Welcome to a potpourri of fun! On this page you’ll find the latest comics by Jari Thymian, a motivational quote, a crossword puzzle contest, and whatever else we decide to throw in here. Be sure to check back for the latest!
- Earth Corner – With Pat Walsh
- Every Day Should be Earth Day – Editorial by Laura Brewer
- Madi’s Kitchen
- Mixed Bag – Comics by Jari
- Fun with Vixie
- Quotes & Riddles
Quotes & Riddles
Mixed Bag – This week’s Comic by Jari
To see all of the previous comics by Jari visit the Mixed Bag – Comics by Jari page.
June 22, 2024 – Offline Online
Earth Corner – With Pat Walsh
What Would You Do for the Birds?
When I lived in Longmont, Colorado, every spring my alarm clock showed up with feathered wings and a pointy beak. The metallic RAT-AT-TAT-TAT would jolt me awake. And then I would smile.
I had learned the hard way that male northern flickers will use whatever’s handy to proclaim, “Here I am!” to potential mates and warn off competitors. And my hollow metal chimney pipe provided a perfect drum for those boys from the woodpecker family.
Another sign of spring arrived with a particular bird of prey soaring over Colorado grasslands. “Welcome back,” I’d say to the returning Swainson’s hawk. I knew that the grasshopper-eating raptor had flown thousands of miles from Argentina, surviving a trip filled with dangers.
I become friends with birds one species at a time. I’m enchanted by the descending, flute-like call of a canyon wren–which ends in a comical buzz. Driving along a country fence line, I cherish hearing a fragment of a meadowlark’s song. Spotted towhees crack me up with their red eyes and their chub-chub-chub-chub TWEE pronouncements.
Many folks here in Raton put out hummingbird feeders for those little charmers, while others enjoy the annual return of the turkey vultures.
There are about 920 species of birds in North America (Canada, U.S. and Mexico.) Worldwide there are an estimated 10,000 species. Birds descended from dinosaurs, and Smithsonian magazine even calls birds “avian dinosaurs.”
Birds grace us with their beauty, songs and diversity. They even boost our mental health. An online Time magazine article cites a study published by Scientific Reports that “found that seeing or hearing birds improved people’s mental well-being for up to eight hours.”
But birds need our help. “More than half of U.S. bird species are declining,” according to the State of the Birds 2022 report by 33 leading science and conservation groups. Grassland birds like my beloved meadowlark are among the hardest hit. Others face an even higher risk. Rufous hummingbirds have lost at least half of their population in the last 50 years.
The website www.scienceofbirds.com says the five top causes are agricultural expansion, deforestation, invasive species, hunting/trapping and climate change.
The prestigious Cornell Lab of Ornithology lists seven ways to help:
- Make windows safer for birds so they can avoid collisions. Find inexpensive products at https://abcbirds.org/solutions/prevent-home-collisions
- Keep cats indoors. They’ll live longer, healthier lives. “Outdoor cats kill more birds than any other non-native threat,” Cornell Lab says. (I’ve leash-trained my cats and am looking into tent-like outdoor playpens.)
- Shrink your lawn by planting native species, which provide better habitat.
- Avoid pesticides.
- Drink shade-grown coffee, because the shade trees provide more habitat.
- Be mindful of plastic use. (We can recycle #1 and #2 plastics here in Raton!)
- Take part in citizen science by watching birds and sharing what you see.
What would you do to protect your favorite birds?
Madi’s Kitchen
Madi’s Kitchen is a delightful addition to our Potpourri page. Each week our young chef will provide a recipe that she has developed that has been tested on her friends and family. Read Madi’s Bio on the About Us page.
Grandpa’s Pizza
I love making homemade pizza! It’s definitely one of my family’s favorite summertime meals. It’s delicious, can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it, and it takes just a moderate amount of prep to make something that is quite impressive! The wait time may be the hardest thing about this recipe, but it’s no worse than waiting on delivery—tipping the chef is optional!
