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Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

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Food

What all Life could be opus 8

Finely chopped parsley
Sprinkled over the face
Of pudding-like rice soup.
How soft and smooth is its texture,
Slipping over the tongue,
Hot,
And taken down with a gentle swallow.

Laughing here and there,
Chatting now and then,
Longing up and down.

If life could be
So soft and gentle soup.

Cuisine and Shame opus 37

Do you know that, strangely now,
Early Atlantic slaves were fed the then, undesirable lobster?
Now, so desired as a special, tasty food,
Captured by the millions--such a profusion of buoys,
Attached to a jungle of lines and traps;
So many, that the entangled Right Whale's survival
Hangs in the balance of a tipping scale
Between wanted cuisine on the one hand and the shame of
Needlessly destroying yet another fellow species on the other.

Entomophagy I opus 38

Do you know that, strangely now,
Early Atlantic slaves were fed on the then, undesirable lobster?
Today, with ever-reduced grazing areas on the planet
And fisheries that are pressed with over exploitation,
Humans are now contemplating returning to
A once ancestral desired cuisine of termites and their kin
Which at present are, by many, considered as absolutely horrible.

Bizarre how food choice is determined by
Fashion or need or revulsion;
What's different between a shelled sea creature
And terrestrial beings with an exoskeleton?

Entomophagy II opus 39

Oh dear! Why would one wish to ingest bugs?
Besides more humans continually needing protein
And efforts to reduce CO2 and methane,
Insects are a very desirable food source
Which fulfill all of the above.

For instance, on one acre during one year
A cow will produce 192 pounds
And chickens will produce 265 pounds
And 1,500 pounds of soy can be produced
And 7,700 pounds of algae per acre,
While crickets produce 65,000 pounds
And grubs produce 1,000,000 pounds!

Concerning space, cows need 20 square meters,
Pigs, 5; chickens, 4.5,
While crickets as a group require only 1.5 meters squared
And the lowly grubs need a tiny 0.1 square meters!

Insects as a superfood? Let's see.
They have three times more protein than beef,
Two times more iron than spinach,
With all essential amino acids.
Insects have 10% more vitamin B12 than salmon,
And a perfect omega 6:3 ratio!

With such credentials,
How could a challenged human population
Not heed what nature offers and, indeed, demands,
To save us from great hunger and malnutrition
In an ever hostile planet, pressing all
To eventually migrate polar north and some south,
Where temperatures will be more tolerable?

Get over it folks and learn to love
That source which enticed and, when found, delighted our ancestors--
Giving us our present day large brain and canine reduced morphology.

My Holiday Beverage opus 45

One inch of water (not necessary) in a mug;
Add one half oat milk,
Topped with one half of that from the cow.
Then sprinkle a teaspoon of Xylitol (5 ring sugar) into the mixture,
And, for good measure, pour in several glugs of whiskey for taste (and effect!).
Stir rapidly for as long as you deem necessary.
Nothing more needed!

Have a thoughtful Thanksgiving.

A Text to Andy, a Former Student, now older and more mature opus 54

Hello. Thank you for the BLT and Aubrey's cake,
Which I will continue to enjoy today!

Also a meaningful time with each other.
Our evening together demonstrates
How people can interact,
Using emotion and the power of thought
To manifest our 'humanness'.
F.

Foiled opus 59

The unopened roll of aluminum foil lies on the floor--
Was a reminder to have festively wrapped the frozen blocks of meat--
Butchered from a favorite, but old, Swiss Highland steer--
The packages--freezer preserved--in cold stillness in the barn.

Unopened foil, because, out of sadness,
I could not muster the fortitude to rouse myself
And travel to the San Francisco Christmas get-together.

Too many memories.
Too many disappointments.
Too much pain.

The noise of the revelry would have devastated me.

Frank the Milkman opus 61

Twice a week, Frank, the milkman, would back his truck into our long driveway.
Bottles would clink and an array of milk would appear.
Used bottles were exchanged and off he would go.

One day, Frank asked my mother if I might ride with him on his route.
I had shown interest as a young boy and was thus rewarded.
What a wonderful trip through my neighborhood in a MILK TRUCK!
I will always remember how Frank, the milkman,
Had fulfilled a little boy's dream--
To ride and deliver things in a milk truck!

The Elephant and the Tree (1977) opus 67

I was leaving my belov-ed Africa completing five years of teaching.
From Lesotho (Le su tu) I flew for a last stop in Malawi.
I had the choice of a hotel and walking the town,
Or rent a car in which I would sleep and see some sights!
Hard to guess which I chose--------.

With the car, I needed food for my travels.
Coming upon an outdoor market, I purchased a huge hand of plantains
With several bags of tangerines--both easy to peel.
Then I was off down the dusty road to where?
Gave someone a lift for a while and chatted country politics.
(Banda had killed perhaps one person in every Milawan family!--so he said.)
Then went on and found a national game park.
Signed in and settled into my cabin.

Explored out in the bush for a time, with wondrous fascination.
(I kept my white flannel shirt on, covered in red African dust.)
Ate a bite from my stash of plantains and tangerines,
Then wandered out again near dusk for good wildlife viewing.
Walked along a lake's shore to my right, probably full of crocs and hippos.
Passed further on to discover a huge bull elephant now in sight.
I watched him feeding on branches for several minutes.
It was becoming darker.
Suddenly I heard a trumpet and saw the ears out and the trunk up!
Wind shifted. I knew I needed to leave--fast.
Crocs now to the left and a long open slope to the right.
One lone tree far ahead--my only hope.

I ran as I had never run before--my high school records were all shattered.
MADE IT, with a huge pachyderm just behind.
The tree's root mass, from past flooding, was wide, like a giant bonsai.
The elephant rounded to the right,
I rounded back to the left.
Then the other way for both of us in our opposed motions.
Two or more semi rotations and then a pause.
I had my foot uplifted on the tree root
And it trembled beneath my body in exhaustion and exhilarated fear.

Suddenly nothing--no sound--and I wondered where we were.
Slowly creeping around to see if the huge animal was there.
Not a thing------.
Then the sudden crack of a branch and I realized it had silently left to feed.
I slowly and carefully slunk out and back to my cabin,
Still so full of adrenalin, but quieter,
I lay down on my cot and left the world in excited slumber.

A Dance in the Kalahari on a Pan (1976) opus 70

Our Kalahari safari of one month was soon to end.
On the last night, a day's trip from Maun, a Botswana outpost
(A hangout for the famous Van Der Post),
We decided to stop and camp next to and on a salt pan or playa;
Hard flat mud, forming a very walkable open area for our centerpiece.
Tents up, fire started, supplies out and festivities to begin.
I was cook that night.
 I had snuck in a bottle of brandy from the last trading post;
Meat, vegetables, drinks, and sliced peach dessert all happily flavored.
There were no complaints that evening,
By masking any culinary faux pas I may have made.

Then the battery radio appeared, sounding the music of Radio Swazi.
Deftly, John's wife, Shirley, who had come along, disappeared to her vehicle,
And magically returned wearing high heels;
Imagine that, initiating our dancing on a hardened mud flat
In the Kalahari Desert on our last wonderful night!
Such a culmination of a trip full of challenges and adventure
And hopefully adding some knowledge and understanding to our incredible world.

The Termite Feast opus 84

Remember that photo of Jane Goodall;
The chimp using the stick tool to draw out termites?
The use of the tool was an incredible break through of knowledge,
But what of the saga of the termites?
When discovered as a food, the termite was the protein impetus of evolution.
Human brains evolved with the added protein to flourish ever larger.

I lived and taught at the University of Lesotho, Africa.
One afternoon, winged termites began to emerge from our lawns!
Amazed, I watched as these delicate creatures pushed up into the air.
I remembered the gustatory history of humans and termites;
I suddenly cried out--'bring out your large salad bowls'.
'Place them over the holes and capture these potential protein morsels.'
As our ancestors lept to snatch up as many as possible--
So we moved fast to capture our entemorphagical tidbits.

Immersed and gently fried in hot butter with a bit of water,
These insect protein packets fed us for a meal,
Drawing us back in mind to our ancestral past
And the continual, perpetual human search for reliable protein sources.

