Back to Basics: A New Look, 2
In the northern hemisphere it is now Midsummer. Mother Nature continues to signal us about the importance of paying attention to the most basic components of well-being — including nutritious food.
We no longer have the relative luxury of “traditional” weather patterns, and the expected variations from year to year.
Instead, we now notice distinct changes in that which is occurring, throughout Nature’s year, and the rippling effects thus created. The growing season is one example.
This Summer, we have had the opportunity to notice, yet again, that which is calling for attention. Fresh fruits, locally grown, have a story to tell — as an example of a larger picture.
Since childhood, we have been fond of peaches. Not surprisingly, when harvest time for peaches approaches we are ready to enjoy these favorite fruits. Once plentiful from local orchards, superior peaches are now a rarity.
About a week ago, larger than usual peaches — with lovely color — were described as locally-grown. Initially, these attractive peaches were a pleasant reminder of that which we formerly expected to find during Midsummer.
Our enthusiasm soon shifted with the recognition that the peaches, now being sampled in our kitchen, had not experienced sufficiently beneficial growing conditions. Despite their appearance, they did not begin to compare with what we would call “real peaches” — texture or taste .
This recent experience is not an isolated example of highly variable quality. Rather, we see these peaches as an illustration, a reminder.
When considering the basic components of well-being — including nutritious food — it is essential to take a new look at what is occurring in Mother Nature’s world and, with ingenuity, discover growing practices appropriate to changing conditions. Changing conditions became starky obvious to us during July.
In mid-July, a friend in the Southwest sent a picture of a peach tree — abundant with ripening fruit. Four days later he wrote: “For lack of moisture in the air, fruits are drying out instead of ripening…” Five days after that, he provided another update: “Many trees have fried leaves in spite of intensive watering… and fruits remain small and hard…” Within 9 days, the peach tree which had been healthy — with green leaves and copious fruit — was now irrevocably damaged for the season, in the excessive heat and dryness.
In contrast, much closer to home, excessive rain occurred during the same time-frame. Fertile fields, green with thriving crops, were flooded. This completely unexpected weather event significantly impacted the “traditional” locally grown food supply in that Northern New England state.
Mother Nature’s signals are impeccably clear. The basics for well-being not only deserve a new look. In fact, it is essential to look — with new perspective — at what Nature is telling us. And, it is also essential — for well-being — to take wise action.
When we see peaches now, we wonder: Will the flavor and the nutrition match the appealing appearance?
Image by Katharina N. from Pixabay.