Welcome to the 2016 Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge!

Happy Independence Day Week.

You’re about to embark on a fun summer journey with 10 weeks of healthy activities to get you out and about in your communities and with your loved ones.

By starting exactly on the 4th of July we’re excited to take this opportunity to highlight a founding mother and father with your very first weekly goal…

Grow Something!

Though Thomas Jefferson had his flaws (Slavery not withstanding) he was probably our first nearly vegetarian politician. He adored vegetables and shared seeds as well as the science of gardening with his everyone who would listen. In fact, he loved veggies so much he often ran out and had to buy more from the locals. Even though we all disagree with slavery, he did allow his slaves to sell him the bounty of their own gardens to make money to free themselves. Veggies were a thriving business at Monticello, healing wounds, feeding the souls.

“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden,” Jefferson exclaimed.

Peas were his favorite to grow because they grew easily and quickly, stored in little space and lasted a long time. Beets and carrots (well all root veggies in fact) came in second for similar reasons. He also loved lettuce and greens for their flavorful qualities (but he was talking about the kind grown locally and eaten immediately from harvest — he was a true farm-to-table dude).

Even if you don’t have space to grow these items, you could try some wheatgrass in a small pot on a windowsill or herbs. Wheatgrass can be cut like lawn grass and put in smoothies for vitamins and minerals. Herbs are great for cooking.

The handy-dandy world-wide web lends all kinds of advice on how to grow this-or-that umpteen ways. So you don’t have to be a genius to get it right, you just have to persevere (and that’s the truth about all our health-related shenanigans isn’t it?). Consistency and effort matter a lot in the long run.

Abigail Adams said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” But don’t go overboard! Keep it simple as she also said… “We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.” Hop to it, in other words.

And Abigail knew. While John was away in France building our new nation, she was stuck in Massachusetts protecting the family farm. In fact, she pretty much makes Jefferson look like a whimp! She did not have slaves, she did not have a handyman hubby, she did not have even have her eldest son (he too was swept up in service of our nation, oh those teenagers!).

My point is, if Abigail could grow a great and mighty farm in a revolution, and Jefferson’s slaves could ply him with 250 varieties of veggies including 19 kinds of peas, what are we waiting for? It’s who we are as a people!

If growing something in your own space isn’t an option, see if you can help a friend in their garden. My mother used to volunteer at a tiny local museum to help weed their garden once a year. There are lots of options for connection with the earth and helping replenish its wonders. And just think of the rewards. There is no joy in the world like sinking your teeth into a fresh, local summer veggie!

Happy Fourth and happy growing!

See you on the PATH Ahead,

Gillian, Shevonne, Amy and the VEHI PATH Team.

(PS. LOGISTICAL NOTE: Don’t forget to post your photos of your weekly escapades on our PATH Facebook page — in this case there is beauty in sharing. Be sure to title your post and say the week you’re referring to. Also write that title on your game card so we can match your card to your posts when you mail it in at the end of the 10 weeks.)

We sent out and email this morning for the traditional Monday inspiration but it came through with gobbledygook.  Sorry for that. As a back up, we’re posting the 2016 PATH Adventure opening email here:

Dear PATH’s Greatest Hits Player!

Welcome to our 25th Anniversary! We thought we’d take this opportunity to play off the idea of great music. What’s your favorite greatest hits album? Don’t forget to read the Intro Newsletter and the Week One news for added support.

My first Greatest Hits album was Earth Wind and Fire, Vol 1. (EWF), 1979. It was also the first album I bought with my own money that I worked hard to earn. My parents and I set it up as a goal. If I wanted it, I had to make it happen. And I wanted it bad. Heather Robertson didn’t have it yet. She had Rapper’s Delight, the very first rap song ever. She was so darn cool. When we all went to her house, we’d put that album on and sing all the words. All 15 minutes of it.

“To the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”

What does that even mean? Anyway, if I could get my hands on EWF, all the gang would come to my house to sing September into our hairbrushes and Jean Nate bottles. We’d make up some killer dance moves too. I could just see it!

