Diggin' In With FoodCorps Fin - May 14th 2021
Hello again Cougars!
I never thought the day would come, but alas, this coming Monday is La Grande’s average last frost date-- the official beginning to our short but intense growing season in the Grande Ronde Valley. Of course, with the warm and dry weather we’ve been having, this year’s season got a bit of a head start. And the plants are already off to the races!
The sprouts in the greenhouse are rearing to get planted in the raised beds. You can wait until Monday!
Here’s some chickpeas that some students planted showing their faces next to the soaker hose:
That hose drips water right onto the plant’s roots without losing water to the air through evaporation (when using a sprinkler or hose). This is a great way to make sure we’re being smart with our precious water. In addition, consider watering your plants in the evening, allowing that water to soak into the soil before drying into the air. Your plans will love you for it!
Meanwhile, the Tower Gardens have kept on growing inside. I was thrilled to see an itty-bitty summer squash appearing on one this morning:
In third grade this week, we had ourselves a “Sugar Showdown” where we saw who could guess the sugar content of several beverages. As we played several rounds, we were all stunned to visualize how many grams of sugar there are in these drinks. Using sugar cubes, we could visualize just how much sugar is stuffed in these drinks-- even in drinks advertised as “juice” or “tea”.
Throughout the lesson, we talked about how these drinks are full of added sugar. This sugar is different from naturally occurring sugar which we find in plants (like grains, starches, vegetables and fruits). Natural sugar is attached to nutrients in plants like fiber, which helps our bodies absorb it more slowly, avoiding the sugar “high” and “crash” that we get from added sugar. It’s for this reason, that we actually don’t need any added sugar in our diets at all. If we do have some, it’s best to keep it below 24g per day for children (that’s just 6 tsp-- less than is pictured in the can of Coke above…)
Thinking about these processes happening inside the body of transforming plants into energy always amazes me, but it’s rare that I take the time to pause and simply be thankful for what an amazing body I’m living in.
We are often called to draw our attention to our bodies when we are in pain; But what if we could counteract this tendency by noticing the body for its presence, its strength, and its vitality?
If you’re curious, I encourage you to try it: thank and bless your physical body for its uniqueness, its innate beauty, and its function, in however way feels best to you. A note to yourself, a toast to yourself (yes you can say it aloud!), a moment of reflection, or try this guided meditation.
With a body appreciation meditation, we can witness and appreciate every area of the physical body, simply by thanking each and every part for its presence and wellbeing, one at a time.
In a world that idolizes the surface level of things, meditations like these invite us into a deeper level of self-acceptance-- one that is not based on form, but on the innate and unconditional beauty of our pure existence! Perhaps starting with ourselves, we can learn to love everyBODY!
With (self) love,
Finley