At the marina we stayed at in Deale, Maryland we met lots of interesting people, and it’s really fun spending time with them. Our friends, Ray and Jimmy have a cute dog named Bernie, and they lent us their kayak. Bob is a great guy who has a fishing boat, and he taught us how to tie a fishing knot. Our friends, Roger and Ko, live in Tacoma Park, Maryland, and come to Ko’s boat every weekend. Roger wrote two science fiction books and Ko works for the government on global warming. A few days ago I had a fun experience at Ko’s community garden. 
Ko is a member of the Jug Bay community garden. Members pay a fee per year, and everyone helps grow plants on one large plot of land. When they’re ripe, there is always enough for everybody to harvest as much as they like. We went with Ko and Roger to the garden to do some work, and she let us take some of the vegetables. The work was fun, even if dirt got all over our hands and legs and knees. We thinned the bok choy, because there wasn’t enough room for all the plants to grow healthily. Then we harvested cucumbers, sweet potatoes, radishes, peppers, and
tomatillos. Tomatillos are small green tomatoes, but they can also be purple. We also got a sunflower, which we plan to dry out and roast the seeds.
About two-thirds of the way through, Roger and Cash decided to go on a two-mile trail run. Meanwhile, the girls prepped the veggies; we washed off the dirt and cut away all the roots. Then, we all cleaned up and went to the barn to put away our supplies. 
At home, we made some really good salsa. We used the tomatillos and peppers, and some store-bought scallions and tomatoes. We also cooked the bok choy, and roasted the sweet potatoes with onions. Ko was so nice to take us to her garden! We will miss all the great friends we made there!
What an interesting bunch of friends! I have heard about community gardens but have never been to one. I'll bet your salsa was fabulous! Lily has a friend whose family is from Mexico, and her mother makes salsa from scratch and it is the best I've ever tasted. Someone asked her why she didn't use the food processor, and she said it tastes better when you chop it all by hand. I never knew what a tomatillo was, but now I do! P.S. Don't let your mother wear a sunflower on her head in public.
Cool stuff! You guys are lucky. I'm here stuck in school. The stuff you put up here is very educational. I wonder if we'll be able to do things like making salsa in our garden in school. Some of the vegetables you used here, I had no idea what they were! We miss you! :)
Aunt Lisa,
Community gardens are really cool. I think you would like one. I think homemade salsa is really good, especially when you chop it by hand. I didn't know what tomatillos were either, until I went to the garden. Thanks for the wonderful advice about the sunflower. I'll make sure that happens. Thanks for reading!
Nicole
Dear Hannah,
We really are very lucky, and I'm glad we're doing stuff like this. I think you should ask Mr. McCracken if you could. I had no idea what a lot of them were, either, but I'm glad I learned. I miss all of you too. Thanks for reading!
Nicole
Post a Comment