Applesauce and Money
A pile of apples in the fridge, and some aging beyond use, calls for applesauce, which conjurs two schools of thought:
Let pure, unadulterated apples shine forth; minimize any spices or sweeteners.
Everything needs help, including apples.
As I faced such a bunch of apples, I thought back to the best applesauce I've ever had, the product of the Summer Kitchen, one of the founding vendors of the Downtown Farmers' Market. Jim's and later Dan's applesauce included cinnamon, honey, and unknown spices. Both are sadly departed and sorely missed and I decided to try to replicate their success.
Into the pot for a long simmer went the apples, a few elderly pears, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and, because, what the heck I live in Wisconsin, brandy.
My goodness gracious, 'twas fabulous. But don't take my word for it. We served it to some UW students as part of a dinner we hosted. One young lady said, "I never eat any applesauce except what my grandmother makes. This is even better than hers. But I'm not telling her." Let's hope the grandmother is not one of the six readers of this blog.
Folks facing the current state of nature sometimes face the applesauce decision: Leave nature alone and rely on its resilience… or help nature, usually by dealing with human caused problems.
Both have their place; perhaps in many wilderness settings the former course is better. Madison Audubon almost always opts for active help. As we conserve the lands and waters for which we have taken responsibility, we often face degraded habitats beset by long standing problems and invasive species. Even if we are fortunate enough to be protecting a remnant, that prairie or savanna or wetland faces invasive species, sedimentation, or other destructive elements.
Volunteers work to collect precious prairie seeds at Faville Grove Sanctuary. The seeds will be used to continue restoration projects on Madison Audubon properties. Photo by Kaitlin Svabek / Madison Audubon
Madison Audubon staff and volunteers spend time and money protecting and improving our habitats. Converting as few as five acres of row crops to prairie or wetland can take hundreds of hours of volunteer and staff time and thousands of dollars (especially if any excavation is required). Maintenance is an ongoing and costly duty—if you don't burn a prairie, you lose that prairie. We also believe that we should expand our land and water holding whenever we have a reasonable and affordable opportunity. Many of the birds and other species of plants and animals we care about are in steep decline. More and better habitat is the most critical factor if they are to survive and thrive.
We try to make our support of nature fun and educational. Our volunteers always have the chance to learn the why and the big picture of what we're doing. We also provide safe working conditions and camaraderie. We also try to provide many opportunities for interns. Young, strong bodies and active, inquiring minds get a lot done and the internships are necessary for these students' professional advancement.
As we look to 2022, Madison Audubon aims to do more and better. Our staff has won a grant that will enable us to employ more interns. We're pretty sure we'll have some great opportunities to expand our sanctuaries. We need your help more than ever. We hope you'll consider volunteering for some of our projects.
Now I've finally meandered to the Money part of this blog. We're about to launch our annual appeal for funds. Please, please, please consider donating to Madison Audubon. We'll use your gift carefully so that more birds, pollinators, wild flowers and others have happy and better homes. We'll protect all those creatures and make sure that our members and the public can enjoy the natural beauty and vitality we sustain.
If you donate, I'd be happy to give you my recipe for great applesauce but, since I never keep track of portions, you already have it. A final hint: use a mix of apples.
Thank you for considering this request.
Topf Wells, Madison Audubon board of directors and advocacy committee chair
Cover photo by wabisabi2015 FCC
