Early snow

Reports of an early snowfall motivate me to put away garden tools and get the space ready for next season. As I pull dead plants and the plot begins to open up again, I am reminded of early July when everything showed itself to be planted too close. Now with a single row of broccoli in the large open space and some carrots, beets, leeks and Brussels sprouts in the raised beds, not surprising, there is plenty of room.

Back in the house, just as the first flakes start to fall, I roast the hot peppers that Stephen had harvested last week. We have been growing this particular variety of “salsa” pepper for some years now. In the past, we found that the raw pepper had a kick but lost some of its hotness with cooking.

This year, the peppers remain hot, no matter the cooking time. Stephen is delighted and can hardly keep a grin off of his face whenever we talk about it. I, on the other hand, liked the flexibility of varying the hotness of a dish by determining when the peppers were to be added.

I roast the peppers slowly and thoroughly, thinking that they might mellow and lose some of their fire. I remind myself that I am making them for Stephen and that my desire for a tender hotness is not the main objective. I am surprised, even with intention, how challenging it is to remove my own likes and dislikes, challenges and motivations as I move through my activities.

I wear a pair of yellow rubber gloves and am aware that the room is filling with a thin haze of smoke as the pepper sizzles slightly against the hot cast iron skillet. I think about natural gas exploration and make a connection between potentially harmful fumes being released by the peppers and being released with the drilling.

It’s not the same thing, of course. I open the door to mix in a little fresh air, something that will not be possible if this region becomes industrialized as planned.

This week, there is news that a Sullivan County economic development agency has new leadership who promise to be more aggressive about advocating for development projects despite environmental objection. The newly elected board chair is quoted as saying that all environmentalists object to projects for their own self-centered motivations and that their dissemination of “misinformation” must be countered. The organization is on record saying that they support gas drilling as long as environmental consequences can be mitigated. I wonder where they will get their “information” and how they will get beyond their own likes and dislikes, challenges and motivations.

Packing the peppers into a jar and covering them with olive oil, I notice that there is a hole in the rubber glove, right at my thumbnail. I wonder whether the hotness burned through or whether I inadvertently sliced through it. I make a mental note to get another pair, as the damaged one will no longer protect me from the caustic oils.

If only other potential hazards were dealt with so easily.