I mowed the lawn, walked the dog, biked to the store for milk, vacuumed, dusted, and vacuumed some more. And oh how I saved. Even though Bonnie Bell Lip Smacker’s latest flavor was calling me like a siren. The gang helped me keep track. I got within $2 when Heather came to school saying she was going next weekend to buy it.

Come on! I pleaded with my mom. Dad was ready to cave (a closeted EWF fan himself). No way, mom’s shoe tap and crossed arms said. Head down, I turned and departed the room defeated, a pitiful exit. Then mom exhaled with irritation, “Ok geeze! I’ve got $2 in my purse for the hard worker who can clean the basement and still get her homework done.” I can count three times in my life when I’ve actually lept in the air to clean house: 1) when I found out my adopted son was coming to live with me for good, 2) the first time the love of my life came to visit, and 3) EWF within reach. When I hit the hay that night covered in dust, mom gave me the sweetest pride swooning hug. Priceless.

I went over to Heather’s house the next day to tell the gang the news and they should all stop over this weekend. We high-fived and then Heather unwrapped a fresh copy. Waaaann waaa, bubble burst. But the gang? They said, “Let’s wait until G’s house.” Right on. Heather snapped her juicy fruit blankly for a second and said, “Like totally! Boogie to the beat anyone?”

A goal is one thing when it’s all on your own. It’s quite another when we all honor each other and get there as one.

Oh, and my favorite song on the EWF Vol 1 album to this day (maybe my favorite ever) is Fantasy. Here’s one reason why: “Our voices will ring together, as one!”

Enjoy the Journey of Your Greatest Hits when it comes to your story, your health, and your wellbeing. Share with us so we can pass it on.

See you on The PATH Ahead!

Gillian, Shevonne, Amy, Larae and the whole VEHI PATH Team

(PS. Please don’t reply to this email. If you have questions or want to sahre a story, please write to [email protected] or check in on our Facebook page.)

Showing gratitude is a great way to close out this year’s challenge. It’s a walk in the park. The ways in which we might demonstrate gratitude are infinite. It’s the main ingredient necessary to improve our well-being. And gratitude works both ways – when we feel it, we benefit from how positive we feel and when we express it to others we strengthen our relationships with them.
Perhaps there’s a new neighbor up the road that you want to welcome by sharing some of your best zucchini bread or a neighbor who needs some help building a fence or a neighbor who would relish your feeding her pets while she is out of town. Maybe it’s writing a note of thanks to someone who has visited you recently or provided you with the support you needed during a difficult life transition. Maybe showing gratitude consists of donating funds to a specific non- profit organization that you value and want to support. Maybe it’s turning to your partner or best friend and telling him or her how much you appreciate them.

When I was in grade school, one of my favorite ways to show gratitude to my neighbors was to make up small baskets of wildflowers on April 30th and then in the early am on May 1st I would scurry about hanging the baskets on front doors, ringing doorbells and running away. I am not sure if anyone ever knew where their flowers came from but for me that was an afterthought.
According to Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, professor of the Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania, showing gratitude will raise one’s happiness and lower depression. In his book, Flourish, he suggests the gratitude visit as a powerful way to become more positive. In summary, the gratitude visit consists of calling up the face of someone who is alive and years ago did something or said something that changed your life for the better who you never properly thanked, writing a letter to this individual describing what he or she did for you and how it impacted your life and then contacting the person to set up a time to visit without divulging why. Upon meeting with the person, Seligman recommends reading the letter without interruption while noting the person’s reaction and when finished to take the time to discuss the content and feelings with each other.
As I reflect upon the past few months, I remember how the summer began in the Champlain Islands. The Dannemora prisoners were on the loose and an inordinate number of individuals spent days in horrid conditions across the lake tracking them while trying to protect Adirondack community members from danger. I followed the multiple news bulletins obsessively until the incident ended. What touched my heart, however, were the expressions of gratitude demonstrated by the community members to law enforcement personnel; first by providing food and drink on multiple days and then by honoring and thanking all involved. This demonstration of gratitude was powerful and will long be remembered.