Wasting Food opus 129

We live in a generally wealthy society with, for most, plenty of food.
Indeed, too many choices, flavors, brands. . . . . . .
How many times have you been invited to another's dinner
And, after partaking in a marvellous meal,
The table is cleared and most of the leftovers, slopped down the disposal?
One friend reported she had relatives come to their home to stay awhile,
And they complained (!) about the cooking,
Took over the kitchen, prepared far too much for each meal,
And proceded to attempt to cast the rest down the disposal!
The host at that point, put her foot down--
"We do not throw good food away; we use the leftovers!"
Well, nothing changed and all continued as before,
So, when the guests departed, the friend said to me,
"And now we are eating many leftovers from a very full fridge!"

I also had a similar experience several years ago,
When partaking of dinner with a family of four (with two ten year olds).
I distinctly remember hotdogs, buns and other sundries
Pushed from each 'finished' plate into that gaping hole in the middle of the sink!

200 tons or more per day, much directly off our plates, are discarded
By families, restaurants, and processors in this country.
How can this be occurring so rampantly?
I was made to 'eat three bites' of something not liked at the table;
My children were guided to do the same.
In a school where I taught in Switzerland,
I followed the same practice with great success--
One stubborn eater even declared, after trying his three bites,
 "This was great food", and demonstratively gulped it all down.

Do we just have too much, with too many choices
And also along with that, too little discipline,
Allowing our children and then, later adults,
To be continually spoiled as they proceed through all of life's experiences?

As a farmer, among other things, to make all ends meet,
My mindset had been successfully formed by my parents' approach to food and dining.
Wastefulness in one of life's practices may very well lead
To a myriad of other undesirable approaches to life.

Coming from a farmer, ecologist, teacher, parent, and octogenarian,
This might not be such bad advice for the challenges we face in this new 21st century!

Dear Agave Plant opus 133

Oh, dear agave plant, who yields to us your wondrous juices,
Giving us joy, when imbibing your processed 'nectar',
Have we, through the negligence of our planet,
Forfeited your yield because of our criminal warming,
Careless uncontrolled habitat loss, and overharvesting?
By removing your flowering stalk early,
So as to energize the base-stalk for added sugars and production,
And, as well, affecting the Long-nosed bat, having no flowers to feed upon,
And no flowers to pollinate for your own multiplication,
Your numbers are threatened as well as those of the symbiotic nectarivore.

What on earth are we truly able to do?
Oh, of course--management and restoration!
(Perhaps also cutting back on our tequila consumption?)
Hmm, the latter is sort of a joke, I guess.

The Pacific Pond Turtle opus 135

Most people in California have no idea
That they are sharing territory with the Pacific Pond Turtle--
The only freshwater turtle in the state.
(There may be a possibly extinct Mud Turtle
Originally recorded from the Imperial Valley.)
This species is struggling now, competing with introduced species.

Certain ethnic grocery stores freight in the Southern Painted Turtle and the Elegant Slider.
They are imported for human consumption,
But, sadly, many are kept as pets, only to be released or are escapees.
Other ethnic groups buy many to be part of a religious service and are then released.
People often feel 'sorry' for captive creatures and good-heartedly 'let them go'.

As with all unwanted (by the knowing) introductions,
The 'culprits' have no idea the huge harm they are causing
To the long established native species,
Resulting from the generally unequal competition by those introduced.
There is no good judgement nor proper evaluation
Of these innocent acts which cause this basic biological chaos,
Because the majority of us do not take the time nor care
To learn the flora and fauna of our own ecosystem,
Thus allowing these thoughtless acts to occur around us.
Humans formerly knew well their surroundings
In order to gather and hunt food, collect materials to construct or build,
And knew what was safe and what was dangerous to their lives.

There are so many stories of visitors hiking and resting in a patch of poison oak,
Or swimming in an unknown river with a dangerous current,
Or consuming a mushroom that causes a fatal end,
Or bringing in foreign plants, because of homesickness or because 'it looks nice'.
To learn one's surroundings takes time and patience,
But the joy of understanding one's 'place' and its inhabitants,
Is boundless and is helpful for one's own being
And the protection of fellow creatures (including plants!).

What is Sacred? opus 151

Some will not eat fish with no scales.
But catfish is advertised as a near perfect meat source.

Some will not eat sacred cows.
But beef is a main protein source for the world (unfortunately?).

Some will not eat the pork of pigs.
But the special white meat is the 'beef alternative'!

Some will not eat horse flesh--thanks to a Papal decree by Pope Gregory III
in 732. (Leviticus also rules out eating horse meat.)
But the French and much of the rest of the world savour this flesh.

(USA - horses are still slaughtered for food, but on Mexican and Canadian soil!)

The flesh of dogs (and cats) are desired in many parts
And thousands of both are 'needlessly' euthanized in a starving world.

But what about the possible 'saviour' for our future protein source?
Is insect protein kosher? inedible? gross? unmentionable cuisine?

Might we reject a food source which may tip things towards a reasonable balance?

The human brain owes its increased size, most likely to the discovery of termite 'flesh'.
Why does the West reject the very thing that gave them their 'brains'?

Is all this just a human comical farce?
Why all the rules to demonstrate allegiance and membership?
Could there be a Humanistic approach to a rational life?
Caring for all life, but we must still eat--and what?

Caring for all life--the definition of Humanism (but there is no meddling god!).

Lengua opus 164

You surprised me with lengua instead of Sweet and Sour shrimp.
You do know my gourmand culinary choices.

But you did surprise me,
Which, either way, would have won my heart!

One of the two cuisines would have melted on my tongue.

Thank you.  Frank.

To Meal Creators! opus 172

A friend called me one evening to wish me a Happy Birthday.
Within the conversation, she queried, 'Have you had supper yet?'.
I told her of my nibbles on a lingering, but good cheese,
Finishing up a can of cold New England Clam Chowder,
And a corn cob, rescued from the animal food I collect from a local grocery store.
(The corn cob was perfectly fine, just discarded because of appearance alone.)
Concluding the call, I thought of my past-- continual evening joy,
While married to my dear Nora, who loved to cook,
And who presented a coordinated, balanced and appetizing meal each evening.

How fortunate are those, coupled with a devoted, loving creator of meals!

The Struggling Polar Bear opus 192

Polar Bears wander in a warming autumn.
No food intake all summer.
Seals in iceless water taunt the white giants.
Males fight with restless anger alone--
No females present to raise their testosterone--
Only tension, no ice from which to hunt,
And a longer hiatus with no food.

As the earth increasingly warms each year,
The bears must seek out cliff nests for eggs.
The Snowshoe Hare is still in a white mode,
Maintaining its lingering white phase,
While traversing on a brown substrate.
Easy to see but far too quick for the bear.
Balancing on cliff edges, seabird eggs
Are a small nutritional substitute.
Our human activities, releasing ever more CO2,
Have a great bear
Balancing on cliffs to ferret out a diminutive bird's egg.

R3 Food Dye opus 205

Humans create products with good taste and attractive color,
So that the purchase and consumption will be ever-increased.
It is Halloween and one possible danger is the ubiquitous Candy Corn sweet.
It contains the food dye R3 which studies have shown,
Ingestion by, especially children, increases hyperactivity.
Many superfluous items are added to our foods,
Which are mildly or strongly adverse to our health.
As Michael Pollan states in his book,'Omnivore's Dilemma',
'Shop on the outer walls of a grocery store,
To find the purest of healthy, unprocessed foods
For you and your offspring.'
Do not become paranoid, just be ever-vigilant!

Trees and Turkeys opus 217

Displaying a DC Christmas tree each year from a different state,
Is far superior than pardoning an innocent turkey at Thanksgiving--
One, the death of a tree in its prime,
The other, life for a domesticated totally innocent bird,
Which is a genetic corruption of a magnificent wild creature.

(Remember the feud between Jefferson and Franklin
to name the national bird--the eagle vs the turkey!
I guess it is best we are not mass slaughtering
our national bird for human consumption,
celebrating a mythical (?) dinner with those whom
we would soon annihilate.)

In a Poet's Mind opus 220

'From Wok to Chopsticks'
I saw written on the paper sleeve;
Kindly delivered to me,
Packaged with food from a friend.
My mind transformed this logo
Into a musical variation:

From the shell-shaped utensil--
Heated by open fire--
It creates food for sustenance
Which is lifted to the mouth
With two delicate sticks
Dexterously manipulated by agile fingers!

Supper in My House! (An email.) opus 235

(I had friends who delivered a meal to me, when I was not feeling well,
instead of attending a restaurant together, as originally planned.)

