminiscent of avocados, too. I first heard mention of Avocado Squash in Elizabeth Schneider's book, Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini. She had found the squash in an Asian market, but didn't know much about it.

In 2014 I bought a six pack of Shishito peppers from a local farm stand. I had read about these small green peppers from Japan, which were now being served at high-end restaurants. I was excited to try them. And so it was with great anticipation that I harvested the first few peppers, and then proceeded to chop and saute them.

A year ago, my husband Denny and I, relocated to the north side of a mountain near the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountain Forest. Even though I’d lived further southeast in Vermont for more than 35 years, I finally felt as if I’d come home to “real” Vermont and the unspoiled minutia of an old-fashioned life.

October 7: I stroll into the woods to visit an old oak tree. It's a short trek that I've been making for about 17 years. This forest, like others in Brattleboro, feels more like a park than wilderness. Its trails are well traversed by a daily cadre of dog walkers, hikers, and bikers. This year I marvel at the quantity and size of the acorns. It's the biggest mast year for oaks that I've ever seen.

The foxes knew us long before we had any inkling of them. They quietly surveyed us, and discreetly roamed around the land we shared in common, without us ever knowing of their existence. All this changed dramatically, at least for us, during the summer of 2017. Denny installed a game cam at our garden. We then became aware of their existence.