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February 3, 2023

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Local Life Brevities

Remembering Dr. Bronwyn Jones: KCPL Creates new Book Collection

January 17, 2023 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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The Kent County Public Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce their sponsorship of a variety of new books added to KCPL’s collection in honor of the late Dr. Bronwyn Jones, Trustee 2020-2021.

A trailblazing woman in the field of gastrointestinal radiology from the beginning, Dr. Jones was 1 of only 3 women to graduate in her medical school class at the University of New South Wales in Australia and she was the first woman to be promoted to full professor in her department at Johns Hopkins University. During her tenure, she published hundreds of articles and chapters, won numerous international awards, and led multiple international committees.

In honor of these accomplishments and to encourage the next generation of doctors and scientists who will follow in her footsteps, a selection of children’s and young adult books about girls and women in medicine and science has been selected to help inspire our local youth to dream big, overcome obstacles, and be who they want to be.

The titles that have been selected are:

For Elementary & Middle School Readers (ages 5-12)

12 Women in Medicine by Marne Ventura

Profiles of twelve dedicated women in medicine from around the world.

The Angel of Santo Tomas by Tammy Yee

The story of Dr. Fe del Mundo, who began study at Harvard Medical School in 1936 and returned to the Philippines during WWII in order to care for the American and British children forced into the internment camp at Santo Tomas.

Elizabeth Blackwell by Matt Doeden

A biography of the trailblazing Elizabeth Blackwell, who became the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.

Improving Health: Women Who Led the Way by Anita Dalal

The book highlights vital contributions women have made in the field of health sciences. 

Rebecca Lee Crumpler by J.P. Miller

The story of the fascinating life of Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first African American woman to become a doctor in the United States.

She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference by Chelsea Clinton

This book features women scientists who used their smarts, their skills and their persistence to discover, invent, create and explain.

Tu Youyou’s Discovery: Finding a Cure for Malaria by Songiu Ma Daemicke

The story of Tu Youyou whose years of medical research and experimentation resulted in the discovery of a cure for malaria that is still used all over the world today.

Virginia Apgar by Dr. Sayantain DasGupta

This book tells the story of Dr. Virginia Apgar and the creation of the famous Apgar test to check the health of newborn babies.

Were I Not a Girl: The Inspiring and True Story of Dr. James Barry by Lisa Robinson

At the age of 18, Margaret Bulkley began to travel the world as a young man known as James Barry who attended medical school, became a doctor and soldier, and traveled the world.

Women Who Rocked Medicine by Heather Alexander

Profiles of nineteen inspiring female scientists who left their mark on the medical field.

For Young Adults (ages 13+)

I Could Not Do Otherwise: The Remarkable Life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker by Sara Latta

The story of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a champion for women’s rights, social justice, and access to health care, who served as a Civil War surgeon and remains the only woman to have been awarded the Medal of Honor. 

These books are now part of the collection at the North County Branch in Galena, which Dr. Bronwyn Jones championed for years, both before and after serving on the Board of Trustees. 

Use your library card to place a hold today and pick up items from the KCPL location of your choice!

For more information, visit kentcountylibrary.org or call 410.778.3636.

 

 

Filed Under: Brevities

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Native Tree Has Twisted Needles?

January 16, 2023 by Adkins Arboretum 1 Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday! What native tree has twisted needles that come in twos?

Last week, we highlighted the devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa). Devil’s walking stick is in Araliaceae, the same plant family as ginseng and wild sarsaparilla. It is most easily identified by its stem (in any season), which has strong thorns wrapped around it. The leaves are heavily divided and can reach 3-4 feet long and wide (per leaf!). It produces prolific white umbel flowers, which attract pollinators of all kinds! Just walk by in the summer and hear the buzzing! #nativeplants #mysterymonday #adkinsarboretum #mysteryplant #mysterytree #knowyourplantfamilies #devilswalkingstick #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes Tagged With: Adkins Arboretum

