Double Down on McAsian Carp
This Sunday’s New York Times has an article about how we are extincting Bluefin Tuna because we love it to death. We’re eating them all. The BP oil disaster may be the final blow.
At the same time, we have a problem in the Great Lakes with Asian Carp invading the ecosystem and multiplying out of control.
I’m sure you see where this is going.
So I’m posting a link to Asian Carp recipes here. They are good in coconut milk with lemon grass, but what isn’t?
One reason carp have been able to multiply uncaught is their reputation as bottom-feeders. Northerners who think nothing of eating raw clams from the bay won’t touch them, but a defense of carp is found here.
You have to be careful with fish from lakes, because sadly our lakes are polluted and some fish concentrate toxins like mercury. Mashapaug Pond is closed to fishing and swimming due to a century of pollution from Gorham Silver and other sources. Stay away from the water unless you want to turn blue and glow in the dark.
Fortunately, I was able to find a study of the Asian Carp, which seems to show that the fish are not any worse than other fish you can pull out of the Great Lakes. You can’t eat a lot of it, but you can eat it. Since toxins concentrate more in the skin, there might be ways to cook it that minimize the risk.
Would Asian Carp make a good fillet o’ fish sandwich? With the grease and the special sauce, who’d notice? In Japan they are having to learn to like the taste of dried jellyfish. So carp is better.
As a species, we are never going to stop being voracious. We just have to learn to use our appetite as a force for good. This is likely to be easier than curbing our appetite for cheap fuel, that is rapidly becoming terribly costly.
All Hail the Rail Trail!
When my body and spirit grow restless, I like to walk. A 30-60 minute ramble loosens the kinks from head to toe. I am fortunate to live close to the Manhan Rail Trail, which is my favorite local spot for perambulation. (That’s right. I said, “perambulation.” I like to trot out the fancy words once in a while, lest they feel neglected.)
I am rather fond of rail trails. Like urban community gardens sprouting upon abandoned lots, they are a fine example of reclaimed space. Everyone benefits from their presence. To show my support for such ventures, I contribute to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, an organization “whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.” It’s a great cause and generally free of political controversy, which is a plus. (Of course, I’m sure there are some conservative wingnuts somewhere who believe that the reclamation of abandoned rail corridors is further evidence of a communist plot perpetrated by our socialist president to create a Muslim theocracy and destroy our way of life as we know it.)
In the summer, the best times to stroll the Manhan Rail Trail are early morning and early evening, when the temperatures are more moderate and the critters are out and about. Yesterday evening, I thought I spotted a fox dashing across the trail and did see a rabbit, which kindly posed for pictures. Here are a few photographs from yesterday’s jaunt:
Rabbit on the rail trail
Long-legged spider along the rail trail
Canoers on Lower Mill Pond
Drunes from a Staghorn Sumac
Ain’t Love Grand
Just What I Need, More Bugs
Morning report from the garden. When you only live for three weeks you have to make the best of it.
Let me say that I am not the only film critic who thinks that the best love scene of all time was the snails in ‘Microcosmos’.
Weren’t we supposed to get a thunderstorm? My car, where I spend most of my work day, is going to be an oven.
The cat’s all spread out on the floor and avoiding the sunny spots.
It’s a beautiful day. I’ll take too hot over too cold anytime.
For summer reading, I tried Stieg Larsson’s ‘Girl With the Dragon Tatoo’, which was okay, but I don’t get what the fuss was about. It’s a bummer that he didn’t live to enjoy the glory.
I hit the library for short stories by Ursula LeGuin and ‘Pigs in Heaven’ by Barbara Kingsolver, who is now up in my pantheon with LeGuin and Atwood. I’m looking for distraction, whether it’s good literature or mindless pulp paperback. What are you reading?
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