May you all be well. We look forward to your snapshots of showing gratitude,
Shevonne, Gillian and Amy

The Sizzlin’ Challenge is still hot with two weeks remaining.

As you ease back into the full steam of the school year, keep your summer in your sights, hanging on to the joys you gained while challenging yourself and your loved ones to do healthy activities.
Think of all you were able to accomplish so far: Fun rainy day activities, new veggies, new walking paths, new ways of helping out, composting, reconnecting with loved ones, and doing something you’ve always wanted to try. That’s a great list! And, given the fabulous photos, you’ve proved that you’re creative enough to make great things happen.

As work gets back to its old tricks and the stress meter begins ticking, staying grounded will require a fair amount of that creativity you’ve exuded. Being creative, in fact, engages the brain in a way that allows new thinking to surface and thus brings about new strategies for dealing with all kinds of complicated stressors. If we are indeed in the business of making Vermont schools less stressful and yet more productive for all, then we are part of a whole system that needs some good, creative thinking.

Each and every one of us is a piece of the puzzle, each contributing to the solution in our own way. If we can each work toward righting our sides toward those around us, we can all interlock and reveal the beauty that makes the whole picture.

At the most rudimentary level, then, it begins with us. How can your creative mind and body open to the possibility of a low stress school year? Begin with your own exercise in creativity. We put a few examples in parentheses on the challenge brochure… You know, the basics like “dance, sing, paint, etc.”. But there is poetry, journaling, drawing, playing (anything), cooking, storytelling, making up a game, building, crafting, quilting, YOU NAME IT!

The point is to set yourself free so your mind and body are willing to take on the new and exciting year with an open and compassionate spirit.

The great systems thinker Peter Senge (The Fifth Discipline) reminds us that no one gets up in the morning and makes a great evil plan for the destruction of paradise. What happens instead is the great American free-for-all that allows us to chug along feeding off whatever is there without realizing the consequences. When we turn around and look from whence we came, if we don’t like it, we so often say, “It’s not my fault. It was the ‘system’.”

And yet, we are the system.

Grab hold and own the part of the system that is yours so that we can all begin to solve this problem we call “excessive stress” together. Leave no one behind, not classroom teacher, nor para, nor maintenance, nor IT, nor nurse, nor food service, nor bus driver, nor coach, nor principal, nor parent, nor union rep, nor superintendent, nor business manager, nor… Nor student.

We are the system. Therefore we are the solution.

A great year ahead is firmly within your grasp. Harness your creativity and fly.

We’re so looking forward to seeing your pictures this week. Enjoy and good luck ramping up the school year. One more Summer Challenge week to go!

See you on the PATH Ahead.

Whoever said “rainy days and Mondays always get me down” had it all wrong. Obviously they didn’t have an appreciation for the varied weather of the Northeast! An occasional stormy day can be a bear at times, indeed, but PATH people are fond of saying (and forgive the sentence structure), “There is no bad weather, only bad gear.” Perhaps the same is true about Mondays. There isn’t a bad day of the week, rather, it’s all in how you frame it.

Rainy days give us the excuse to slow down or to work on inside projects. Rainy days can be cozy, thought provoking, escaping, dreaming, snuggling days. They can also be productive and creative!

And Mondays? Well, I hate to pull the Pollyanna card but honestly, it’s a brand new start to a brand new set of hopes and dreams. And we get at re-do every week! Honestly, it’s a chance to focus and get “stuff” done so the weekend feels well earned.

