Acres of Ability

This summer’s record-breaking heat and drought have taken a toll on our chickens, our pond, and our garden. I have given up watering my hanging flower baskets, reserving water instead for the herbs, the tomatoes and our outdoor animals.  Several times a day, our dog, Anya, appears at the door a scummy mess after taking a disappointing “swim” in our evaporating pond. Our heat-stressed chickens have nearly stopped laying eggs. When it’s this hot outside, I can’t bring myself to heat up the inside of the house with my crock pot or oven. So how can I prepare a balanced meal for my family? How about a favorite summer-time staple: bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches! Add some fresh blueberries topped with plain yogurt, honey, and cinnamon for dessert, and you have a cool, refreshing, and satisfying meal for a scorching summer day. Better yet, the BLT Salad recipe below blends well for feeding through a g-tube so your entire family can enjoy this summery meal together. ...

My garden has entered into its annual summer squash surplus.  While my spinach and lettuce  have bolted and my cucumbers have wilted in the heat and drought, my garden is overrun with  sunny yellow summer squash. Last April, those tiny squash plants didn’t look like much.  They certainly didn’t look capable of  producing a continuous supply of full-sized fruits nearly overnight! Now, at the height of the  season, I find us eating a rather one-dimensional diet: Squash.  We eat squash in salads, squash  in stews, and squash in smoothies.  I fry, bake, and saute squash.  I substitute squash for pasta,  and hide squash in muffins and cookies.  I try to pass squash off to unsuspecting neighbors and  acquaintances, and offer squash as a treat to our chickens. By the middle of July, I’m about  squashed out.  Thinking about the summer squash surplus got me to thinking about how many American diets,  and e...

Our yellow Laborador Retriever, Anastasia Ophelia Maxine (Anya), is 5 years old today.  An Almost-Independence-Day dog, she wears pride and honor quite well.  However, her high-bred self-importance dissolves around children, especially children in distress. Among all of her disabilities, my daughter Kyra’s inability to speak is often the most distressing.  For the past 16 years, we have tried countless communication methods and devices.  Because of Kyra’s lack of fine motor skills, she cannot use sign language.  Her inability to grasp small objects prevents her from using a picture-exchange system, or turning the pages of a communication book. Her inaccurate arm and finger movements make typing and pointing ineffective.  Her head and neck instability make eye gaze difficult to interpret.  Her impatience and poor motor planning make switch-scanning a frustrating chore. But none of that matters to Anya.  She understands Kyra’s body langua...