It was almost as romantic and fun,
Having my imbibition and mastication
Accompanied by little notes and menus as I ate,
Compared to a noisy restaurant.

Of course you were there with your informative
Post-it Note epistles, informing and instructing along the way.
Perhaps the 'conversation' was a little one-sided, though.

Thanks,  F.

A Tiny Gift opus 237

I was ready to walk into the pet store
To purchase crickets for my wonderful Bearded lizard.
And there she was crouched and wrapped in a blanket.
I stopped and said hello and "I don't carry cash."

"Oh, I have money. Would you get me some food--
Down at Jack's Restaurant, just down there."

I said, "Sure. I don't need money."
And wrote her food list on my wrist.
It was cold and rainy. I was ready to do something good.
Returning with her food and beverage,
I handed her the bag with the goodies.

After purchasing the eight (!) crickets
I then passed by her enjoying my gift.
We exchanged smiles and said goodbye.
I was overwhelmed, realizing there are so many like this.

Christmas Owls, Nuptially Vocalizing opus 244

I woke early on the Friday before Christmas Monday.
My first Great Horned Owls' nuptial calls of the winter.
How wonderful that they once again have returned to me,
As they have for the almost half century I have lived here.
I had been dreaming of squash and mashed potatoes,
With a parcel of turkey in some unknown kitchen--
All warm with smells of deliciousness.
It is Christmas and my owls are unknowingly
Welcoming this time to be warm of heart and to remember
All the varied past times that we humans
Have created to make a short winter day,
Special for our complex human spirits.

A Christmas greeting from a Humanist.

Orientation to Our World opus 249

Humans always knew that which was around them:
Plants for food and medicines,
Creatures from termites to antelope for nutrition,
Poisonous species from both Kingdoms,
And perfect orientation to travel here and there.

In the Kalahari I saw all of this manifested--
A Bushman (now better called San, Khwe, Basarwa, Khoisan)
Even guided us for many miles,
Through the 'featureless' bush, compass in his head,
To a single cave (Drotsky's) which we wished to study.

Today our youth devour fatty, sugar-laden junk food,
And have no idea of what they have passed,
Using the mindless, electronic GPS which,
If the system were to fail, they would be utterly lost.

Two Possibilities opus 265

Headstones

    If the dates show
    the husband died
    shortly after the wife--

    first Gladys then Harry,
    Betty followed by Tim--

    the cause is often
    gradual starvation
    and not a broken heart.

So wrote Billy Collins
And I added:

And if the sequence occurs opposite--
Harry then Gladys,
Tim followed by Betty--

The cause is often sadness,
With no one to feed,
Or relief that the meat and
Potatoes man is gone
And she can now delve
Into more interesting recipes.

(Billy Collins, Musical Tables, 2022.)

Flowers on an Unused Stove opus 270

A bouquet, watered in a drinking glass,
Rests on an unused stove--
Unused, because the cooking in this household
Utilizes a solar box--
Sometimes 'touched up' with the microwave.

An Upper Trophic Level opus 281

I was comfortable with catfish as a product, raised in a hot summer environment. (Now after 40 years, summers are ever hotter--I remember at least three winters when all ponds would freeze over and the kids even skated -- not any longer.). While selling fish, customers had many questions, as is the wont in a direct Farmers Market. One, of course, was, 'Don't these fish feed on the bottom?' I quickly solved that one for a good reply, as well as for a better product: I used floating fish food, which created a wonderful feeding frenzy as well, which the many visiting school children immensely enjoyed! The nutrition of catfish flesh is quite complete and very healthy. But the 'haupt' subject which greatly worries me is the fact that we are fishing out our wild stocks, and, of course, most people wish to consume salmon and tuna and trout, all of which are on the top of the food chain--the highest trophic (feeding) level.

It worries me to see customers in a grocery store, ogling over salmon, when there are so many other, environmentally better fish species to be consumed. Captive salmon create their own problems such as antibiotics loose in the ocean near the floating pens, let alone the dissolving artificial food and fish waste. But most, the escape of domesticated varieties of salmon into the wild populations. Pond raised fish are isolated and do not create such problems. In general then, we must all be aware of the trophic levels from which WE feed as well!

Are White Camembert and Brie Doomed to Extinction? opus 305

The power and strength and endurance of life on our planet
Is due to adaptation, thus survival, to ever-changing conditions on earth.
The antithesis of this is the desire of humans for standardization--
Sameness and comfort to continual and 'familiar' known entities.
Biologically, this leads, of course, to ever-weakening biological systems,
Which Homo sapiens are managing and controlling for their own pleasure.
How is this at all germane to our cheeses?
Well, we are facing a collapse of microbial diversity.
We have been relying on a single fragile strain of fungi
Which is now at a risk of dying out of existence on our planet.
To create our cheeses, Penicillium biforme has been chosen
To yield the desired colors, flavors, and aroma which the populus desires.
Now P. camemberti, a developed strain, considered a 'species',
Cannot reproduce, and must be continually created
By ever-more difficult cloning methods.
Along the way, other strains of mold have vanished from disuse.
The desired fluffy white mold, which grows quickly,
Has reached a condition which is locked in and not now found in the wild!
With variations of P. camemberti being completely stifled,
There has been an increase of harmful mutational errors in its genome.

Other cheeses, for the same reasons, are not out of danger--
A couple are Gorgonzola and Roquefort.
The single variety of cloned bananas, with an effective pest,
Could be completely decimated.
Variations of wheat strains are vital for survival, now facing the Climate Crisis.
Finally, if diversity within a species is lost, adaptability is lost.
With this in mind, we humans must revel in the pending enjoyment
Of the future variety of slight changes in color, aroma, and flavor!

Green-dyed Food! opus 315

To dye food green in America is fun, but for an Irish person,
If heesh knows hiser history, it can be a shocking experience.
During the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, about one million Irish
Died in the span of six years, having no food.
These people were so deprived of food, they resorted to eating grass,
Which colored their mouths green as they died!
Thus an Irish person first confronting green-dyed food in the 'New World',
Is jolted into a recollection of the harsh reality of Irish history.

Another Irish nonhistorical fact is corned beef, consumed on St. Patrick's Day.
The Irish valued a cow for milk, not for meat,
So meat for such a person meant not beef, but pork!
When the English conquered Ireland, corned beef was added to the cuisine,
But it was not until the Irish arrived in America
That they learned to love corned beef, picked up
From their Jewish neighbors in the New York City melting pot!

'The Seasons of Man' opus 345

Humans have various important times during their lives--
The so-called 'Seasons of Man'.
While observing my seed-laden bird feeder,
I have noticed that the myriad of sparrows
During the winter months have declined drastically,
Now that it is almost May. Why?
Contemplating the seasonal food intake of sparrows,
I realized that not only are the natural seed sources now extant,
But that the new voracious nest-bound offspring
Demonstrate the need in their young lives
To have huge amounts of pure protein for growth.
The adult need for seed intake now requires protein-laden insects!
The behaviour of seed gathering
Is dominated by insect hunting for the young.

There are several examples of specific food needs throughout life.
One is the vegetarian frog tadpole
Metamorphosing to the insectivorous-carnivore adult.
Mammals also switch from high nourishment milk
To a carnivorous, vegetarian or omnivorous life.
But, through natural selection, most European humans, especially,
Have managed to continue consuming milk in their 'adult stage'.
We are all familiar with the lactose intolerant individuals
Who, because of the adult, milk consuming culture,
Must have a lactose-free 'milk' to continue imbibing with their fellows!

Neanderthals (and Early Homo sapiens) Could not Live on Mammoth Flesh Alone! opus 361

Butchered bones with stone blade marks are prominent in Prehistoric middens.
The question is, did our ancestors consume anything but meat?
Time has passed until now, when, with new research techniques,
We are learning that a large array of plant material
Has been detected and identified around the fossil dentition of the ancient ones.
Chard, wild oats, beans, wild peas, mushrooms, wild mustard,
Acorns, pistachios, and other nuts all have been ferreted out from their non-existent gum lines!
Meat, as it should be with us also, was not continually consumed,
Thus, resulting in a nice omnivorous diet, as our dentition so indicates.

