Sniff Some Rosemary to Improve Memory

One of my rosemary bushes

I came across an article called "10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory" today. If you don't feel like reading the entire article, here's the list:

1. Talk with your hands.
2. Take a chill pill.
3. Get plenty of zzz’s.
4. Eat more fruits and veggies.
5. Join a book club.
6. Go to yoga class.
7. Sniff some rosemary.
8. Pay attention.
9. Learn a new song.
10. Go ahead and doodle.

Maybe you are one of those people who talk with your hands already, but if you aren't, number 7 has to be the most effortless thing you can do to improve your memory. You have to breath anyway, right?

Now where did they get this information about rosemary? This is the blurb from the article:

"Parsley and sage are great, as is thyme, but when it comes to improving memory, rosemary is king. In a recent study, UK researchers looked at scents and how they boosted or detracted from mental performance. They found that office workers whose cubicles were infused with the scent of rosemary had better long-term memory than those in unscented cubes. “There are other essential oils that can help with memory, but rosemary is by far the best and most economical,” says Cher Core, an aromatherapist in Boston. “Diffuse rosemary essential oil in the air, wear it in a perfume, use it in mists and more. It is a good choice for those studying and folks who need help with memory, focus and concentration.”

Who are these UK researchers? Let me Google this. Ah ha! Here's another article on "Lavender, Rosemary Scents Affect Memory". According to this article, the "The calming, sedative effect of the aroma of lavender may impair memory and attention, but the stimulating effect of rosemary may enhance certain aspects of mental function".

Here's another article on "Improving Your Memory" that tells you to eat some rosemary leaves in addition to sniff them. Rosemary shortbread cookies are good for you!

Not that I study much these days or need help with memory. In fact, excellent memory runs in my family, but I am going to place rosemary in my car and all over the house anyway.

mini rosemary shortbread cookies I baked back in June

Pure Local Raw Honey

The bigger bee in the center is a drone, a male honey bee.  He developed from an egg that has not been fertilized. He cannot sting, since the worker bee's stinger is a modified ovipositor (an egg laying organ)

Remember our little honey making friends that live on the hill? On the last day of the herb class, some of us took some honey mixed with honey comb and bee parts home. Yes, sometimes the bees drown in honey unfortunately.

Doesn't look too appetizing with bee parts floating in there

I placed the big chunks of honey comb in a tea leaf strainer and then put the strainer over a clean glass jar. Pure raw honey dripped down from the comb. The comb turned mostly white after all the honey dripped out. After I gathered all the honey from the comb, I pour the rest of honey through the strainer to filter it. The end product is pure golden raw honey. I want to save it for special occasions. How often can you say that you have met the bees that made your honey?

Pickled Japanese Cucumbers

Overgrown Japanese cucumber

Japanese cucumbers can be found in Asian grocery stores. I planted a bunch of them earlier this year, but most of the young plants were consumed by pill bugs. I ended up with only one surviving plant, and I was able to harvest a few cucumbers to make the pickles. This is the kind of pickle similar to what you get in Japanese or Korean restaurants as an appetizer or garnish.

You can make the pickles by cutting them into chunks or slice them thin. I decided to make a jar of thinly sliced pickles.

After you are done slicing them in a non-reactive bowl, such as glass or ceramic, put some salt over the cucumber and mix them together. The salt will make the bitterness sweat out from the cucumbers. Put the sliced cucumbers mixed with salt in the fridge for at least an hour. I left mine in there for over 5 hours.

When you take the bowl out, you will see liquid in there. Dump the bitter salty water out and rinse the cucumber slices with water. I sliced some lemon to put them on the side of my pickle jar before transferring the cucumber slices into the jar. You can stick the lemon slices in there later if that's easier. After all the sliced cucumbers are piled up in the jar, I fill the jar with some Japanese rice vinegar, a little sugar, salt, lemon juice, chili flakes, and water. You can adjust any of these seasonings to your taste. I like my pickles a little sweet, so I put in 1 table spoon of sugar. I put in just enough rice vinegar to fill about half way then add water to cover the cucumbers. Make sure that you leave room on top as the cucumbers may produce more liquid. After you are done assembling the pickle jar, put it back in the fridge overnight.