Same with rainy days, it’s a great time to get soulful things done, or to just be (which is its own form of work for some). Here are some thoughts about framing your rainy day in healthy terms:

• Spruce up a room or a piece of furniture in your living space.
• Journal, write, blog, create — writing is great for the soul.
• Take on a craft or hobby you’ve always wanted to start.
• Research places you’d like to visit or things you’d like to try when it’s not raining.  Head to the local Library for some ideas!
• Finish that project you started a while back.
• Make an inventory of things that need to get done, then begin a plan for one item on that list.
• Make or prep healthy food for the coming days. One of our friends spends part of every Sunday doing her “food workout” so the rest of the week is easy healthy eating.
• Bake bread! Oh man will your home smell good. Roasted chicken does the same.
• And for those with a sense of adventure: Take a walk in the rain (and maybe even hold hands) — what you see is totally different. But be sure to have the proper gear and be safe with weather. And a late summer rain can be so soothing. Oh man.

Those are just a few things we came up with in case you needed some structure. There are countless books written on the topic so we reiterate the idea of visiting the local library.

The key is to not overwhelm yourself and, if you’re a go-go-go type, to give yourself permission to relax and do nothing. Life is a series of sprints, not a marathon. We all need a break and some down time to be able to get back up and leap ahead.  Rough weather is Mother Nature’s way of saying, chill.

As some of you head back to school this week, we realize you’re looking ahead to the ultimate Monday, the dreaded end of summer vacation. I’m hoping with all you’ve accomplished this summer, you’ll ease into work with a renewed attitude. Fall is a remarkable season and the anticipation of a new year of learning goals and social excitement is always palpable when school approaches. Before we get there, maybe take some time to frame how you’d like the year to go. How will you carry the joy of summer into your year so you can stay refreshed and focused?

I keep hearing people say, “I can’t believe summer is over.” WHAT? Just kidding, but let’s be real, August is still summer and September is incredible in Vermont, not to mention early October. It’s warm, often sunny, bright, and colorful. People come from all over the world to share it with us. Summer might be closing up, but there’s plenty of outdoor excitement to be had and plenty of summer-like joy left. A new season approaches, new delights await.

Are you living it?

See you on The PATH Ahead.

Hello fellow sizzlin summer challengers,
This week is all about exploring a new walking path. I can think of no better way to begin than to quote from Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” How many times have we heard this particular verse or found it plastered on a poster and contemplated its meaning? How many times have we welcomed those lines as justification for a life altering decision?

My other reason for highlighting Robert Frost is because of the interpretive trail created in his honor. Located in Ripton, the mile long trail was developed by the Green Mountain National Forest and Reginald Cook, one of his close friends.  This unique trail weaves through scenic and peaceful surroundings and is punctuated by several of Frost’s poems.   I found the trail extremely inspirational and if you’ve not yet visited, make sure to check it out soon.

We are so blessed in Vermont. The variety of paths and trails ripe for exploration are plentiful in our forests, parks and communities. Old rail beds continue to be refurbished for walkers and cyclists. The Rails to Trails Conservancy lists several paths and provides topographical maps. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of VT has worked with several communities to produce walking maps available to the general public. In my hometown of Grand Isle, local recreation committee members and several volunteers are in the process of blazing a one mile path around the town’s new park. When complete, the path will offer individuals of all ages a chance to get off the roadways and enjoy the local flora and fauna throughout the year.

And if you happen to be someplace other than Vermont this fine summer, I guarantee you will find some paths that meet your fancy. My most recent catch was the Shining Sea Trail, named for a line in the song America the Beautiful, written by Falmouth, MA native Katherine Lee Bates. This stunning trail is laced with marshes, salt water ponds, shade trees and sandy beaches.

Across the pond, otherwise known as the Atlantic Ocean, visitors worldwide now flock to walk the length of or part of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient 500 mile pilgrimage route through northern France and Spain.

Lastly, on a rainy day or after a pleasant day’s walk, you might want to curl up with a good book about walking. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is the fictional story of one man’s walk across England. It’s a winner (at least Gillian and I think so) and will provide you with miles of entertainment without wearing out the soles of your shoes.

See you on the PATH ahead,
Shevonne, Gillian and Amy

Welcome to Week 5 of the Summer Challenge!