How to Survive an Alligator! opus 375

I occasionally drop by my local pet store
To check out what chelonia species are up for sale.
Now and then, on a whim, I 'rescue' a specimen, catching my fancy.
Recently, I inquired about two Yellow Bellied turtles
(Pseudemys scripta scripta)
Which had remained in the store for weeks.
After making a 'deal', homeward they went with me.
With a dark carapace, a yellow streak slicing each scute,
And a bright yellow plastron,
I found them quietly attractive to the eye.

Sussing them out from my comprehensive 'Encyclopedia of Turtles' ,
I discovered about their southeastern US range,
But most interestingly, the heavy shell of this species,
Perhaps evolved to be resistant to their cohabitating alligators,
So that they might survive the potential cracking
And inevitable consumption by their crocodilian neighbors.

So many subtle examples of selection through the evolutionary process,
Which, with some examination, become evident to the studious mind.

California's Newest State Symbol opus 386

Several years ago I proposed and had finally passed as a state symbol,
Purple Needle Grass (Stipa pulchra), the now state perennial native grass
Which was a food staple for native people
And is now used in restoration to outcompete star thistle.
Each plant can stay around quite a while-- 150 years!

Recently California just designated the Pallid Bat as that group's representative.
A most interesting creature consuming insects and scorpions in its diet.
It also consumes cactus (plant) nectar--one of two bats in the world to do so.
The Lesser Long-nosed Bat generally sips cactus nectar
And pollinates with a delicate tongue.
Researchers were surprised to observe the Pallid Bat,
Pollinating by shoving its whole head into the flower!
These bats use echolocation to hunt on the ground
For beetles, crickets, as well as scorpions
The venom of which they are totally immune!
They also found that Pallid Bats transferred
Thirteen times as much pollen as the Lesser Long-nosed Bat.
So the more 'refined' and delicate consumption of the latter species
Was way out done by the less mannered, new discovery--the Pallid Bat.

Domestication opus 396

Have you ever noticed the multicolored coat of reindeer (caribou)?
In addition, if you conduct deeper research, how about Fallow Deer?
Both these species have been semi-domesticated
Over centuries of human manipulation.
The Sami have herded reindeer forever
And Fallow Deer were transported from Turkey to Britain in 1100 AD.
When an organism is 'protected' by humans over a long period of time,
Evolutionary parameters fall away because coloration is irrelevant to survival.
The domestication of wolves to dogs is another example--
Reduction of dentition and snout, floppy ears,
And a curled tail manifest themselves.
The Russian experimentation of foxes revealed the same phenomena.

Humans became 'domesticated' with the advent of cooking.
A large heavy jaw with large teeth has now manifested into a finer jaw
And smaller teeth, with some, the molars, becoming obsolete!
Many of us have crowded teeth--tooth size is changing
Slower than a diminishing jaw!
From ingesting grasses and leaves to tearing apart raw meat,
To masticating cooked food--we are the only animal which does so.
It is interesting that all other primates, when given the choice,
Prefer cooked food--it is just that the brainpower is not there
To associate cooking and the need for fire!

The Canaries We Need to Watch opus 427

Our world farmers are the canaries in the coal mine.
Already we are noting that many are moving to more favorable climes,
Or, if impossible, leaving food production altogether,
Or, if possible, forsaking their traditional crops
And experimenting with 'new' xeric plant producers,
Or transporting themselves with their crops to more northerly climes,
To maintain themselves until the ever-increasing temperature
Forces them to a further unknown way of life.

A Leaden History opus 438

Most of us are aware of the silent death and quiet ailments
Due to the Romans' elaborate plumbing systems, using lead pipes
To shift water throughout their civilizations.
They did not know, but lead is one of the most toxic elements in the
Periodic Table--
A great idea, using an easily malleable metal to connect their water labyrinths.
Today, an equivalently brilliant idea using exciting color
To make a spice more attractive for increasing sales,
Has lead (led, no pun) many into a horrible health problem similar to
that of the ancients.

Bangladeshi women and their children in Flint, Michigan, and in NY City,
All had relatively higher levels of lead in their blood,
Causing lead-related health problems and death.
Why, these people from this part of the world?
Much sleuthing and research, but no clues at all.
Finally, a female Californian researcher decided to actually go to Bangladesh--
No lead paint on their tin houses, no lead-painted toys,
No lead in molded pots, no food with direct lead poisoning.
What then?

Wholesalers of turmeric began using (1980's) lead chromate powder
To brighten the color of the yellow spice.
Then later, when floods blackened the turmeric roots,
Even more lead chromate was freely used on the harvest.
This boosted sales of the artificially yellowed product,
But it was literally poisoning the people of Bangladesh--
Who, sadly, were also privately importing this product to the US.
Studies were done; miraculously the Bangladashi government stepped in,
And this poisoning dropped to almost 0%.

Today, more research follows looking at other spices, cosmetics, and
painted toys.
There is much to be done to ferret out this lead terror--
It pervades our societies, utilizing 7 percent of our US gross national product,
With a global cost of $6 trillion, all coping with lead.

Who would have known? What else lies out there undiscovered?

The End of Yet Another Golden Age? opus 440

We humans have lived through a climate golden age.
With our ever greater success in most things,
We increasingly traverse the world,
Slowly carrying viruses and bacteria with us.
With the human population-increase throughout the planet,
There accompanies an increase
In ever-more confined protein sources to feed us:
Feedlots for cattle, tiny coops for multiple chickens--
Our gallinaceous protein source--,
Ever-more fish farms, confining magnificent salmon.
These confined populations,
Ranging from humans, to our 'fellow-food creatures'.
Exasperates the increased possibilities of transmissionable disease:
Look at bird flu just now in our dairy cattle herds--
Milk still drinkable, yet affecting the caretakers.
Henry Ford's production line increased efficiency,
But that crowding was with the joining of metal and fabrics--
Crowding life with ever-more 'food producers' is not the same.
Some of the oldest forms of life--bacteria and virus--
Are constantly mutating, waiting for a new source of life-support.
(Remember, virus are part of our ancestry and DNA!)

This is the wonder and power of evolution through natural selection--
The thing called life, maintaining a hold on life,
In an ever-changing environment requiring constant adaptation.

Water, Water Everywhere, but For How Long? opus 448

When I returned to California once again in 1978,
The purpose was quite different in that I was to be a small farmer.
The way I looked at my environment was indeed also quite different.
I already knew that this state had at most very few months of rain
And that agriculture depended mostly on its many aquifers.
These waters had remained eternally deep under the Earth's surface,
Until about the early 1900's when the first deep-water wells invaded below.
I also knew that California had no regulations
On well construction and the numbers thereof.
Thus, it struck me deeply during my first forays into ag land,
Witnessing field after field being watered with a torrent of sprinklers.
My first thoughts went deep down to the unseen aquifers below,
Wondering how long this kingdom of agriculture would survive.

Thankfully, 10 years ago, to most, the invisible
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was passed,
Which started to regulate the amount of water taken out
To match that which comes in.
Lands taken out of agriculture are now harboring
Native species of plant and animal, as well as buffering flooding.
More recently, added to this was the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program,
A support plan for the transition toward a smaller irrigated footprint.

The great question is, of course, are these efforts far too late,
Or will those in charge be able to make definitive decisions--
Or will food demands, economy, and political party mantras
Overwhelm reason and empirical evidence guiding outcomes,
Driving our way of life, as we know it, to simply collapse, unnecessarily?
I have witnessed the loss of historical forests in eastern Turkiye
As well as loss of the water table in now parched lands of India.

My Verbal Rambles with Regan of Texas opus 466

Hello, Regan, It is the middle of the night and my mind still races.
For the stores, prohibiting those distinguished guests with bare feet,
Just sew some of your own moccasins for your shopping experience.
COMPROMISE WITH TRIVIAL MATTERS, BUT STILL WIN.
Glad Ms. Caroll is mending.
Just had part of my head amputated for cancer.
Had a jovial time with the surgeon. We know each other well.
I have used guns on the farm now and then--rats!
(I hunted one deer with a bow for three years and succeeded--THAT is sport.)
My brother, 20 years old, was shot in the back from a long distance,
So no sound was heard--he just dropped next to his hunting partner.
I opposed the Vietnam war and was vindicated
When MacNamara stated before he died that it was a 'wrongful' war.
I have historical schizophrenia with guns and war.
What fun we could have discussing over a good ale!
I would even go barefoot to be accepted in your presence in that bar,
If you so insisted, and of course if they even let us in.

