Natural Pool in St Maarten

While visiting St Maarten this summer, a friend who is a native of the island took me on a hike seriously off the beaten path.  The hike is along a cliff, and looks down on waves crashing over jagged rocks-- it's ruggedly beautiful, but starkly not ideal for swimming.  If you're going without a local, this is a short but tricky trek.  Be careful, but enjoy the view.

We started by parking near a basketball court on the Dutch side of the island.  We walked through the court and a neighborhood dog trotted up to us.  This dog literally accompanied for the hike along the cliff, our swim in the pool, and the hike back.  Once you're on the other side of the court, you'll come across a faint path.  Take it.

Keep walking, and don't be deterred by the abandoned garbage dump that you'll pass.  It's an eye sore, but the destination compensates for it.  It's roughly halfway to the pool.


You'll catch a glimpse of your destination before you reach it.  The waves in this area are high, but a ring of big rocks breaks them outside of this pool.  The pool is perpetually calm and surges only slightly when the waves seep in around the rocks.  The water is clear enough to see bright and colorful little fish that live in the rock crevices.  Bring a mask for a better look.  Be careful scaling the rocks down to the pool, and look out for sea urchins while you're swimming.  Enjoy the clear water while you cool off from the hike.

 

Janee Hartman Photography

Janee Hartman is an artist from Chicago who specializes in photographing unique and poignant landscapes.  She shoots both natural and built environments.  Her work is inspiring because she documents specific places in a rapidly changing world.  Some of the landscapes she documents looked very different 10 years ago and are continuing to change with great celerity.  Her work is also important because it shares a view of the natural world that many people haven't experienced.  I've noticed that people rarely support causes which are unfamiliar to them.  Not everyone has had the opportunity to hike in some of the parks and forests that Janee documents, but support for conservation is critical for the preservation of many of these locations.  Janee's work gives you a static window into a dynamic world.

She created the following two images in the Smoky Mountain National Park.

 

The next two images were taken at the Savannah National Wildlife Reguge near Savannah, Georgia.  This unique habitat is especially important for migratory birds.  As humans develop landscapes, migratory birds lose critical resting spots for their southern winter and northern summer migrations.  Migratory birds' reproductive cycles match their migratory patterns.  Without resting grounds, they can neither migrate nor reproduce.

These images were taken in the agrarian landscape of Galena, Illinois.  Janee says that she doesn't select the places that she shoots because her best images happen when she stumbles upon an inspiring location.

In contrast to her bucolic images, she also specializes in documenting architecture.  Her architectural pictures capture landscapes which also change very suddenly, and preserve the spirit of these places.

Visit Janee's website to view more of her talent or to contact her.  She sells prints of her images and is available for free lancing.

Savannah Gardening Nuances

Although Georgia is undeniably awesome (see proof here, here, and here), Savannah does not have the easiest climate for vegetable gardening.  I often hear experienced gardeners who have recently moved to the lowcountry express confusion and frustration about the growing conditions.  There are both problems and advantages of growing food in this region, and some of the problems can be addressed with a little insider knowledge.

1)  The soil here is acidic.

Most of the United States experiences acid rain which can alter the pH of soil.  However, the soil here is acidic to begin with.  Leaf litter from pine trees lowers the pH of soil, causing is to be more acidic.  Many experienced gardeners know that mulching their gardens helps to contain moisture, enhance the aesthetics of the space, and control the weeds.  However, mulching with pine mulch, the most common local mulch, can cause the soil to become even more acidic.  If you mulch, use oak or tree mulch that tends to be less acidic.  Some gardeners add a bit of lime to the soil as well.

2)  The peak of the summer is really hot.

July and August can be pretty sweltering in the lowcountry.  A lot of crops suffer in the intense heat.  Sometimes, the plants will tough it out if they get lots and lots of water.  However, certain crops are nearly impossible to grow well in that kind of heat.  Tomatoes, for instance, usually develop cracks if they are given enough water to survive that kind of heat.  Here's how to reap a heavy harvest despite the heat.  Start your more sensitive plants early or late.  Savannah is cold for so few months out of the year that I try to cultivate 2 major seasons.  You can usually start your tomatoes (and other sensitive plants) as early as late March.  You'll get a good harvest before it gets hot.  If they are especially hardy, you may even get veggies throughout the heat.  Plant a new batch of seedlings in August, and put them in the ground in September.  You can also try your luck with hardy varieties.  Most eggplants and watermelons grow exceptionally despite the heat.

