Rebecca Mildren's Blog, page 3
June 4, 2014
What do crickets eat?
I was always more of a tomboy than a mani-pedi girl. With all the frogs, snakes, weevils, and pillbugs that I harassed my mom with, I suppose it's only fair that I am now the mother of two boys. So if you're the squeamish sort or on the fence about adding more children to the planet, read no further.
OK, you've been warned. For days now, as we've been out preparing the garden for planting, my oldest has been begging me to help him catch a cricket. They hide under the rocks and stuff and can only be located by their chirp, which of course usually stops as soon as they hear my rowdy kiddos coming, so they have remained elusive. Until yesterday. Just before dinner. I guess you could say I had an ulterior motive for catching this particular insect. It doesn't live in the garden. It lives under our bedroom window. Actually, now, it lives in a box on the porch. But as to how it got there… ~shudder~
So we heard it chirping and actually located it, in the bark mulch under aforementioned window. It was unnerving the way it didn't hop like a grasshopper, but skittered through the bark like an evil cockroach, but I did it. I caught it. The boys were thrilled. Eventually, the critter escaped back into the bark, and we had to look for it again. Only we couldn't find it this time. Oh, well. I was busy pulling the fine prickles out of my hands left by the bark, and there was a strange pokey sensation in my arm, too, and I figured some stickers had got up there, as well. How wrong I was. Yes, you know what was hiding up my sleeve. But I was oblivious. For several minutes. And we're not talking little cricket here. More like Jiminy Cricket-sized.
Anyway, I was then forced to find a box for Jiminy the terrorist and Google what crickets eat. Basically, they are the cannibalistic goats of the insect world. They eat just about everything, and when they can't get that, they eat each other. Lovely. Apparently, there is a whole controversy as to whether crickets are one of the four insects considered kosher. My take on that is this: Grasshoppers eat grass. There's no way that an omnivorous cricket is kosher. Maybe if you fed it organic hay or something. Just maybe. But if I'm not even going to eat a grasshopper… There are elite companies out there now making cricket granola bars and high-protein snacks, while some people in the UN think crickets are the answer to world hunger. On that one, I'm with Professor Turpin of Purdue University: The sheer volume of crickets one needs to produce is the problematic part. I'll just let that one sink in for a moment.
And if you're wondering, I said that no, the cricket can't come and live inside the house with us. (!!!) But the boys ate their dinners outside with their new pet (no, there was no washing of hands involved) and shared their food with it. Yum.
OK, you've been warned. For days now, as we've been out preparing the garden for planting, my oldest has been begging me to help him catch a cricket. They hide under the rocks and stuff and can only be located by their chirp, which of course usually stops as soon as they hear my rowdy kiddos coming, so they have remained elusive. Until yesterday. Just before dinner. I guess you could say I had an ulterior motive for catching this particular insect. It doesn't live in the garden. It lives under our bedroom window. Actually, now, it lives in a box on the porch. But as to how it got there… ~shudder~
So we heard it chirping and actually located it, in the bark mulch under aforementioned window. It was unnerving the way it didn't hop like a grasshopper, but skittered through the bark like an evil cockroach, but I did it. I caught it. The boys were thrilled. Eventually, the critter escaped back into the bark, and we had to look for it again. Only we couldn't find it this time. Oh, well. I was busy pulling the fine prickles out of my hands left by the bark, and there was a strange pokey sensation in my arm, too, and I figured some stickers had got up there, as well. How wrong I was. Yes, you know what was hiding up my sleeve. But I was oblivious. For several minutes. And we're not talking little cricket here. More like Jiminy Cricket-sized.
Anyway, I was then forced to find a box for Jiminy the terrorist and Google what crickets eat. Basically, they are the cannibalistic goats of the insect world. They eat just about everything, and when they can't get that, they eat each other. Lovely. Apparently, there is a whole controversy as to whether crickets are one of the four insects considered kosher. My take on that is this: Grasshoppers eat grass. There's no way that an omnivorous cricket is kosher. Maybe if you fed it organic hay or something. Just maybe. But if I'm not even going to eat a grasshopper… There are elite companies out there now making cricket granola bars and high-protein snacks, while some people in the UN think crickets are the answer to world hunger. On that one, I'm with Professor Turpin of Purdue University: The sheer volume of crickets one needs to produce is the problematic part. I'll just let that one sink in for a moment.