While pizza may have been born in Naples, Italy, Americans have perfected the art of pizza. In fact, Americans eat 46 pounds of pizza per year—90% of it with their hands rather than a knife and fork! So we know people can shovel it down, but how did pizza really come about?
Well, the most famous story of the origin of pizza is that it was made in June of 1889 to honor Queen Margarita, of Italy. So the story goes, a Neapolitan pizzaiolo, or professional pizza chef, was tasked with creating a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen, who had never tried pizza before. After being presented with multiple options, Queen Margarita indicated she strongly preferred the pizza he created in the colors of unified Italy: red tomatoes, white mozzarella and green basil! Unfortunately, that’s probably just a modern myth: the pizza we now know as margarita was being made around Naples at least 100 years before the Queen’s visit. So we will probably never know who invented the margarita pie.
However, I don’t think it matters very much, since it’s undeniably delicious. The great thing about these personal pizzas is you can change up the pizzas to reflect whatever you want, and you know what—you can name the pizza too. This one is from my grandpa’s pizza dough recipe, so it could be called Grandpa Pizza I guess!
For the Pizza
- Dough Ingredients:
2-2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour - 1 packet instant yeast (2 ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon garlic powder and/or dried basil leaves (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional
- ¾ cup warm water
Topping ideas:
- Sauce (from a can, a jar, or freshly made!)
- Cheeses (mozzarella, Parmesan, goat)
- Tomatoes (fresh or canned)
- Onion (Yellow or red, or green scallion)
- Peppers (Bell or hot)
- Plus whatever else you can think of—sausage or bacon, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, olives, pineapple (controversial, I know!), even slices of potato (with olive oil and rosemary)
Instructions:
- Combine 1 cup of flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. If you want, add the garlic powder and dried basil as well.
- Add olive oil and warm water stir well.
- Gradually add another 1 cup of flour. Add any additional flour as needed, stirring until the dough is forming into a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl . The dough will still be slightly sticky but still should be manageable with your bare hands.
- Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl with olive oil and brush the oil around the bowl.
- Lightly dust your hands with flour or oil and form your pizza dough into a round ball and transfer to your olive oil-brushed bowl. Use your hands to roll the pizza dough along the inside of the bowl until it is coated in olive oil too, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place.
- Allow dough to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- *If you intend to bake this dough into a pizza right away, I also recommend preheating your oven to 425F at this point so that it will have reached temperature once your pizza is ready to bake.
Once the dough has risen, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth.
- Form your dough using either your hands or a rolling pin to work the dough into a circle (or a bunch of circles; you can turn this into three personal pizzas or one large pizza!) Transfer dough to a pizza pan and either pinch the edges up or fold them over and pinch to form a raised crust.
- Drizzle additional olive oil (about a Tablespoon) over the top of the pizza and use your pastry brush to brush the entire surface of the pizza (including the crust) with olive oil. Use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza to keep the dough from bubbling up in the oven.
- Blind bake—in other words, bake in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes until a light brown crust appears. Then take it out, add the desired toppings and put back in the oven for about five more minutes until the crust is golden brown and cheese is all melted.
Fun with Vixie
Pop-up at Kearny
Posted June 5, 2024
On June 8, 2024, there will be a Pop-up at Kearny to explain to the public what the former school will become. From 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, there will be tons of demonstrations related to the film and media industry like Sound Production, Green Screen Production, Cinematography, Prop-making, Costume Design and much more! There will also be a craft services table (snack table), and raffles from businesses like 111 Park Cafe, Bruno’s Pizza and Wings, K-Bob’s, and more!
At Kearny, we will also be screening to the world, the films that we have been working on for Raton High School’s Dual Credit class with Santa Fe Community College: “Doubt Defiers” by Christéana Piancino, “A Take on Deception” by Kaydence Trujillo, and “Nerves” by Christian Padilla. There might even be a few surprises over there! If you don’t have any plans for this Saturday, be sure to check it out!