3)  Grass grows like a house on fire.

Most grass species can perform C4 photosynthesis.  Basically, it's an advantageous process in hot conditions.  While C3 plants (essentially, the basic method of performing photosynthesis) suffer, they thrive.  They can crowd your already struggling plants and make weeding a nightmare.  Use oak, or other higher pH trees, mulch.  Also plant cover crops like buckwheat in unused areas.  This will keep the grass at bay, and buckwheat fixes nitrogen so it fertilizes your soil while weeding it for you.

4)  Corporate stores are less strain savvy.

Certain varieties of vegetables are specialized for different areas.  Ask anyone who owns or operates a mom-and-pop garden stores for their recommended varieties.  They usually have valuable suggestions for time-tested varieties.  Home Depot and Lowe's often decide which plants to stock on a corporate level instead of a local level.  This means that the people picking plants for the stores to sell don't always know the climate and soil nuances of the regions where the stores are actually located.  Research varieties and request them if the stores don't have them.

Hopefully this helps to demystify lowcountry gardening.  Do you have any tips or favorite varieties of crops?  I'd love to hear about them!

What the hell is "industrialized" meat?

It seems that people's interest has been piqued by organic and sustainable food these days.  However, I've also noticed that there is a lot of confusion about what constitutes "organic" and "sustainable."  Furthermore, I've heard a lot of talk about "evil," "cruel," and "unhealthy" methods of food production, especially in the meat industry.  It seems that the most natural foods are the best, whereas the most industrialized foods conjure grotesque and unhealthy impressions.  The average American, however, may be so far removed from the processes that make food that they may not even know what's "natural" in food.  For instance, does the average American know the importance of biodiversity in a farm?  Would he or she know that pigs will eat virtually any flesh-- animal, plant, or fungal?  Does the average American know how to kill and dress meat?  Probably not.  Therefore, many Americans can't accurately visualize natural and healthy conditions for livestock.  Although it's a complicated issue, industrial meats tend to be exposed to some common phenomenon which include use of antibiotics, concentrated confinement, and monoculture.  These three factors indicate that meat has not been produced in a naturally healthful way.

Antibiotics are medicines that control bacterial infections by killing off bacteria.  Usually this involves disrupting a cellular process, protein, or structure within the bacteria.  Not all bacteria cause disease; some are beneficial and necessary.  Farmers found that using antibiotics to treat livestock increased survival rates, because fewer were dying due to infections.  They also increase growth rates, because juvenile animals can invest more energy in growing that into their immune system.  However, this means that livestock genetics with naturally weaker immune systems survived and reproduced.  Using antibiotics prevents natural selection from ensuring that the hardiest animals lived to reproduce.  Simultaneously, bacteria that evolved methods and structures to survive antibiotics were naturally selected.  Today, antibiotics are an ingredient in most commercial livestock feeds.

Animals are often housed in CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations.  These are structures which contain animals at the highest density that is both legal and profitable.  Diseases spread more readily in crowded conditions, but animals in CAFOs typically eat antibiotics in their feed.  CAFOs range from cruel to grotesque.  They are associated with unsanitary conditions and poor mental health of both the employees and livestock.

Monoculture exists when only one species of plant of animal is cultivated in an area.  The nature of farming economy today makes it profitable for farmers to specialize in one (or at least very few) products.  Diverse farm ecosystems cycle nutrients and waste which minimizes the impact on the surrounding environment.  Monocultures cause waste to accumulate.  Most CAFOs are monocultures of one type of livestock.  Because they are contained in such high densities, their manure literally piles up inside the building as well as in manure lagoons outside.

Different states in the US have different definitions of organic, and some of them are neither environmentally conscious, healthy, nor humane.  If these are priorities to you, seek meat that is free of antibiotics, has been openly pastured, and comes from a diverse farm.  The easiest way to ensure that these criteria have been met is to buy meat from farmers in your community.

Southern Stuffed Eggplant

I don't cook vegetarian food often, but I probably should.  Recipes like these have so much flavor that I don't even miss the meat when I eat them, and they are very healthy.  I've gotten numerous compliments on my stuffed eggplant from both carnivores and vegetarians, so I think it's a good one.

