Grammy's View

Choosing a Charity

grammy — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:27:41 +0000

Last November I wrote some of my thoughts and frustrations about the constant barrage of appeals for money from charitable organizations. The ones that I have chosen to support are ones where I am sure my money is being well spent. Most but not all of these are local.
The topic of charitable giving came up again this morning when I received the Annual Report from the organization Kiva. Although I believe there are some very good large charities it is hard to sort out the ones that are most effective. Some time ago I read a Nicholas Kristoff column in the New York Times telling about Kiva. Since then I have contributed some of my donations to it.
Kiva loans small amounts to people around the world who have no other access to capital. I have loaned money in $25 increments to women struggling to start small home based businesses or farmers who need money for fertilizer or animals, or shopkeepers who need more products to sell. My money is added to that from other donors to meet the need of the individual. The best thing about it is that the money is a loan, not a gift. It is paid back over a specified period of time. When it is repaid, I have the option of getting the money back or re-loaning it. It is a nearly painless way of giving, really the gift that keeps giving.
The Annual Report is rare as such reports go because it is a fascinating description of the work of the organization. They have the highest rating from Charity Watch and pride themselves on transparency. The report may be found at www.kiva.org under Updates.
Along with Kiva I should mention the other international charity that I think is well worth while. I volunteered in a medical clinic in a Haitian village for several years. I know that every dollar donated goes to provide medical supplies and pay the salaries of the Haitian staff who work there. American volunteers pay their own way and the young doctor who founded the clinic and continues to be it’s director and guiding force receives no compensation. Haiti has long been the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and since the earthquake the people are only more desperate. www.healingartmissions.org

First Crop of the Season

grammy — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:15:02 +0000

It’s time for the first harvest of the year. It isn’t rhubarb, asparagus or strawberries that starts our harvest season but dandelions. This unusual winter and early spring hasn’t been kind to the berries and fruit trees but the dandelions are thriving. Anyone passing by can’t help to notice the cheerful yellow flowers blooming in the grassy areas of the parking lot.
Dandelions are surely the easiest crop that we grow. They just come up year after year with no help from us. When Max decided to start the winery it seemed fortuitous that there in the parking lot was a crop ready for harvesting.
Dandelions are found all over the world and have been widely valued centuries. The young leaves are eaten in salads or sautéed as a vegetable. Their flavor is a bit like endive or chicory. They are as rich in vitamins and minerals as any other food available. The roots are edible and used to be made into tonics believed to make one healthier in general and were specifically prized for treating gall-bladder and liver ailments.
Dandelions in this country appear to have been introduced by European settlers. Dandelion wine was probably first made in Europe but became a popular drink for homesteaders and farmers across the country.
In 1964 when we bought our first home, a Victorian cottage built in 1848, we discovered several bottles of dandelion wine in the old fruit cellar. It had been bottled in 1924. We were curious and somewhat apprehensively opened a bottle to sample. It was a very sweet drink with an unusual flavor. That was our introduction to dandelion wine.
Fast forward to Goodale (Russell) Orchards and the beginnings of the winery. It seemed only natural to take advantage of a crop that never needed to be planted or fertilized or cared for. It grew with no help from us and was just waiting to be harvested.
The flowers are picked, mixed with raisins, sugar, and water and allowed to steep for several days. They are then pressed to extract the flavors. The resulting liquid is placed in vats for the process of fermentation to begin. The finished wine is a smooth, slightly sweet, dessert wine that has become an important addition to our traditional fruit wines.

Time Flies

grammy — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:59:01 +0000

Thirty-three years ago this month we started restoring and renovating Russell Orchards. At that time it was called Goodale Orchards, a name it had carried for fifty-nine years. In 2000 we decided that it was time to give it our name.
We were a suburban family; an aerospace engineer, a nurse, and five nearly adult children. Other than weekend gardening we hadn’t given much thought to farming but Max was looking for a career change and this was it. The whole family pitched in to get things operating. Our four sons worked after school and then during the summer, our daughter was committed to another summer job but her boy friend came to stay and work.
Well-managed orchards are replanted every twenty years or so on a rotating basis. Our trees had been planted in l920. The hurricane of 1938 had taken down half of the trees and those remaining needed constant attention.
Apple trees must be pruned in the winter, thinned in the summer and watched vigilantly for signs of insects and disease. Mice nibble at the roots and poison ivy left unchecked will strangle the trees. We knew nothing about this but we learned.
We joined the Essex County Fruit Growers Association and the New York and New England Apple Institute. We subscribed to Fruit Grower, Vegetable Grower, Farm Journal, and Farm Wife News, journals we had not even imagined existed. We discovered a whole sub-culture to which we suddenly belonged. Other growers were generous with their advice and support.
It was fortunate that Max had worked summers during college as a mechanic and had taught our sons the intricacies of engines. The tractors nearly qualified as antiques. They needed constant attention to be coaxed into pulling the nearly as decrepit sprayer and mower.
The orchard store opened in September with apples, cider, some preserves, and candy. There have been tremendous changes over the years as anyone familiar with the orchard can attest. There were struggles but also great satisfaction along the way.
Our 34th season is about to begin. Four years ago we were thrilled to be able to turn the orchard over to our son Doug and his wife Miranda. Perhaps in another twenty-five or thirty years it will be one of their children, Cecelia or Hunton who will be running the orchard.