I am alone for Thanksgiving, so I am planning a simple repast
Of Taters, Nips, some good Scotch, and of course Haggis.
Are you familiar with such?--with the ignorant, a bad reputation,
But so delicious--no different than a wurst or a humble 'hotdog'.
All include, historically, everything left on the floor and walls. . . .
And we eat that stuff at our national pastime. . . .
So why does everyone dump on Haggis???
Damn, it would be nice to have a good face to face with you.
And in between chats, I would help you wrangle up some Fallows
For shipment to some rich Texan rancher with 12 oil wells!
(We need those rich extravagant ones to keep us peasants in business.)

Be so well!!  Frank.

The Aurochs Permeates Everywhere opus 470

Aurochs fossils in Europe date back 650,00 years ago.
Thus, they then adorned the art on many a cave wall.
They were the creature declared by Caesar to be like an elephant--
An exaggeration but demonstrating that this was a dangerous beast.
Only a few were captured and tamed
To become the forerunners of our modern cattle.
As a result of early captive herds mating with wild aurochs bulls,
Four separate preglacial aurochs' ancestries
Are included in today's domestic cattle.
Aurochs of southwestern Asia were domesticated
In the Fertile Crescent north, 10,000 years ago, to 'create' the first cattle--
There appears that three distinct aurochs populations occurred in Europe.
This yielded great diversity in the wild forms of this animal.

Just be aware when snarfing your McDonalds hamburger,
That you are masticating the genetic remnants of an ancient noble beast.

My Ode to the Haggis opus 471

For many, 25 January is an important and meaningful date,
As it is the birthday of the great Scottish poet and lyricist,
Robert Burns (1759-1796).
He wrote Jeanie With the Light brown Hair, Auld Lang Syne,
An Ode to Washington, while his own country
Was fighting the new rebellious America,
As well as later, an Ode to the Freedom Tree
During the French Revolution--
This, while his country was opposing France!
A daring and romantic poet, taking many risks.
But on the lighter side, he playfully wrote the Ode to the Haggis.
Just what is Haggis, the 'national dish' of Scotland?
All cultures, being unwasteful of needed food,
Combined those animal parts, for us, sort of on the margin.
Wurst of the Germanics, Wieners (hot dogs) of North America,
And, of course, Mexican Menudo and Buche, both with small intestine,
And Haggis of Scotland--lungs, heart, kidneys, pancreas and so forth;
These traditional items combined are called the offal,
Collected by mainly amputating the esophagus
And pulling out all the attached organs thereto,
Then adding in those other goodies, such as kidneys and liver.
This mixture is diced, adding rolled oats, stuffed into a sheep's stomach,
(Remember, weiner material was stuffed into small intestines)
And baked to perfection--only combined taters and nips and Scotch are needed
To finalize the tasty combination--
So unwasteful and delicious, mated with the alcohol.

Just for fun, since I will be alone for Thanksgiving,
I have ordered canned Haggis to arrive soon,
Which I will combine with my purchased turnips and potatoes.
A half bottle of real Scotch awaits, sent to me last year by an old friend.
Quietly, alone, but not, I shall commune with Rabbie anticipating his birthday.

Email to Doris, a Former German Farm Student Intern opus 473

Hello! Yes Ceilidh (Kay-lee). I knew right away what you meant.
You mean to say you were in Edinburgh and didn't just try Haggis?
Of course the English have a superior attitude towards the Scots--
(Just read a Scottish history which I find very demeaning and angering).
It is no mystery that they put their noses up concerning Haggis.
(I explain its contents in my latest poems.)
(I do understand why a vegetarian would balk at Haggis,
But no excuses, a vegetarian version does exist.)
Haggis has a nice, different taste and with Taters and Nips
And good Scotch (technically not whiskey), it is delicious.
All cultures, generally, have a way to consume more 'marginal' types of meat--
Just consider your Wurst and North American 'hotdogs'.
As with Mexican menudo (soup with intestines) and buche
(Fried intestine, often found in burritos, substituting lengua or carne),
I delight in the multiple textures and tastes which all this gives our palates!
I always have and always will continually experiment in all things reasonable.
No one has ever caught me complaining about any food (not including
monkey brain!!!)
That is why a cook loves to produce for me--no complaints. (Suggestions, yes.)

Well, once again you have been a catalyst for another verbal roll.
Canned Haggis just arrived in the mail, ready for Thanksgiving--
(Here, Thanksgiving is always on the last Thursday in November).

Be lovely and well, Frank.

Scotexican Food Mix Proposal! opus 479

I was experimenting several ways
To combine Haggis with various vegetables.
One morning, just after Thanksgiving,
I combined cubes of turnips with the Scottish meat dish--
Juxtaposed and completely combined as a one food entity.
This, of course, was not very revolutionary.

Jessie, my Mexican-American wonderful farm helper,
Arrived for work that day, so I tried the combination on him.
We chatted about various other Mexican combinations using Haggis
With, say, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions,
And even avocado and pineapple with potatoes
To create a blend of the Scottish meat mix
With a very Mexican vegetable cuisine--
And Eureka! We invented the newly branded 'Scotexican' food fare!

Needless Killing opus 483

My thoughts suddenly flew back to the morning
When I was six--my mother insisted that they care for my rabbits,
On a winter morning when I always took care of my pets.
On coming home from school I witnessed
The scattered white hair over the ground--
My favorites, butchered by two neighbor Boxer dogs.

So, yesterday evening, as I walked out to urge my two hens
Back into their safe shelter for the protected night's sojourn,
There were leaves all over the area near their pen--
No. The leaves were feathers near two dead bodies.
I had raised these two from their tiny beginnings.
They grew and manifested into regularly ovulating adults;
So many eggs consumed each day, with extras offered as gifts.

It was only two hens, but it really put a hole in our lives.
The sack of feed was only half used--
The remainder went to supplement the three emu.
The morning routine to check water and food suddenly ended.
The evening no longer was a time
To guide them into their safe cat carrier shelter--
The dog(?) villain had beaten me by an hour to urge them to safety.

What to do now?
I pondered a bit; then, determined, I dry plucked them,
Carefully gutted each wounded corps, saving the giblets,
And gently placed their remains in the fridge.
At least now those bodies I had so carefully fed,
Will become part of my body as their eggs had for so many months.
To me this is a superior conclusion, rather than, demanded by sentimentality,
To just bury them in the ground or, worse,
To simply heave them into the mindless trash.

A Thanksgiving Tidbit opus 486

For more than thirty years my little 37 acre farm
Has raised many poultry, including literally thousands of turkeys--
About 600 per year, totalling around 18,000 birds.
The first year or so we, of course, had to work out the 'bugs'.
In December, after Thanksgiving had been celebrated,
I had a few calls, giving me feedback concerning our birds.
In general, the reports were excellent--wonderful taste.
All our birds were ground raised, with mainly healthy grazing.
The one issue, if there really were one, was dry breast white meat.
That was an unexpected report from several customers.
Now I needed to figure out just what created this phenomenon.
The birds were raised quite perfectly to my mind.
I concluded that the 'problem' was not caused by our husbandry.
So, what on earth could yield this observation?
After some thought, I homed in on cooking methods.
With our birds being ground raised, the lack of huge amounts of fatteners
Created a delicious bird that was leaner than commercial turkeys.
Turkeys are most traditionally roasted with the breast up;
This method is convenient because on its back, the body sits stably in the pan.
Giving directions concerning a breast-down orientation resulted in a
perfect product;
All the breast meat was bathed in body juices during the whole cooking time.
In addition, we created a guide with weight and time rules,
Keeping in mind that a lean bird must be cooked slower and longer,
With a reduced temperature to retain more juices.
After two or three years, there were nothing but continual raves.

How to be Bailed Out with Half a Turkey opus 489

As I have said before, I raised ground-raised turkeys for three decades.
I always ordered my day-old poults through the mail.
(I believe Benjamin Franklin started this system to aid beginning farmers.)
One year I received my batch of 600 poults and started yet another year.
Part way through the season, the young birds seemed unusually large,
And indeed, by autumn, they were double the normal size.
I had inadvertently received some sort of super breed!
What on earth to do--much too large for most of my customers.
So, as usual, I fresh froze them but cut and wrapped
The exceptionally large ones in half!
Then I explained to each customer what had occurred
And 'sold them' on how unique a half turkey would appear,
Lying on a silver platter at the Thanksgiving repast!
It worked and I sold every one--and I was VERY thankful
There were no complaints, but I made certain with the breeder,
That would never happen again!