I tried a slice of pickled cucumbers this morning. So refreshing!

Jack and the Bean Stalk

I tried something new this year with the beans. Instead of starting the seeds indoors in small six-packs, I just stuck a bunch of seeds in a wine barrel planter on the farm. I watched the beans grow taller and taller over the last 4 months. It's fascinating. Every time I water it, I think of Jack and the Bean Stalk. It's an English fairy tale, closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions. Benjamin Tabart's moralized version of 1807 is the first appearance in print, but "Felix Summerly" (Henry Cole) popularized it in The Home Treasury (1842), and Joseph Jacobs rewrote it in English Fairy Tales (1890). Jacobs's version is most commonly reprinted today and is believed to more closely adhere to the oral versions than Tabart's, because it lacks the moralizing of that version. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

My bean stalk

I remember reading the story as a kid and thought it was too bad that Jack has to chop off the bean stalk in order to kill the giant. Why does Jack has to kill the giant? Oh yea, he has to kill the giant because he's been stealing from the giant and he gets caught at the end! Hummm...what a strange story to tell little kids?! What is the moral of the story? That's kinda scary.

My lunch

Proposed Animals Ordinance Meeting

A month ago I received the postcard with a list of community events from the City of El Cerrrito. I immediately entered the information of animals ordinance meeting on my media device. To me, this is a no brainer. Why would anyone argue with having a few chickens and bees? Sure there might be some noise from the chickens, but there are noise from cars, people, dogs, etc. We learned to live with some noise as a part of life.

My family has lived in El Cerrito for almost 3 decades, but nobody has ever attended a community meeting. I think they rebuilt the city hall several years ago, and this was my first time seeing it and stepped inside. There was a lot of tension in the room that I sensed immediately. The opponents were aggressive, and combative on their stand. One of their main argument is that farm animals have no place in urban/suburb areas. Many people of course are fearful of bees. I would be if I didn't learn from Master Ken. I saw the main issue as being fear, responsibility, and education. The opponents are fearful for bees, possible diseases, and irresponsible animal owners. Many city folks are not familiar with bees and animals other than dogs and cats.

One proponent for the new ordinance was an older man sitting right in front of me. At the beginning, it was hard to tell which side he was on. He had a cowboyish hat on, black leather vest and jacket, western belt buckle and jeans. He started out saying that he's been living in El Cerrito since 1952 and asked one of the young city employees how long she's been living in El Cerrito. We were all a little unsure where this was going, but she answered appropriately. It turned out he is quite an animal friend who used to have a little urban farm in his backyard.

The current animal ordinance does not allow any animal other than dogs, cats, birds weighing less than one-half pound; and any other animal weighing less than three pounds. So, if you have a 5-pound pet bunny, you are actually breaking the city animal ordinance. I am not sure how heavy Dusty is.

The proposed ordinance would allow people to have a limited number of chickens, goats, pigs, and bees legally as long as people follow all the regulations and obtain the proper permit(s). The permits however range from $50 to over $1000 depending on what kind of permit(s) you need for the particular animal(s) you want to keep.

There are people currently keeping all these animals. Will they go and apply the permits if the new ordinance is approved? I highly doubt it. $1000 is not pocket change. I think people will just continue doing what they have been doing. The complainers will keep complaining. Life will go on as usual. I remember Master Ken once said, "If you think you can do it, just DO IT. If you sit around and wait for someone to give you permission, it may never get done." As any new movement, there are going to be people oppose of changes. It's not likely for me to have more animals at this time simply because I don't think I have the time and energy to take care of them; however, if my neighbors decided to keep them, I would be delighted. I would volunteer to help out and get some fresh eggs or honey in return. I have a good relationship with my adjacent neighbors, but I know some people no longer talk to neighbors in this modern time unless there is inconvenience caused by their neighbors.

If you are a fellow urban farmer, email the senior planner Sean Moss at smoss@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us with your feedback.  I have scanned the current outdated animal ordinance, the proposed ordinance draft, and types of planning permits for you below:

Current animal ordinance of El Cerrito

Proposed new animal ordinance draft

Types of Planning Permits