Food Friday: Cooking for COVID

January 13, 2023 by Jean Sanders Leave a Comment

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The inevitable has happened. Mr. Sanders and I have caught COVID. We let our guard down after being so careful and conscientious. Naturally, I first cast aspersions on Mr. Sanders since he goes out into the wider world every day, mingling with humans. As self-appointed amateur CDC investigators, we counted back the days, and realized we must have been infected when we went to a timed and ticketed (yet still awfully crowded) traveling exhibit of paintings at a museum in the big city, where there must have been erudite virus-shedders. Thanks to all the hard work and science that Dr. Faucci has done we have been vaxxed and boosted every step of the way for the last three years, and our cases are fairly light, not that we don’t whine and complain and feel crummy. Luckily, just before the COVID boom crashed into me, I made a vat of chicken soup, which has sustained us this week. And Luke the wonder dog has been very helpful and sympathetic. He has been herding us along the road to recovery.

I prefer chicken soup with rice, while Mr. Sanders is a noodle fan. Both are easy to cook in advance, then put in the bowl just before adding the hot soup. Two happy patients, and no glue-y, congee barrel of chicken soup.

Rummage in the Pantry Chicken Soup

(not completely homemade – but if you feel a cold coming on, or you just got a positive COVID test, you had best get cracking!)

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups cooked chicken, in bite-sized cubes
6 cups chicken broth or stock
2 cups cooked rice
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, strictly for decoration

1. Heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add butter.  When melted, add onion, celery, and carrot.  Sauté until onion is clear and carrots softened.  Add garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add chicken.  Stir and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add chicken broth.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve with Saltines.
4. Go back to bed!

This will be much better than Lipton’s Chicken Noodle dried-powder and freeze-dried chicken bits! And certainly better than Campbell’s. Have you ever looked at those pinkish chicken nubbins in the bottom of the can? Well, you were probably feverish and anything warm was going to do the trick.

Thanks again to our friends at Food52 for their brilliant, simple and easy to follow ideas: https://food52.com/recipes/7634-chicken-stoup

Nigella has wisdom to share, with matzo balls: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/chicken-soup-recipe/index.html

Epicurious is an excellent resource, too, with a New York deli variation: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Soup-108014

A word to the wise: you are going to need chicken soup sooner or later this winter, healthy or not. It’s cold out there! And, no, it will never taste as good as your mother’s. It will ward not off COVID or the flu, but will ease the aches and pains of your miseries. And soon, you will feel right as rain.

“There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric: no two are ever alike, unless of course you get your soup in a can.”
– 
Laurie Colwin

Filed Under: Food Friday, Spy Top Story

Early-Bird Tickets On Sale for Talbot County Garden Club’s Spring Symposium

January 10, 2023 by Talbot County Garden Club Leave a Comment

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“Think Spring!” and secure early-bird tickets for the perfect gateway to the season… the Talbot County Garden Club’s Biennial Spring Symposium. Themed “CORKS, FORKS & FLOWERS,” this experiential occasion will captivate attendees from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm on Tuesday, April 25 in the event venue of Temple B’nai Israel on Tristan Drive in Easton.

The day’s delights will tickle all senses with spectacular floral displays, a delectable luncheon with wine tasting, exciting vendor boutiques, and three stellar speakers with demonstrations on garden-to-table topics:

CORKS – “Talking Terroir: The Challenges of Winemaking along the Chesapeake” offered by Patrick & Jacque O’Neil (UC-Davis-trained viticulturists/enologists and proprietors of Napa, California’s Jericho Ridge Vineyard) and the Spies Family (proprietors of Cordova, Maryland’s own Triple Creek Winery)

FORKS – “Culinary Gardens: The Life of a Locavore” served up by Chef Jordan Lloyd (Le Cordon Bleu-trained owner of Easton’s Hambleton House Events & Catering, formerly of famed LaGoulue, Per Se and Citronelle)

FLOWERS – “Seasonal Snipping: Planning, Planting and Harvesting for Cutting Gardens to Thrive on the Eastern Shore” shared by Ginny Rosenkranz (University of Maryland Cooperative Extension educator, Master Gardener and regular media contributor on gardening topics).

Early-bird tickets at $95pp are available through January at https://talbotcountygc.org or by reservation check payable to “Talbot County Garden Club,” PO Box 1524, Easton, MD 21601. Thereafter, regular-price tickets will be available until April 1 for $110pp.

