Cool podcast! I, too, am a weed-eater. I have a few blog posts about it.
Hey RM, I'm a long-time lurker, first-time commenter here on your blog. I was wondering if you'd read anything about the recent California ruling on homeschooling: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ar...7/
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Excellent podcast. And I'm with you on dandelions. My sons harvest them for me so that I can brew dandelion tea. Yum! And the mixed-greens-salad-in-a-bag that I get from the grocery store? There are already dandelion greens in there, and I can add to them from my chemical-free front and back yards. Yum again.
What--nothing about dandelion wine? OK, so I've only heard of it in song lyrics. But it must be a real thing, right?
Belinda, dandelion wine is for real, although I haven't had any yet.
Just google dandelion wine recipe and you'll find a zillion or so. This one looks interesting to me, because orange + ginger is one of my favorite things:
http://www.texascooking.com/
reci...ndelionwine.htm
Katherine and LAmom, so glad to know I have fellow "weed-eater" (love that term!) readers.
Albinosquid, I don't know enough about it to comment. That may not stop me from writing about it later if I have time!
re: The CA court ruling on homeschooling.
I've read the actual ruling, and the judge seems to be clearly opining that the common practice in CA of declaring a private school in your own home is invalid, and that homeschooling with occasional assistance from an Independent Study Program does not qualify as really being enrolled in school. Therefore, says he, the only legal way to homeschool is to use a private tutor who has a teaching credential. So if you don't have one, you can't homeschool your kids.
Which is pretty ridiculous. I work part-time for a private school, tutoring high school students in algebra and geometry (among other duties). I also have a side gig working for a tutoring service. Neither of those jobs require that I have a teaching credential. So I can teach other people's kids all over town but not my own?
A lot of people are complaining loudly about the ruling, and a few homeschooling organizations are petitioning the court to "depublish" (whatever that means) the opinion. And Governor Ahnuld has pledged that if the ruling stands, the legislature will take steps to protect the right to homeschool.
Excellent podcast. I love dandelions, and it's good to know more about their uses. I would have to be careful eating the ones out of my back yard given the profusion of dog output, but I could certainly get the ones out of the front yard.
Brilliant podcast, thanks for that! If I had a lawn (and didn't live on a very busy street - ew, auto exhaust in my salad) I'd be a major weed-eater myself.
And, as I'm interviewing for a teaching job in California this month and am a homeschool sympathizer, thanks to albinosquid for pointing out that ruling and to you for commenting on it.
So great to hear your voice! Congrats on your first podcast. And thank you for validating all of us that don't weed! Dandelions are also important because I must let them become white puffballs of seed so that I can initiate my 2 year old into the important childhood ritual of blowing the seeds away. What fun to watch him giggle as he watches them drift off in the wind.
Terrific podcast!
A very long time ago, I remember my mom and dad making dandelion wine. Me and my sister were given the job of collecting all those blossoms. I heard it was tasty enough...
Thanks, everyone. You all are too kind, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
LAmom, thanks for the CA info.
Trailhead, I guess "don't eat the yellow dandelions" won't work so well, but I know what you mean.
Degen, good luck with the interviews!
Spyderkl, what a neat memory. I think I'm going to try to gather enough to make some myself in the coming weeks.
Chelsea, the BBC "Weather" book that goes with the series has a long introduction using blown dandelion seeds to illustrate the whole idea of weather. It's pretty cool.
Great podcast! Just got around to listening and it was fantastic. If only our whole yard wasn't taken up by driveway...
That was an excellent podcast! "Nature's greatest freebie" - I will have to remember that phrase. I look forward to more.
Very nice, RM! Your NPR affiliate ought to pick up your "5 Green Minutes." That's a well-produced segment, and I look forward to the next.
Thanks, StotheL, Susan and Samara.
Susan, I can't compete with our local garden goddess, Cecilia Nasti. She's been doing "Growing Concerns" on KUT for nearly 20 years now and she's great.
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