Confession of a Volunteer, Part 2
We get some of our produce from the abbey garden. It’s not a lot because of the volume we require. But there is some beautiful gem lettuce and lot of rhubarb. I like it when Anja asks me to harvest some rhubarb. The red stalk are easy for this non-farmer to recognize. The leaves on our rhubarb are HUGE! I am pictured here under one the doesn’t even fit in the photo. When I got the rhubarb inside I washed and chopped it. Then it was used to top the frangipani dessert I was making. The rest was made into a compote. Yum! It was a particularly good batch: free rhubarb, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tsp cardamom, and a “thumb” of fresh ginger, grated.
One of the tenants of living in the Iona Community is caring for the earth. Because of this we use earth friendly products for as much as we can. We travel green on public transportation to get to the island. We conserve water. We grow food. Well you get the idea. One of the things this means for the kitchen is to reuse all our plastic. We wash out and save all our plastic containers and bags. Washing bags is a pain. Hanging them to dry is an annoyance. Storing them for reuse is a disaster. Yes I have opinions. But here’s how I go over myself. I took charge of the plastic bags. They were in the way because no one was taking them down to store them. Now I do that job. It gives me great satisfaction to clear the drying line. The other thing was the storage spot was a mess! Just a pile of dry bags stuffed into place. I had a moment one day this week to organize the bin. Guess what we can find and use the bags now! Shocking. As my volley friend Annaliese would say, “So satisfying.”
Organizing plastic bags, not a big deal. The reason I share it here with you is to point out that we can all do little things that make a big difference. I’m not talking about the recycling, I’m talking about the taking charge of the task and making is something easy for us to use rather than a hassle we shove under the counter. Maybe there is some small task you can find that needs your attention and that will help in a big way. Think about it.
That last picture is the front gate of Dunsmarch, the house where I live. It is a stop on most walking tours of the island. And I will confess I get a cheap thrill opening the gate and walking right in. Some folks have even stopped me to ask what it’s like inside. It’s an old house full of volunteers and staff members.