Madeleine Cohen, Alden Firth and Sara Robins co-chair the event, which is the garden club’s major fundraiser for 2023. Proceeds benefit the club’s community “green” outreach, including beautification and maintenance of four parks in the Town of Easton; holiday decorations for public buildings; free gardening lectures open to the public; involvement with Young Gardeners, Meals on Wheels, Talbot Hospice and Talbot Interfaith Shelter; and support for the Town’s new Rail Trail Extension.

For questions, contact TCGC2023Symposium@gmail.com

Speakers on the menu for Talbot County Garden Club’s Biennial Spring Symposium are:

Viticulturists Patrick & Jacque O’Neil

Chef Jordan Lloyd

 

University of Maryland Cooperative Extension educator Ginny Rosenkranz

 

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes Tagged With: gardens, local news

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Native Plant has a Unique Spiky Stem?

January 9, 2023 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday! What native plant has a unique spiky stem?

Last week, we asked you about the Maryland state tree: the white oak (Quercus alba). Oak trees are some of the most beneficial trees to wildlife. According to Doug Tallamy, oaks host over 900 species of Lepidoptera and produce nutrient dense acorns that birds and mammals rely on. One of the easiest ways to identify the white oak in winter is its notable light grey furrowed and flaky bark. Did you know that most oak trees don’t produce acorns until they are 50-100 years old? That said, some specimen trees can bear acorns as early as 20 years old, given optimal conditions.
#mysterymonday #adkinsarboretum #nativeplant #hostplant #mysteryplant #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes Tagged With: Adkins Arboretum

Food Friday: Good Intentions

January 6, 2023 by Jean Sanders 1 Comment

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I was having a casual, throw-away chat with the woman ahead of me in the grocery store line, the way you do, just before Christmas. She had admired my colorful reusable shopping bag, and said that once again she had left her bags in her car. I smiled and babbled something about “Good intentions…” and she nodded, vigorously, agreeing. “Yes, they will just lead you straight to H, E, double hockey sticks!” And then she walked away. Wowser. It reminded me of fourth grade, when we were tempting fate and experimenting with the power of the Almighty, or our omniscient mothers, by saying boldly, “Well, beaver’s dam!” And nothing happened. No smiting. No bolts of lightning. The earth didn’t suddenly yawn open with pits of fire. We had to learn to make our own fates. This was autonomy.

In this first week of January, our New Year’s resolutions are still novel and attractive and easy. It is the obvious time of the year to reset behaviors, atone for holiday excesses, and Mr. Sanders and I have jumped onto the health bandwagon. This will be the third year that we have practiced Dry January. So no cheap white wine for a month. Sigh. I am also trying to re-commit to walking 10,000 steps a day. Luke the wonder dog and I used to walk that and more, but lately we have both been a little ache-y, and lazy, and slacked off over the holidays. But as of January 5th we have averaged between 10,000 and 11,000 steps. Three hundred and sixty more days to go!

My doctor eyes me suspiciously when I assure her that I do indeed eat lots of fruits and vegetables every day. Which isn’t always completely true. I do get tired of limp salads, though, and need to up my greens intake. Mr. Sanders and I went to the big city, and wandered through a Trader Joe’s last weekend, and I picked up some novelties. Our normal grocery store does not offer Brussels sprouts on stalks, does yours? Crazy! I was raised when iceberg lettuce, decorated with curlicues of shaved carrots, hothouse tomatoes, and maybe a sliver of purple onion for a touch of the exotic were the norm. I don’t know what my mother, who finally came to embrace garlic, would have said about stalks of Brussels sprouts, unless Julia Child was championing them.

Luckily for me, Julia Child had quite a lot to say about Brussels sprouts. She was even hip enough that she didn’t boil them to a stinky death: https://food52.com/recipes/38991-julia-child-s-brussels-sprouts-with-braised-chestnuts And a judicious application of melted butter makes everything taste better.

Ina Garten is coming into our kitchen more often these days. Her recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts is more hands on, but the roasting makes the sprouts tasty, sweet, and nutty, and undoubtedly the olive oil is better for us. I love the touch of sea salt: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2-1941953

More labor intensive is Alice Waters’s roasted Brussels sprouts: https://www.wnyc.org/story/recipe-alice-waterss-roasted-brussels-sprouts-sesame-seeds-and-ginger/ Not an easy weeknight side dish, but would be perfect in February, with friends in for a roast for dinner, and wine!