Concerts

grammy — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:44:31 +0000

Last week we joined a sell-out crowd to hear Miranda’s concert at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport. For the second year in a row she mesmerized the audience in that beautiful venue with her repertoire of rock, folk, and ballads. Several people mentioned to me that she just gets better and better. It’s hard to imagine a more satisfying evening of song. Strangers sitting next to me said they were stunned by her performance, they had only read about her and decided to come. I casually mentioned that she’s my daughter-in-law. It’s such fun to have a real celebrity in the family.

Earlier in the week we attended the Ipswich Schools String Orchestra Concert. Our own fourth graders Cecelia on the cello and Kristen on the violin did a great job. They only started playing their instruments last fall and we were impressed with the progress they’ve made in such a short time..
In the elementary grades Winthrop and Doyon students played together, but each grade, fourth, fifth, and sixth played with their own grade. All the middle school students played together, and then the high school students played. It was a delight to hear the progression from year to year. The high school orchestra was sensational.

All in all, it was a wonderful musical week for the Russell family.

Heading Home

grammy — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:18:48 +0000

We arrived home just in time for 80 degree temperatures, it felt hotter than it was in DR. I’ve been catching up and getting settled but before I begin writing about life here in Ipswich I’m sending a piece that I wrote from Florida while we were enroute home.

We are in the land of sprawling sub-divisions, strip malls, 8 lane highways and Early Bird Specials. There is also lots of sunshine, palm trees and sand. This is Florida. We’ve come to the conclusion that one reason we don’t care much for Florida is that everywhere we go, people look too much like us, a reminder of our passing years.
I am stunned by the amount of wealth that seems concentrated here. Huge homes line the coast limiting public access to the water in many areas. Yachts and sail boats fill the marinas and line the canals. I wonder how in the world so many people in such a small part of the world have so much money. At the same time, it’s apparent that one doesn’t need wealth to live here, less affluent communities are abound inland.
For the past thirty years we’ve had family living in Florida; occasionally we visit them. It’s easy to disparage the lifestyle here and feel smug about living in beautiful New England where we have villages and variety and the changing of the seasons. This trip I’ve come to see Florida in a less harsh light. I can’t imagine ever living here but looking around at the the Snow Birds who spend winters here or the people of modest means who have retired here I’m seeing things differently.
The license plates tell a story Central Florida. Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, this is a place where mid-western farmers and factory workers and laborers who have worked hard all their lives can have their time in the sun. Great wealth is here but it’s also a place where a Social Security income can suffice. Whether in RV parks or gated communities retired people can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle in a comfortable climate.
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Random Thoughts as we leave DR

grammy — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:44:58 +0000

This is a magical place and we are sad to be leaving. We have loved being in a real Dominican neighborhood where children play and people live their lives in the street.
We will miss the beach and watching the fishermen. We’ll miss the wonderful food, eating meals on the beach with the glorious green sea rimmed with sand and palm trees arrayed before us. We’ll miss the children playing in the street and the domino players slapping their tiles down with a resounding smack.

A hot domino game

We won’t miss the constant buzz of motor scooters, motor cycles, and quads, (the four wheeled cycles that are the choice of the French expats) that fill the streets. But we have grown accustomed to these vehicles, marveling at the complete absence of helmets. Parents transporting children on them is common. Today we saw a family of four on a small motorcycle.
We’ll remember the bottle tree a short distance from us and the truck filled with sneakers and shoes for sale that sits just around the corner near the one piled high with oranges and plantains.

Bottle tree, an new way to recycle and decorate for Christmas too.

We’ll remember the store in the center of town where a man hand rolls cigars with tobacco from Equador and Connecticut while displaying cigarette packs loudly proclaiming that Smoking Kills.