We don’t often ask school employees to volunteer because our Healthy Life Survey states at least half of you are already doing something for your community. Further, research states that over half of you have second and even third jobs in addition to what you do for schools. Finally, we see your work in schools as, more often than not, a calling rather than a paycheck. In short, what you do for Vermont schools is already above and beyond and therefore its own form of volunteerism.

The trouble with that “above and beyond” idea is that we hear a lot about burnout and compassion fatigue as a result. That’s precisely why we suggest becoming connected to your community in other ways. Doing so is proven to help combat compassion fatigue. Here’s a few reasons why….

National Geographic’s Dan Buettner, who wrote the Blue Zones (research on where people live the longest, healthiest lives), interviewed centenarians from all over the world. A woman from the Greek Island of Ikaria told him: “‘Do you know there’s no word in Greek for privacy?’ she declared. ‘When everyone knows everyone else’s business, you get a feeling of connection and security. The lack of privacy is actually good, because it puts a check on people who don’t want to be caught or who do something to embarrass their family.'”

I’m not suggesting we each get all up in everyone’s business, but when you paint a community center together or help out at a food shelf fund raiser, you get to know each other better and come to understand why we each roll the way we do. Compassion grows and rebuilds in exponential ways. So if you’re frustrated with humanity because you often see some of the hardest parts of it as a school employee, take some time this summer to be a part of the best of humanity for inspiration.

A byproduct of helping may also be the opportunity to find out what you want to be when you grow up. Meaning, when you do have time to give (on your own terms outside work), what will it look like for you? Those who have a plan for their life outside of work and beyond their official western working years live healthier lives.

Also from Buettner’s Blue Zones:
“In Okinawa, …the notion of ikigai — “the reason for which you wake up in the morning” — suffuses people’s entire adult lives. It gets centenarians out of bed and out of the easy chair to teach karate, or to guide the village spiritually, or to pass down traditions to children. The Nicoyans in Costa Rica use the term plan de vida to describe a lifelong sense of purpose. As Dr. Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute on Aging, once told me, being able to define your life meaning adds to your life expectancy.”**

We know that people who don’t plan well for retirement suffer until they find that purpose. We know that people who gear their leisure activities toward a moral purpose live longer as well. Take the time to at least think about helping out in new ways that inspire you and fire you up to push through the stress of the daily grind.

Good luck and be sure to let us know what you end up doing!

See you on The PATH Ahead

Gillian, Shevonne, Amy and the PATH Team.

**The Blue Zone’s quotes came from an article adapted from new material being published in the second edition of “Blue Zones,” by Dan Buettner. Click here for the full piece.

Yes indeed, when it comes to trying new activities this summer, it is as Shakespeare penned, “the world is mine (or your) oyster.” Originally used as a line in his play, The Merry Widows of Windsor as a sort of threat, its intent has been long forgotten; today we use the phrase as a way to proclaim abundant opportunity.
Summer is the perfect time to invest in something new and different. Because we each carry our own unique dreams, the ream of possibilities is infinite. Perhaps you dream of piloting a plane, creating cartoons, speaking a new language, painting a mural, climbing a mountain or playing the tuba.
Amy Gilbert, VEHI PATH’s wellness coordinator, is keeping bees. When she first was all abuzz about this, I was mystified. Why would anyone want to take up beekeeping? After all I hate the pain and swelling associated with bee stings. And yet, she said she was moved to do so because of the crisis in the bee population and her recognition that without sufficient bees to pollinate our gardens, our food supply was in jeopardy. The more she read about bees the more obsessed she became.
Amy not only had to buy the bees but in order to protect the bees from hungry bears she had to build fencing and then she had to add power to the fencing. She had to have her hives inspected (did you know the state has bee inspectors on the payroll?) and recently when the bees swarmed, her husband dashed out to purchase a new box for the swarming bees. Nonetheless Amy is in for the long haul. She says bees are fascinating creatures and can teach us so much about how nature operates.
Lisa Locke, VSBIT’s administrative assistant, decided to get back on a bicycle after a 20 year hiatus. As she describes it, she was first intrigued by seeing photos of her friend and family cycling on the Burlington bicycle path; “the scenery was fantastic and they seemed so happy.” According to Lisa, however, what truly got her on the saddle was a desire to find an activity that would hold her attention and help her get in better shape. Using a borrowed bicycle, she took her first 17.67 mile ride and was hooked. Now she has her own bicycle and is enjoying poaching the new bike trails (they are not officially open yet) between Morrisville and Jeffersonville.