Mark Bittman goes for the crunch in his Brussels sprouts salad. It’s nice to have something made ahead of time, that you can just whip out of the fridge, and it’s a salad that doesn’t include insipid, vitamin-free, iceberg lettuce. I’ll be able to look my doctor in the eye, and so will you. https://markbittman.com/recipes-1/brussels-sprouts-salad

Brussels sprouts are low in calories and high in nutrients, especially fiber, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. Just so you know, the path you are taking in this new year does not go straight to H, E, double hockey sticks: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-brussels-sprouts

Happy 2023, Gentle Readers. Walk more, eat your greens, treat people with kindness.

“Good resolutions are like babies crying in church. They should be carried out immediately.”
― Charles M. Sheldon

Filed Under: Food Friday, Spy Top Story

Herb Society Meeting January 12

January 5, 2023 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

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The Chesapeake Bay Herb Society will hold its “Welcome to 2023” monthly meeting on Thursday January 12.  Members and guests will meet at 6:00pm at the Christ Church Hall, 111 South Harrison Street, Easton.  The pot-luck supper theme is food and herbs from Chile.  CBHS has a demonstration herb garden at Pickering Creek Audubon Center.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes Tagged With: gardens, local news

The Vultures of Easton Hold a “Wake” at Perdue Plant

January 4, 2023 by Spy Agent 9 -- 00 Section 2 Comments

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Alfred Hitchcock, indeed, would have been delighted by the recent gathering of turkey vultures at the Easton grain elevator plant off off Dover Street. Still, one suspects that most residents that pass by the large processing center might find the sight of the bird conferees a tad off-putting. 

That was the response from one of our Spy readers, and they inquired as to what the town might do to disband this rather spooky convention of hundreds of vultures. We don’t have an answer for any municipality response, but we have seen this phenomenon before. 

Ten years ago, Spy editor Kathy Bosin explored a similar occurrence on an AT&T cell tower off St. Michaels Road. In that article, she explains that these remarkable gatherings are called “wakes” because it mirrors a traditional wake where family and friends gather to pay their respects to a loved one. And while the birds do not express grief of any type, their bowed heads and black silhouettes remind the solemn atmosphere of a funeral.

We asked one of spies to capture some reconnaissance film to share.

This video is approximately is less than one minute in length. 

 

.

Filed Under: Brevities

Adkins Mystery Monday: Do You Know Your Tree Bark?

January 2, 2023 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday and Happy 2023! Do you know your tree bark? What stately native tree grows along many of the trails at Adkins Arboretum?

Last week, we asked you about the swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) seeds! Swamp sunflowers fill our Parking Lot Alive! gardens with golden hues in the fall, but they continue to offer great structure and interest in winter! These plants are hardy and versatile, growing well in wet and dry conditions. They spread easily by seed and are an important food source for a variety of birds, bees, butterflies, and other insects.
#adkinsarboretum #mysterymonday #doyouknowyourseedpods #doyouknowyourbark #mysterytree #nativeplants #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes Tagged With: Adkins Arboretum

Adkins Arboretum Offers New Winter Forest School

December 30, 2022 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Celebrate the wintry wonders of nature! New for 2023, Adkins Arboretum will offer Winter Forest School for students ages 5–10. Forest schools provide a student-centered approach to learning in which children’s innate curiosity and sense of wonder guide their experience.

In the Arboretum’s Winter Forest School, environmental educator Erin Harmon will set the stage for students to take a starring role in their own adventures. From building tree ring castles to peeking under moss in search of sleeping creatures, students will get up close to nature and learn to love chilly days.

Forest School is a drop-off program that meets Tuesdays, Feb. 7 to March 14, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The program is held completely outdoors and meets in all but the rainiest weather. Children should be dressed in warm layers. Caregivers are welcome to enjoy the Arboretum grounds and Visitor’s Center during class time.

The program is $90 for Arboretum members and $105 for non-members. A $10 sibling discount is available. Enrollment is limited, and advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 100.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 100.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes Tagged With: Adkins Arboretum, local news

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