A Saturday Morning Spass opus 491

I collect Neanderthal stone tools of various ilks.
I received, in the mail from France,
A chalcedony stone scraper
Which, with its pie-shaped 'sliver' and color,
Looked almost like the real thing!
Jessie, my helper, arrived to work,
Waiting for our planning chat.
I presented him with the cut 'pie piece'
On a plate accompanied with a fork.
He said, "Thank you', grabbed the fork
And 'cut' into the stone.
Of course, he realized it was a rock
And giggled with joy.
We all need more such experiences
To lighten our often mundane lives.

A Haggis Repast opus 507

I dozed off to the pending news of our redundant politicians;
Such continual anger against almost everything.

I longed for a change-- something to put in my mouth.
Oh, the last portion of my can of Scottish Haggis.
Chopped into smaller portions, special oil poured thereupon.
Heated to soften the Haggis and yield a bubbling oil.
One of my last four eggs, held for a special occasion--
Eggs--the last--from my young hens--
Dog-murdered beside my house.
Now almost imbibing the heated oil-soaked meat,
I left it on my tongue to taste my Scottish heritage--
Washed down gently with not Scotch, but Sake--
A cosmopolitan repast at midnight.

A Child's Mind! 3 opus 515

Once again, my 4-year-old grandson, Rowan,
Asked me, as we were sitting in my cozy bedroom,
To make him his favorite 'cocktail' which only Papa Frank could make!
I am walking much slower now, following health issues and aging.
I got up and slowly walked to the kitchen to prepare his drink--
A mix of part water, part cranberry juice, and part orange drink.
(The only ingredient missing, which I make for his father,
Pierre, and for me is citrus-flavored vodka.)
Rowan followed me to the kitchen,
Where he watched me make his concoction.
Rowan again followed behind me, when he blurted out,
"Papa Frank, you walk as slow as a tortoise!"
I couldn't help but laugh and then turned to him, chuckling, saying,
"I love tortoises; I live with tortoises; and I am happy to walk like one!"

The Hunter-Gathers opus 520

In former days, our hunter-gatherer ancestors moved
At the 'whim' or general greater movement of the herds.
Sometimes it was feast and other times famine.
So the modern, unthinking person might thus conclude.
There is, still, a quiet factor which repeats history.
That factor is our surrounding virus and bacteria.
Contemplate the rise of heretofore virual outbreaks
And how we mobilize to cope with whatever.
Our 'herds' today are populations of pigs, cows, chickens, and bees.
When they die or must be hygienically slaughtered,
We, as in ancient times, must cope with diminishing food sources.
Unlike our ancestors, there are times when the change
Also affects us directly, needing medical aid.
We must not only mobilize to cope with reduced resources,
But must even protect ourselves from that which ravages our food source.
It seems that things are different, but really much the same.
So is the cycle of life--the 'hunter' and the 'hunted',
Ensuring that the flow of energy will necessarily continue to obtain.

Overcoming the Impossible opus 528

I had a terrible fish allergy when I was young.
I rolled on the floor, gasping for breath, and no one understood why.
Ahh, finally it was figured out that I had a severe fish allergy.
I went weekly to Dr. Clifford to have weekly injections
And then bits of fish, from those I had caught in our local Crystal Lake.
It didn't work, so months of immunization went down the tubes.
At camp I washed dishes to earn a scholarship;
Fridays were lethal when I wiped the sweat off my head,
And the fish oil in the sink's sudzy water would get into my mouth.
I persevered, hating this allergy, trying tastes of fish defiantly.
Finally at 50 years, my biology changed and I could taste fish carefully.
One day I went into a fish market and asked how this and that tasted.
The fishmonger was perplexed, until I explained about my past allergy.
At last I was free. I had persevered and had beat my biology.
Last night I cooked up a lovely piece of flavored Cod.
In past times, that would have been like Socrates imbibing the hemlock.
My biology did help, but my insistence got me over the goal.
Perhaps that is why the 'impossible' projects I have tackled,
Many times were successful, because I had learned not to give up.

Our Attraction to Flowers opus 536

Why is it that flowers are so important for humans?
The desire to have flowers in our lives
For ceremonies--both secular and religious--, love gifts,
Or simply because one wishes to gift something
To another for no reason at all!
To think this through, what stage in a plant's life
Comes following the beautiful, scentful floral sequence?
Well, korms, bulbs, nuts, fruits are the most usual result.
An hypothesis put forward is very logical--
If the genome of a human programs memory
Where it sees flowers and takes note of their location,
The human will return to that spot later,
When the edible harvest has developed.
This behavioral trait may have been innate for survival,
As much as our 'natural' fear of snakes
May also be beneficial for survival.

Possibly True? opus 545

Is it possibly true
That the richest person
Can wield such power
That by dictating
The cessation of funds,
Thousands of children
Depending on supplemental food
And life-saving medications
Will actually die during his watch?
It is unconscionable that this
Is actually occurring with his cognisance.

A Fortunate Old Man opus 546

I have many memories of 'good' and 'bad':
It is all relative.
I have reasonable health.
I have warm or cool shelter--
Depends on the season.
I have nourishment--
Recycled, roadkill, entomophagous, or deluxe.
I have activities to keep my mind astute--
Conservation efforts, writing, fundraising,
Discourse with those who wish to engage;
Tending and feeding my animals--
From fish (Bettas), to bird (emu),
To reptile (Bearded Lizards), to mammal (Angus calf):
I have them all--my constant companions.
I have occasional friendly visitors
Who gift me bits of wonderful food
And to some, in return, I donate some remuneration
For various student and conservation causes;
But, most profoundly, my two boys (men),
Who check in on me, converse with me, help me,
And keep my faculties honed to sharpness.
It could be far worse.

The Creation of Dogs--Just Child's Play opus 551

I am a child, sitting near a middens pile, perhaps 30,000 years ago.
This young and seemingly fearless wolf pup comes near, as usual,
To hunt out and sort remaining bits of tasty, discarded morsels.
Such easy scavenging for food--and the ever-present Human youngster
Appears to be sitting quietly, patiently observing--meaning no harm.
The child, daily, sits closer, and at last holds out a tasty bone with some flesh.
Soon, that child is gently stroking the pup as it masticates,
And before one knows, the pup is carefully cuddled in the child's arms.
So might have been the beginning of the profound dog-human co-evolution,
Which today is practiced, but few of us are familiar with its wonderful story.

Marrow opus 558

As a child, I often chewed on a chicken bone to remove the marrow.
I was not aware at the time, but I was following
The masticating practices of the Neanderthals
(And those of my own early species).
There is ample evidence that the many smashed bones
Of both animal and, in certain localities, of Neanderthal,
Were a desired part of the consumption of the bodies.
Marrow has a distinct texture and taste
And was, then, specially desired nutritionally
And perhaps sometimes ritualistically.
Learning this now, gives me a closer feeling for and understanding
Of my very unique hominin ancestry
And, unknowingly, as a child I uninstructedly and instinctively,
Mimicked my very ancient forebears in one of their regular practices.

Tariffs on Chicken Feet?? opus 560

At present, we are diving up and down economically,
As a result of the singular thinking of our second-time repeat leader.
Our farmers depend on a world trade which maintains stability.
Meddling too much in that agricultural trade-stability
Results in unstable pricing and loss of markets to other countries.
Well, ok, but how do chicken feet fit in to all this chaos?
Tariffs on chicken meat are clearly understood,
But with this meat are feet--attached thereto!
One country only, which consumes and adores these is China.
Even in our own country, chicken feet are slipped in via their restaurants.
Ironic, that our chief tariff competitor is China,
The very major consumer and importer of our chicken feet!

Playing Chess with Tariffs opus 563

Well, at this moment, we have tariffs flying in and out--
A frantic display of minimal planning wielded by outrageous power.
In the latest round (4th?). electronics are spared the tariff-tax,
While our farmers and their products are left in the fray.
Interesting that our leaders spare electronics,
While leaving farm products and food on the shelf (or not)
To languish for our population--
Are we really able to ingest electronics?
Our addiction to the latter, may starve us with neglect of the farmers!