I, on the other hand, opted for what I imagined would be a sedate and fairly easy new activity; sailing 101. I will readily admit, however, that until recently sailing was not on my bucket list because I thought it was too slow. After 15 years of crossing the sandbar during the summer months and gazing upon the lovely moored sailboats, I began to fantasize about adding a sailboat to the fleet. How nice it would be, I thought to pass by my boat every morning and occasionally take it out for an evening sail on the lake.
So I signed up for a full weekend of sailing lessons. And yet, after day one, I was ready to throw in the towel. Not only did I find determining the wind’s direction somewhat baffling, sailing has a whole new language of words and definitions. Most disheartening was when I was informed that sailing is more about the process than the destination, as one’s projected destination is weather dependent. I knew then I was truly out of my comfort zone.
A few nights ago, armed with plenty of self-talk, I got back on the boat. Regardless of how foreign the concepts, I am not ready to give up on the dream of my little sailboat quite yet. While I recognize that becoming a competent sailor is going to take much more than a 16 hour course and I am going to need a very patient instructor, I can certainly accomplish this not-so-easy for me challenge.
Then again, every time the instructor tests us on what to do when there’s a man overboard and throws a cushion in the water to simulate this, it takes all my willpower to stay in the boat. I know I would be the perfect role model of woman overboard. And what’s with the cushion anyway? Cushions don’t feel, sound or weigh as much as a person in distress.

We look forward to seeing what new activities you are exploring this summer.
Heads up, coming about.
See you on the PATH ahead.

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing

and rightdoing, there is a field.

I’ll meet you there.”

– Rumi

I’ve been reading all the Summer Challenge Facebook posts about composting and, frankly, there seem to be as many ways to do it as there are posts.

I bring it up because we begin Week 3 today which is all about reconnecting with a friend.

What’s the segue? Well, if I didn’t have all of you to help me learn all these ways to compost, and to prove how easy it is (and how intricate it can become), I’d never do it. That’s the power of friendship. You, my friends, taught me that I can start anywhere, best to start small
but at least start somewhere; and then… Oh the places I can go!

On July 4th this summer I did a workout at my beloved gym with a huge number of people. It’s called a “hero” workout during which you run a ton, do a million pull ups, push ups, and jumping on boxes and things. We do it to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty. We do it because we are blessed enough to have bodies that allow us to do so. And finally, we do it because sweating and groaning with friends is far better than sweating alone. Helen Keller famously said, “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.”

As I was running and push-uping in my hot sweaty mess, I noticed, like the composting, that everyone was tackling this workout from a different angle. Everyone had different strengths and was working through different weaknesses. As we set up, people with injuries or compromised movement were sharing ideas on how to “scale” or change up the prescribed movements so they could still participate. To scale is to lower the weights or repititons or length of time so that you can succeed without causing injury. What a wonder to see us all making sure each one would succeed, no matter the background or circumstances.

Without that support, and of course the support of the trained coaches, I wouldn’t have even gone to this maddening hero workout, let alone put myself out there to fail. The lesson I learn each time we do these challenges is that there is no such thing as failing when we’re all in it together pulling each other along. But to be in it, you have to show up.

I saw that day the variety of the human body and spirit: those who were 20 years older running twice as far as me, those who were a foot shorter jumping higher and faster, and those who were heavier pulling up three times as long. I saw all shapes and sizes, ages and wills. The bottom line is that we all indeed do put our pants on one leg at a time so it’s true what the mighty say about the silliness of intimidation. We are the same in the desire to make a difference and to build community, one leg at a time.