And if you're wondering, I said that no, the cricket can't come and live inside the house with us. (!!!) But the boys ate their dinners outside with their new pet (no, there was no washing of hands involved) and shared their food with it. Yum.
June 3, 2014
And someone who speaks five languages is called a...?
So I saw this BBC article yesterday entitled "Learning second language 'slows brain ageing.'" Yes, that's how they spelled it. It's the BBC. But that's not the point. It's not the first time I've heard such claims, but this study indicated that it doesn't matter if that second language is acquired in childhood or adulthood, which is good news for adults everywhere.
Of course, we've all heard the old joke: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. Two? Bilingual. What about only one? Well, that would be an American. So, it's high time to dust off those old Spanish and French textbooks. Not only can you potentially slow your own brain "ageing," you might improve US dementia statistics. I wonder if knowing British spelling counts as a second language?
Sometimes people ask me if I dream in other languages. The answer is yes, all the time. Mostly Russian, sometimes Hebrew. Sometimes even French, though I don't really speak a lick. Go figure that one out. But even with three languages, I figure I'm already ahead of the curve. Meanwhile, my grandmother, it's said, spoke five: Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, German, and English.
But if learning languages isn't your thing, there's still hope. You can always try what my husband's grandmother did, instead. Whenever asked about the secret to her longevity, she always replied that it was the handful of chocolate chips she ate every single day. The dear old lady lived to be 100, and she was sharp as a tack until the very end. No joke.
Anyway, happy Shavuot, all! That's Pentecost, to you English speakers. Or are you really Greek speakers in disguise?
Of course, we've all heard the old joke: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. Two? Bilingual. What about only one? Well, that would be an American. So, it's high time to dust off those old Spanish and French textbooks. Not only can you potentially slow your own brain "ageing," you might improve US dementia statistics. I wonder if knowing British spelling counts as a second language?
Sometimes people ask me if I dream in other languages. The answer is yes, all the time. Mostly Russian, sometimes Hebrew. Sometimes even French, though I don't really speak a lick. Go figure that one out. But even with three languages, I figure I'm already ahead of the curve. Meanwhile, my grandmother, it's said, spoke five: Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, German, and English.
But if learning languages isn't your thing, there's still hope. You can always try what my husband's grandmother did, instead. Whenever asked about the secret to her longevity, she always replied that it was the handful of chocolate chips she ate every single day. The dear old lady lived to be 100, and she was sharp as a tack until the very end. No joke.
Anyway, happy Shavuot, all! That's Pentecost, to you English speakers. Or are you really Greek speakers in disguise?
June 2, 2014
Famine predicted for South Sudan
How is your morning going? Got a roof over your head and food in the fridge? Or are you and your family fleeing for your lives?
My husband and I have just purchased our first home. Ever. Signed the papers on Friday! Woot! Living overseas has meant renting all these years, but now we can really feel like we're integrating into our new/old American culture of plenty.
Meanwhile, the UN is predicting widespread famine for South Sudan. Some 1 million people are currently displaced due to the ongoing conflict there. The rainy season is coming, and these people should have planted crops by now, but haven't. The famine is expected to affect 7 million people. Act now to help save lives. Yes, you can do something.
I have had the occasion to meet some of the refugees escaping the Sudanese conflicts. They are sweet people who just want to live. Who doesn't deserve that? I sent in a donation. Will you?
You can donate to the UN World Food Program. http://www.wfp.org/
Here's my favorite charity:
http://relief.medair.org/
Medair's emergency response teams are quickly responding in the areas of health, nutrition, and water and sanitation, and are distributing critical survival items to affected communities.
My husband and I have just purchased our first home. Ever. Signed the papers on Friday! Woot! Living overseas has meant renting all these years, but now we can really feel like we're integrating into our new/old American culture of plenty.
Meanwhile, the UN is predicting widespread famine for South Sudan. Some 1 million people are currently displaced due to the ongoing conflict there. The rainy season is coming, and these people should have planted crops by now, but haven't. The famine is expected to affect 7 million people. Act now to help save lives. Yes, you can do something.
I have had the occasion to meet some of the refugees escaping the Sudanese conflicts. They are sweet people who just want to live. Who doesn't deserve that? I sent in a donation. Will you?
You can donate to the UN World Food Program. http://www.wfp.org/
Here's my favorite charity:
http://relief.medair.org/
Medair's emergency response teams are quickly responding in the areas of health, nutrition, and water and sanitation, and are distributing critical survival items to affected communities.
