Footnotes to a Conversation, January 31, 2022
Infatuation
This poem makes me laugh. It could have been written about me:
“So sister coastline, do you without the slimmest
shred of irony need an aging flatland woman
to point out the ocean’s a dudebro god flexing his glutes at middle-aged humans and laughing at
how we gaze, how we squint into his eventful
horizon? Stop swooning and sighing! It’s not good
for him ….”
(Flatlander, Tanis MacDonald, published in Refugium)
It’s All in the Name
February 1 is Lunar New Year when the sun, moon, and earth align. In Asia, it’s considered to be the start of spring – isn’t that a happy thought! In the most recent issue of Gastro Obscura, I was interested to learn what an important role homonyms play in the menu for Chinese New Year with its emphasis on lucky foods. “Many celebrations invariably involve loads of citrus fruits. Not coincidentally, the character for oranges (chéng zi, 橙子) is homophonous with chéng (成), signifying achievement and success … Similarly, bean curd (dòu fu, 豆腐) is a play on dōu fú (都福), or good fortune for all.” [Gastro Obscura]
Grapefruit – we don’t know where they originated or how they got their name. What we do know is that they are “one of the most destructive foes of modern medicine in the entire food world.” [Atlas Obscura]
Women’s Rights
In Pakistan, it’s women who raise, feed, and milk livestock. But only men could sell them so women had to pay a middleman who didn’t necessarily understand the animal’s true value and undercut the profits. A monthly women-led livestock market is changing that. Mustafa, a first-time seller says, “For the first time I felt free, I could make the decision of buying and selling myself.” Her mother supports her decision: “I think this change is in the right direction. If women can rear, women can buy and sell, like men. What is so complicated about it?” [The Guardian]
Art & Flowers
I would so love to live near Kew Gardens and be able to visit their art gallery as well as their gardens. Take a look at some of the botanical illustrations currently on display. I particularly like the illustration of a sweet potato. “This detail is what gives botanical illustration the ability to highlight the beauty of the natural world. It shows the elegance of plants in form and function, and the enchantment of a seed’s transformation into a new plant.” [Kew Gardens]
Thank You
A shout out this week to all of you who are engaged in productive protest in an effort to make the world a better place. Thank you for protecting heritage buildings and seeds, promoting local farmers and farmers’ markets, speaking out against the destruction of our natural environment, or supporting newcomer integration and anti-racism. And a huge vote of thanks for truckers who are currently at work, for food service workers and health care workers, and all the other people who faithfully go to work every day to help keep our communities functioning.
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read EcoFriendly Sask that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. Check out EcoFriendly Sask’s Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.