And yet, we are unique and special in how we wear those pants. Some are spandex, some cotton, some are sparkly, some are plain, some are barely there and some cover every inch. Some pants ride up, some sag where a butt once was. Some bulge or jiggle where we wish it wouldn’t. No matter… We all showed up and we each did our part.

This whole idea played out in the composting pictures you all sent in. No matter the style, we all put our pants on one leg at a time. Some are fancy tumbler bins or beautiful wooden corrals. Others are milk jugs and open piles. The outcome is all the same, gorgeous, dark, nutrient-rich soil that leads to incredible harvests. We’re all doing our part, our way, together to make the world better.

So I thank you for reconnecting me to the multi-layered, multifaceted world of composting. Without you, I wouldn’t have remembered what this kind of work and dedication brings.

Now, I ask you, who can you reconnect with this week to build your sense of belonging and support. Who will help you do a hero’s workout or compost in style, or simply wake up to a brand new day full of options? Who inspires you? Who helps you see the joys in life? Who will walk in the dark with you?

Why “reconnect” and what does it mean? It can mean whatever you want. The joy of RE connection is often in the nostalgia. It’s always great to share and savor good memories together. Simply put, if nothing else, just be there for each other this week.

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. ‘Pooh?’ he whispered.

‘Yes, Piglet?’

‘Nothing,’ said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. ‘I just wanted to be sure of you.'”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

See you on the PATH Ahead.

That’s right – this week is all about trying your hand at composting. While composting might feel a bit overwhelming for some of you, the benefits are over the top. You’ll love running your fingers through your finished product and watching how it will improve the health of your plants and trees. And given the new requirements within Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) there’s no time like the present to get started. To guide you along the way, I thought I’d share my great aunt Julia’s composting recipe guaranteed to make your plants and trees dance with joy. Now if I could just find my apron. Begin by deciding where you want to locate your composting bin. Consider a location that isn’t too close to where you like to spend time in the warmer months or too close to your property line. Unlike the smells that permeate from your kitchen when baking a chocolate cake, composting aromas may occasionally bring an unhappy neighbor to your doorstep. Once you have your location, it’s time to determine what you’ll use to hold and protect your composting materials while baking. You can easily make your own compost bin with a circle of chicken wire that is three feet high, three feet wide and three feet deep. Or you can get a bit fancier and purchase an already constructed bin. Whatever you choose to do, make sure your bin can hold a cubic yard of material, is easily accessible to shovel out the finished product, will hold up to Vermont’s winter elements, is difficult for dogs and wildlife to raid and has good air circulation. No air circulation means nasty odors and no compost. Now it’s time to begin collecting your ingredients and adding them to your bin. To make delicious compost, you need our old friends, carbon, nitrogen, air and a little water. Dry leaves, hay, straw and shredded newspaper are excellent carbon sources. Wet grass clippings, weeds, veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells and tea bags are your best sources of nitrogen. Dump a large bucket of your dry ingredients (leaves, straw, hay, etc.) into the bin. Then in the center of the pile, add your wet ingredients (veggie scraps, grass clippings, weeds, etc.). Three parts carbon to one part nitrogen. Continue to add layers of carbon and nitrogen. Make sure to add a bit of water so the pile is a bit damp. It’s time to chill. Set up your chaise lounge, a good book, your transistor radio and watch it bake. Oh dear, my mistake. That last instruction was a no-no. Composting actually takes more than a few days.  You will want to visit your compost bin once a week to check out the baking process. As decomposition occurs, you should be able to see smoke and feel the heat in the center of the bin. When your compost in the center of the bin is ready, it will have a dark brown color and an earthy smell. Use a shovel and turn it to the outer perimeter of your bin while you continue to cook more in the inner circle. And voila. Gorgeous compost which you can use as mulch around trees and can be added to garden seedlings and houseplants. We look forward to seeing your favorite composting photos. See you on the PATH ahead.