Start by taking an eggplant and cut it in half.  In Savannah, eggplants are one of the few crops that can really cope with our viciously hot and humid summers.  My eggplants are abundant.  I like to grow the Listada de Gandia, a french strain, and the Rosa Bianca variety, which is an Italian heirloom.  The fruits from both varieties are really pretty with white and purple striations and they are very hardy.  They have a mild and creamy flavor.

Score the halved eggplant with a sharp knife.  Don't cut all the way through the exterior of the eggplant.  Scoop out the flesh with a spoon.  You should have two little eggplant bowls.  Toss the scooped out eggplant flesh into a pan with coconut oil (or whatever oil you prefer).

Mix in other veggies.  I used onion, a spicy pepper, and garlic.  Use whatever is local and flavorful for best results.  Season with pepper.  I don't like to add any salt to my veggies.  Fry them in the coconut oil.  Stuff the fried veggies into the eggplant bowls.

Sometimes I add cheese to the stuffed eggplants (something dry like parmesan is extra tasty).  I didn't have any on hand today though, so I just topped them with some salty breadcrumbs.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Bake time can vary a bit based on the size of the eggplant.  Remove when the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy.

Eat them warm for lunch or dinner.  It makes two perfectly portioned servings, so be sure to share it with someone special.  Bonus points if you eat it al fresco.

Why Georgia Is Awesome, Part 3

Georgia's great because of its rivers!  I know I'm a bit of a river fanatic, but I honestly think it's impossible not to appreciate the diversity of Georgia's rivers.  We've got fast moving mountain streams and broad lazy rivers.

River ecology is really interesting because they all follow a basic pattern.  They typically originate as small, fast moving mountain streams.  This section of the river is usually at a higher elevation and has the clearest water.  The intermediate section slows down a bit and gets cloudier from more accumulated debris entering the river.  Most of the debris is leaf litter from trees.  As it approaches its terminus, the river widens, slows, and gets less clear.  This stretch is usually the most nutrient-rich.

Although almost all rivers follow a pattern similar to that one, they can support very different ecosystems.  Near Savannah, we see a lot of blackwater rivers, like the Ogeechee and Canoochee.  In north Georgia, there are numerous whitewater streams which are a literal contrast to the blackwater.  The Oconee River is one of my personal favorites, and it's one of the longest ones in Georgia.  Plus, it's got a few fun rapids for rafting.

Whether you enjoy fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, rafting, or paddling, I'm pretty sure Georgia has a river for you.  I'm definitely making a point to float down a few this summer.

Ginnie Springs

Ginnie Springs is a destination worth telling people about.  It's located near Gainesville, Florida.  I recently had the opportunity to visit friends in Gainesville, and they took me to Ginnie Springs.  It's located along the Santa Fe River.  The Santa Fe, like the Ogeechee River (another of my favorites!!), is a blackwater river.  The water moves slowly, and cypress forests in the basin shed their tannins to the river.  The tannins stain it, giving it the mysterious pigmentation.  The Santa Fe River is a beautiful one with a unique ecology characteristic of blackwater.  The river flows by several freshwater springs.

The contrast of the blackwater and spring water is immediately apparent.  The spring water is 100% transparent- unlike the dark river water.  I went on a warm day, so the blackwater felt like bath water.  The spring water apparently comes out at 72 degrees year round.  It's cool and refreshing, especially when it's hot out.

Not only is the water striking, but so is the abundance of the springs.  There are some gorgeous ones that are very popular, but also small ones that people don't seem to notice.  I swam in the Devil's Eye spring and another popular one that is a long, deep crack in the ground.  But I also found a few that have no names.  I know for certain that I didn't explore every single spring, but I'm equally positive that they are all worth checking out.

If you're interested in going, you can camp in the cypress forest.  People ride down the Santa Fe in tubes, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards.  You can even scuba dive in some of the springs.  I struck up a conversation with a couple divers who were going to dive in the crevice and then follow the caves.  They were using rebreathers because they planned to be under for several hours.  I asked them how far they planned to penetrate into the caves.  They said, "At least two miles."  Apparently the caves go for miles and make for crazy dives.  Definitely something to add to the bucket list.

Here's the link for the park's website.

http://www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com/