Snow Cats, Hot Cocoa and GMOs
-A.V. Walters-
It’s snowing again. We’re expecting seven inches by tomorrow and then it will really feel like winter.
Yesterday we were out clearing. Snow shoveling leads to play—at least for those of us with snow history. The snow on the ground was a little too dry for a decent snowman. Though I managed a couple of good snowballs, I couldn’t get anything good going (Rick, shoveling, didn’t want to play along) so, I had to settle for making a snow cat. Yes, a snow cat—nice and fat like my favorite cat—who is unfortunately named Kilo, making a permanent joke of his girth.
On the way up to the house site, we noticed tracks—large, feline tracks. They were much too large, and the spread of the step is too long, to be a house cat. This summer, I noticed similar tracks in the sand and wondered if we had bobcats or a lynx. But tracks in sand are difficult to identify, so I let it go. Now, in snow, it is absolutely clear that we have a regular visitor who is something larger than Kilo or Bob. I followed them (the tracks, that is) in a meandering trail that ended across the way because my quarry walked up the neighbor’s driveway—which had been plowed after the tracks were made.
I’m not surprised; there are plenty of bunnies here to keep a wild cat well fed. We see their tracks, too, along with those of the mice and squirrels and their veritable freeways of tracks. I came home, determined (after a cup of hot chocolate) to identify our feline visitor. I believe it’s a bobcat. The size is right, the length of the stride, and even the meandering path. It’s unlikely we’ll ever see him, because they are nocturnal, but it’s nice to know he’s there.
“And now, a word from our sponsor…”
Hot chocolate is always nice after my own meanderings in the snow. I’m going to put in a plug for Hershey’s here—as they have recently announced that they’ve nearly completed their transition to non-GMO sugar in all their products. They made their statement in a benign way, declaring that they are responding to clear customer demand. No company wants to support such a change on environmental grounds—and risk the wrath of the larger food industry. Still, I admire Hershey for making the shift. The company also has a nice website which identifies which of their products are gluten-free. That’s good for me. They’re not perfect, but for today, they can bask in their non-GMO glory.
The Hershey announcement has the Minnesota sugar-beet farmers in a tizzy. Minnesota leads all other states in sugar production—all from sugar beets, all of them GMO modified and drenched in Round-Up. Previously, Hershey bought sugar made from sugar beets. Sugar-beet spokespersons are circumspect about the Hershey announcement—hoping that it’s not a trend. Surely, Americans won’t abandon conventional, chemically saturated, agriculture. Will they?
Here’s the rub. The sugar-beet farmers and cooperatives couldn’t change gears to go back to non-GMO seeds if they wanted to. There aren’t any non-GMO seeds available. Monsanto has so flooded the market with their poisonous seed-and-Round-Up combo, that the farmers have no fallback position. This, despite the evidence that GMO yields are no better than organic, or conventional fields. (Listen up organic farmers, here’s a window of opportunity to grow conventional sugar beets for seed!)
Consumers can make a difference. It will be fun to watch conventional agriculture scramble as more and more of us vote with our dollars for healthier products that don’t contaminate our soils and water. In the meantime, I’m warming up with a hot chocolate and anticipating a few more days of heavy snows.
Perfect Hot Chocolate—one heaping teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, one teaspoon honey and one cup of whole milk or, for a special treat, almond milk.
tworockchronicles 
I would be a little scared of that big cat (but we don’t have them here, so I’m not sure if they’re dangerous or not) so I thought you were very brave following it’s tracks…
Living on a sugar cane farm I’m surprised it’s so hard to get non-gmo sugar. We get ours as soon as it’s crushed at the sugar mill. Good on Hershey’s!
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Bobcats are on the small end of wild cats. They run 20 to 30 pounds. I don’t think they’re any danger to people. I can’t say the same, the other way around.
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So true. I was just googling bobcat – they’re beautiful looking creatures.
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I only wish we’ll be able to see them–they are nocturnal, and shy.
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I imagine your snow cat will make the bobcat feel quite welcome. 😉
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I had no idea that Hershey’s was making the transition. Good to know!
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The power for change is all in the consumer’s hands–it’s just a matter of educating the masses.
Love the snow cat—and hope you get to see your “big” cat.
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Co-operatives must be a great help to small farmers to give advice and borrow equipment but in France too the farmers buy their seeds from the co-operatives with no choice, little information but ready to withstand the onslaughts of herbicides. Amelia
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Ideally, the co-ops would be as nimble as the farmers themselves–unfortunately, when things get so large as to compete with economies of scale, to become cumbersome. The quote about “hoping it’s not a trend” came from a co-operative spokesperson. Too bad. Where some of us see opportunity, others see only obstacles.
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Your cocoa recipe missed a key ingredient: 1 oz kahlua! xoxo to our friends in the great white north!
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It’s been a long time since I had Hershey’s hot cocoa. I remember making it for my kids–instead of the packaged instant stuff–for Halloween. It’s amazing the difference in flavor, richness. And still, we were usually too lazy.
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I confess, on a single cup basis, I use the microwave, mixing the honey, cocoa and a little warmed almond milk, first–to get it smooth, and then adding the rest of the almond milk–a quick stir and a quick zap later–delicious.
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I’ll have to try almond milk for my cocoa. Coconut milk is also good!
Trying to always buy organic. Some say there is no scientific proof that GMO’s are bad, but that doesn’t mean that they’re safe. They haven’t been around long enough for us to really say. So I prefer to play it safe.
Hope you find out what species the snow cat.
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I think the French studies show that there are real problems with GMOs, themselves. However, I am satisfied that I’m doing the right thing to avoid GMOs just because of the environmental damage done by glyphosate. It’s in the soil, it’s in the water. Application rates have soared since initial approval (almost twenty times the levels initially approved.) That cannot be good.
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