After packing Max’s paintings this morning we went to the little thatch-roofed French cafe at the end of our street for lunch. In an overgrown field on the opposite corner (on Las Terrenas’ main street) a game of baseball has been going on for the past three days. Today it has cows in it. It has had cows periodically since we arrived. Where they come from and where they go is a puzzle but no baseball today. Later this afternoon we’ll go to the center of town for some ice cream, made on the premises of a small shop and take our final walk on the beach.

Excursions in DR

grammy — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:32:17 +0000

Las Terrenas is a perfect place for tanning on a beach or eating great food but it is also possible to take part in lots of other activities. Diving, windsurfing, kiteboarding, horseback riding, snorkeling, and hiking are all readily available as well as excursions to the beautiful Los Haitises National Park and the hidden beaches of Rincon and Madame.
We planned a trip to Rincon and Madame beaches for snorkeling and a lobster cookout but it was canceled for rain. A trip to Los Haitises was more successful. There was only one other English speaking person with Laura and me so we had a boat and guide all to ourselves.
Los Haitises teems with birds and has huge mangrove forests. The coast is lined with caves, some can be entered by boat, others by walking. One cave held pictoglyphs and pectoglyphs believed to be at least over 500 years old. Limestone islands rise along the coastline. Much to our dismay, our boat driver took great pleasure zooming around them at full speed in our small boat.

Inside a cave

Limestone island

Mangrove forest

Our whale watch was less successful. It was raining much of the day with huge swells in the sea. We saw very little whale activity and between the rain and the drenching from the waves, we arrived home soaked through. Our rainjackets did manage to keep us dry from the waist up. Despite those things, we had a fun day.

Whale mother and baby

Dancing in DR

grammy — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:58:27 +0000

Our daughter Laura left on Monday after two weeks with us. Our usual schedule (rut perhaps) was drastically altered. She was eager to be doing things and I was happy to join her. We went on excursions, checked out the nightlife and stayed up late watching old movies on TV.

Laura took some dance lessons at Salsa Caribe, a nearby dance school. The teachers there encouraged her to check out the local dance club. It is on the main street of town at the corner of our little street. We’ve heard the music nightly since we arrived but never seen it in action.

She and I went out at 10:PM, the music was blasting and there were several couples dancing, a few others at the ubiquitous plastic tables and chairs scattered about the cavernous room. As we watched, the room slowly filled. Laura held her own doing the Salsa, the Merengue, and the Bachata with several different partners. At least that’s what she said the dances were, they looked the same to me.

By the time we left at 11:30 the room was packed and things were just getting started. Back in our apartment, we heard the music until long after 3:AM

A night or two later Laura was able to practice her Salsa again with the husband of a British woman I met here. It looks like fun.

Fishermen Again

grammy — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:29:55 +0000

The fishermen hold endless fascination for us. As I wrote before, several times a week we end our beach walk/swim with a drink at the little cafe on the sand where the fishermen roll their boats up. Once the boats are high out of the water a man will hoist the engine on his shoulder and walk off to put it in the back of a little pickup. I mentioned a boat engine being carried on a motor scooter. I took a photo of it a couple of days ago.

Loaded for home

One of the fishermen unchained a motor scooter from the palm tree that it rested on and drove it close to the boat. He lifted a five gallon gas can and put it in front of him over the scooter engine. Another man hoisted the boat engine across the seat behind the driver with the steering stick tucked under the drivers arm. Finally, another five gallon bucket, maybe a bait bucket, was slipped over one side of the handlebars and the man drove away.

Our neighbors

grammy — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:15:59 +0000

The street that runs behind our apartment is a poor neighborhood. Tiny houses line one side of the street. On the other side is a sort of wooded area. It has tall palm trees and lots of shorter vegetation. A triple barbed wire fence encloses it and is used as the clothesline for the women in the houses. There appears to be a communal washing machine that sits in front of one of the houses.

Laundry drying

The ground under the trees is bare dirt with dead palm fronds scattered across it. This is the playground for the young children. Today when we passed it appeared that they’d built a lean-to camp and were happily playing under the lean-to. Another time a table and some plastic chairs were inside the fence. Children were gathered around watching men playing a spirited game of dominoes.

Playground

Often a group of boys are playing marbles in the middle of the street, or having a rousing game of baseball using a stick and some seed pods that are about the size of a lime. It is fun to watch the enjoyment that they create for themselves.
Last night we took a walk on the beach early in the evening. Walking home at dusk we found the entire street filled with people. Chairs had been brought out and groups of adults were gathered in front of their houses. Their conversation and laughter was accompanied by music emanating from many of the houses.
Children were playing in the street, I couldn’t tell if they were organized games but seemed to be having a wonderful time. The occasional car or motor-scooter would come zooming down the street, the children would scatter and then resume their play.
It is moments like these that make our stay in Las Terrenas such a special experience for us.