Autumn Harvest 2019

     Looking back on the vestiges of our small garden in Woodside I'm glad to say the season was a success. We had Lemon cucumbers and San Marino tomatoes as new crops and I would recommend them both if you have a trellis and sturdy stakes. They produced more than ample amounts and I am still ripening green tomatoes on my office window sill. Though first I put the green tomatoes in a paper bag with a banana for a few days. Not sure of the chemistry but something about a ripening banana helps a green tomato to turn red. Another lesson learned in 2019.

     We we moved to Ridgewood in 1961 our backyard bordered on Willard school. There was an overgrown lot between us belonging to the school which had apple trees whose apples we used to throw at each other, and wild berries we picked to make jam. All gone now in the name of children's sports and a "play safe" playground. By this I mean no slides, seesaws, or swing sets. These are all considered too dangerous and an insurance liability.

     "They're safe. Everything's safe in America, for fear someone will get offended."  -Bob Lefsetz

     To tell you the truth I never heard of any major accidents with the wilderness next to the schoolyard, or any catastrophic injuries from playing on seesaws, sliding down a metal slide, or swinging on the swing set. They were all just good fun. We were kids and when we fell down the bruises and cuts never lasted very long. I'm sure one can find examples of calamities all over the world, but does that mean we have to make our playgrounds so boring and dull that no kid wants to utilize them? I think not. The rise in childhood obesity in the US might even support my claim.