Chlorinated Chickens! opus 564

Did you know that butchered US chickens are bathed in a chlorine solution?
This procedure is done to hygienically cleanse the bodies of possible Salmonella.
The EU and Britain have conducted surveys and found 80% reject such US chickens.
Concerning food poisoning, statistics show it is seven times more likely
To get ill from food in the US than in the UK.
The European agricultural centers emphasize that disinfecting poultry
Is a way, chemically, to mask food safety in the US.
Basically, Europe relies on 'pre-harvesting' interventions with living animals,
Including vaccination and various types of feed additives,
While the US focuses on chemicals and other methods
To eliminate pathogens once the animal has been slaughtered.
Such different approaches, preparing one of our most popular and common foods!

Will TACO Make a Difference? opus 581

I have realized that our neighbors to the south have invaded us with revenge,
Not with might, but with their alluring food--
One being the ubiquitous TACO.
It has come so far that our leadership here has gone totally TACO.
Lips extended over, and drawing in that crispy, stuffed goody,
All manner of thought has left his body
And in his gourmand madness, he has succumbed,
Belittling all his subjects, that none do matter--
Only his fellow Oligarchs with yachts from which,
They can disgorge any excess, unwanted, and unnecessary frivolous TACOs.

(Written for a presentation on the web.)

Exaggeration or Untruth? opus 583

Two political parties recently vied against each other,
Both claiming reduced food prices for their public.
Now the party presently in power have touted
That 'prices are down'; even eggs are now 400% reduced in price!
Actually, egg prices have fallen by only 67%.
Many other food prices also remain higher than they were previously.
Do we, the public, take these continual claims with a grain of salt,
Or realize that there is a continual shift towards a new reality?

Diminution of Codfish in Our Food Chain opus 607

Evolution? Humans actually causing evolution?
Nonsense!
Well, here's one for you, oh you doubters.
Codfish have been pursued and netted for centuries,
Capturing these one-meter-long beauties.
As time proceeded, those smaller adults escaped the nets.
The human selective pressure was always removing the 'big ones'.
This slowly shifted the selective adaptation to an ever-smaller size.
So, as a result of 'we-clever-humans',
With our superior technology and frequency of use therewith,
We have literally destroyed a prize and sought-for prey,
To an unwanted and undesired minimal size,
Because of the unheeding and ignorant knowledge of adaptation,
Through evolution and the process of natural selection.

A Story of the American Bullfrog opus 618

American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus, used to be Rana sp.)
Were introduced into California in the late 1800's (1896?).
The main thrust was to form a basis for a new food industry!
In addition, thoughts featured the pet industry and recreational purposes.
During the Gold Rush, miners ate up to 80,000 Red-legged frogs (Rana draytonii) a year.
This nearly wiped out that native population of frog,
Thus, the concept for a new food industry in the State.
But hungry miners are not a model to be used for a less hungry general population.
Frog legs were commonly consumed pre-1900 and thousands of pounds
Were even annually harvested and exported throughout the US.
When the demand for frog meat was not realized,
The captive frogs were released into the wild, causing ecological havoc,
By disrupting the delicate balance of California's ecosystems.
Female Bullfrogs lay clutches of up to 20,000 eggs, twice a year.
These frogs consume a wide range of prey, including
Aquatic eggs, insects, fish, birds (including young ducklings) and small mammals,
Some of which are native species, already threatened or endangered.
Bullfrogs are carriers of chytridiomycosis which has devastated amphibians worldwide.
Their presence has led to changes in nutrient cycling and water quality.
Bullfrogs are so adaptable, that it is difficult to manage control.
Just the cost to the State attempting control has been very expensive.
On a positive note, these frogs are now used in research,
Studying developmental biology, physiology, and ecology.
When introducing a non-native species of any kind, one must always be aware
Of the unintended consequences which may result.

(Note: I first looked into this introduced species,
Suspecting that the Calaveras Frog Jumping Contest
May have been the source for this introduction,
But the Contest was just part of the whole phenomenon.)

Watching a Wild Turkey Harvest Seed opus 631

While working in my office, the center of my little universe,
A wild turkey was 'grazing' within sight.
It was working on grass seed from a two-foot-high plant.
As I observed, it was plucking seed from the tall grass,
One seed at a time--repeating this over and over,
When, suddenly, it grabbed the stalk in its bill
And pulled upwards, stripping many seeds at once!
This is how I, as a human, gather groups of seed with an upward pull.
I had never before seen this harvesting technique with a turkey.
I was quite thrilled. See how little things in the world get me so excited.

The Taco Bell / Voice opus 638

Taco Bell has installed hundreds of AI devices,
In their Drive Thru windows, much to the dismay of customers.
Besides trying to get the AI to comprehend a verbalized order,
Several customers are fighting back.
To get a human to intervene with the AI / customer interaction,
One customer asked the AI for an order of 18,000 paper cups!
No one knows if that customer did drive away with all those cups.

It's All in Your Mind opus 639

Our foods have, for centuries, been brightened with dyes--
Cheeses made more yellow, margarine dyed to better compete with butter.
Alternatively, many are truly concerned about artificially brightening our food.
Caving to pressure, General Mills stopped dying Fruit Loops,
But soon relented back to dyes, resulting from a barrage of complaints.
Humans, and especially we 'Americans', must just ingest colorful food,
Claiming with no actual proof, that colorful food just 'plain tastes better'!
This is another example where things might all just 'be in your mind'.

The Six Ring Benzine Menace opus 647

The US intake of sugar is directly proportional to temperature.
When temperature rises, sugar intake increases.
Most of this sugar intake is through soft drinks.
By the end of the century, it is estimated that yearly 
Per capita intake will be at least a one pound increase.
Soft drink companies now calculate production
By following temperature rise from weather predictions.
Climate change is already causing
The deterioration of human health vis a vis sugar.
Will obesity start culling the very numbers of the human population?
The driving of our gas guzzlers may in the end be our absolute end.

Like-mindedness or Absent-mindedness? opus 652

Days later I was shopping for food and mainly for a gallon of milk. Jon had shown me four graphs comparing milk with several other 'milks' (almond, oat, etc.). One graph showed the excessive use of fresh water needed to produce a gallon of milk. The second graph demonstrated milk's production requiring excessive land surface. The third graphed the great excess of CO2 and methane produced (from the cows!). The last showed the excess eutrophication or runoff of Ag bodily waste (N being one).

All these facts made me deeply ponder just what I was doing, consuming milk. At any rate, I saw at the store half gallons of Oat Milk, so I grabbed two of them. As I remembered, I then pulled out a gallon of my regular milk purchase. Returning home, I unloaded my purchases, carrying them into the house. I suddenly realized I had not brought the milk into the fridge. I checked and double checked, but could not find the milk! Had I left it at the checkout or in the cart? Being empirical, I perused the grocery receipt-- No milk had been purchased. My absentmindedness might possibly have actually been overwhelmed By Jon's influence, and had hypnotized me with an obedient like-mindedness! At any rate,this week's imbibitions will be mostly oat milk!

Thirty-five opus 684

Today, a record has been reached--Thirty-five days.
A second record by one president
To preside over the two longest government shutdowns in US history.
It is, yet sure, that the second one will continue even longer.
Leadership has done nothing to reach a breakthrough
And has even been out of Washington and the country much of that time.
When will our leadership focus less on new ballrooms and gold faucets,
And labor diligently to end this catastrophe,
Affecting all citizens, including our own government workers?
Please, may wisdom and judgement
Start to reign for the future of this great country!

Genetic Captures opus 691

Humans have genetically 'captured' the ancient Aurochs,
Found in the ancient French and Spanish cave paintings,
To develop domestic cattle for meat and milk.
The Red Jungle Fowl (with a slight touch of the Gray Jungle Fowl)
Was a wild Southeast Asian bird, now the commercial hen.
The wild European Honey Bee, now domesticated to a tame productive insect.
Domestic swine, so important in many diets, 
Was genetically 'manipulated' from several wild boar stocks.
The magnificent Scottish Clysdale, a warhorse 'stolen' from the English Shire,
Both derived from the tiny North American-evolved horse ancestor.

So have plants coevolved through selection
To become domestic corn, tomatoes, wheat, rice, potatoes, and pot.
Even the home, internally and externally, now harbors
Domestic plant beauties once again genetically captured:
Tulips, roses, daffodils, narcissus, all producing beautiful blooms,
To trees for shade as well as bonsai for artistic wonder.
The whole human biome is completely surrounded 
With genetically altered plants and animals for human use and pleasure.
Nature has always manipulated life (natural selection),
And humans have followed suit (artificial selection).
Indeed, what a masterful teacher for humans to attempt to emulate.

The Pictish Rebel opus 697

It was 16 November (2025).
Not even 25 January,
(The traditional birthday party for Burns),
When the Ode to the Haggis is recited,
And that wondrous concoction 
Is 'captured' and consumed.

But this November day, I had a longing
And a rapacious appetite for that offal stuff;
Opening the stored can nearby,
I spooned out half, gently drowning it with Scotch,
Heated it carefully to be a bubbly warm
And imbibed it with its memorable taste,
Accompanied with sweet, but untraditional cranberry sauce.
Then, once again at dusk,
I repeated that wonderful, naughty orgy.
My Pictish carving days flowed through my mind.
Bannockburn, with the wallowing 
Mud-drenched oppressors on the bridge, 
Along with the several Burns Nights I have attended,
Celebrating that great poet and daring rebel,
Robert Burns.

A Fishy Gift opus 699

Richard, my webmaster, also controls my 'Poetry and Thoughts'.
He asked me to read some of my writings
To his Business Group, meeting once a month.
The gathering occurs at LampPost Pizza to consume pizza and knowledge!
His group provides the vittles and I asked if they had anchovy toppings.
He said he didn't think so and that was the end of that.
Well, the day came, and as I walked in, 
He pushed a can of anchovies into my hand. 
(The fish were from Morocco, the origin of many of my Trilobites!)
I was so touched, he would remember such a little item.
Richard, you are so thoughtful, to remember such a small inquiry.
I now have my pisces to garnish on what I will,  
And I thank you, Richard, for your thoughtfulness.

The Fallacy of Pardoning Turkeys opus 702

This is a reconstruction of a letter I wrote years ago 
To President Obama concerning the pardoning of turkeys.

Dear Sir, (or whichever president you now may be).

I am a biologist (Ph.D.) and a small farmer,
Raising many fowl for forty years.
The custom of 'pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey'
Is a terrible disservice to our farming traditions.

FIRST, the turkey has done NOTHING for which to be pardoned.
Its 'crime' was to be selectively bred to have an extra large breast, 
Rendering it defenceless to survive more than a year or two.

SECOND, google the survival of 'pardoned' turkeys 
And realize they do not live for years, 
Retired on a 'retirement farm' in luxury, but rather,
Their weight is so excessive, they eventually cannot walk
And their legs collapse under the unusual weight.
This is just a falsehood to comfort children and squeamish adults.

THIRD, for children considering this action seriously,
They do not receive necessary and accurate information,
Concerning of what food is, and the reality
Of the necessary transfer of energy of all life,
One kind or another, to maintain the earthly food chain.
Some become vegetarians to avoid the problem,
But most relish meat and do not understand what 'food' really is.
We are biologically omnivores, consuming both plants and animals.
Consider our similar molar tooth structure, compared with bears and pigs--
We clearly evolved to have a wide diet as that of the above mentioned animals. 

Please might we stop this horrible misconception,
Pardoning a selectively reconstructed creature which would have never lived,
Except for the agricultural human desire to produce a larger bird,
Much like we have 'created' cows producing abnormally large amounts of milk,
And chickens which, unnaturally, lay an egg a day,
Not the normal twelve, to create a 'family'.

Please stop this artificial misconception about our food chain,
And absolutely cease creating the illusion that humans 
Could ever have the right, pardoning innocent creatures.

Our Coevolution with the Cat opus 703

Those in the Fertile Crescent perfected agriculture--
Organizing fields with seed saved from the previous year.
Random wandering to discover those tiny seed-gems
Became obsolete as a manner of food gathering.
Success of harvesting increased to a point
Where huge numbers of grain were amassed.
Methods of storage for the pending year challenged populations-- 
Those tiny rodents soon discovered that 'grain mine',
Slowly gnawing away at the food supply of the human suppliers.
Also arriving on the scene were wild cats,
Relishing the concentrated supply of those tiny mammals.
The humans realized the value of cat-presence,
Naturally combating and aiding in the control of those little munchers.
Soon, especially in Egypt, cats rose to the level of the sacred.
They were mummified and slipped into the sarcophagi of their owners.
Now, cats roam in many places uncontrolled,
Just like Rock Doves, which switched from cliffs to tall buildings. 
These days, human activities somewhat affect 
Most all other creatures' ways of life,
Except for bacteria, and more, viruses, which still hold power over us.
We cannot yet mold them genetically into the form we wish,
Except for ever-continued research, which medically wards them off!

The Reverent Omnivore opus 735

I eat meat.  I like the taste of meat.
I have also butchered other creatures to eat meat.
So, I am, more than most, deeply involved.
Many arguments one way or the other.
(Humans have omnivorous dentition matching pigs and bears}, 
What could ever be the correct way?
I am now at the level where I contemplate
The pain or agony my food source experiences at harvest.
This helps, but I still like meat, at least in a measured way.
Turning to entomophagy, is my 'pain', less, consuming insects?
Upon purchase, one places the bagged stash in the freezer
To slowly pass into eternity from lack of warmth.
Life, no matter how one philosophizes,
Just plain needs energy to survive--
Vegetables exclusively?  The caveman diet of meat and fat?
Perhaps a solution is the 'Reverent Omnivore' way out.
Have that similar passion you feel, 
Also for the carrot ripped from the earth.
As well as the Kosher-blessed, properly butchered cow,
Bled correctly in the presence of a holyman! 

Pierre's Pancake opus 748

Pierre, my son, was coming with his son, Rowan,
To visit our farm as occurs every month or so. 
As we planned the visit, they would leave to come,
Soon after he made a pancake breakfast for Rowan. 
I knew how delicious his pancakes were,
So I asked him if he would bring a couple for me as well.
This he did:  a beautiful evenly browned cake,
Tucked in a Ziplock bag to keep it moist.
There was only one because, as he explained, 
The rest were just gobbled up.
I drew it partly out of the bag to give it a test.
Even though it had been created a few hours previously,
The sweet, pancake aroma struck my nostrils.
The brown pattern was perfect, the thickness was even and delicate.
I sank my lips around it and utilized my incisores through it.
Oh, my, the moisture, the mellifluous taste, 
Just lifted my emotions almost to a state of imbibition!
Just a 'plain' pancake--no syrup nor butter,
Stood alone as a gourmet achievement par excellence!
My son, Pierre, has indeed perfected the 'art of the pancake'!

Defecation opus 750

One contemplates many things, while sitting on the John.
Pigeon pooh on my car; gull droppings on my picnic!
Disgusting, annoying, and just plain unclean.
With life, material must enter a body, willingly or not,
Is utilized and, unused portions must be excreted.
That is the pattern of life-maintenance on earth.
Comparing gull defecation to human waste dumps,
The gulls, though, lose in comparison.
With modern technology, humans 
Rarely contemplate their bodily waste.
Every modern child should really have a field trip,
Not just to a firehouse, but to a sewage processing plant, 
To view another vital profession.
Like the Romans, we today hide life's processes.
A farmer has no qualms about recycling his cow manure
To nurture his fields, spreading it from his 'honey wagon'.
('Honey wagon' was the term my New York grandfather used.
For the device that spread manure over his fields.)

New Avian Competition on My Feeder opus 756

I have inhabited my small farm in Davis, California,
Living, teaching, and farming since 1978.
Over the years, I have maintained various bird feeders.
In all those years, I have never seen a non-native sparrow,
Rather, only two native sparrow species, 
The White-crowned and Golden-crowned individuals.
This year (2026) in January, I was shocked by 
Observing two House Sparrows on the feeder.
This species is known for its aggressiveness.
Watching carefully, I calculated how often the House Sparrow
Displaced the other two species off the perches.
The House Sparrow most often succeeded.
Then, when the seed level got very low, barely reachable,
The House Sparrow, yet more rigorously, maintained the perch position.
This seems to be because at the end of the seed supply,
It must be defended more vigorously.
Moreover, the House Sparrow strongly defended its position 
Because of its bill size,
Which was heavier and slightly longer than that of the other two species,
Thus, it more easily reaches the remaining seed.
(This non-native species is also reported displacing others for nesting sites.)

It was instructive to document this aggressiveness close up,
And not just receive reports of this type of behavior.
Now I need to observe everything much more accurately!