I love markets

7/7/2011
Today we visited a mango farm to check for fruit flies in more traps. "Off" really works and I am thankful to its creators.
The mango farm runs up to the ocean. We drove out there so they could show me Window Beach. Over time, wind and water and other forces have worn away a large circle in a rocky outcropping, forming a window. Its gorgeous. Right then I wished I had a boyfriend to share the moment with and, if I had one and were with him, he would wish I didn't reek of Off and sweat.
We checked some more traps in a dry-forest-type area behind the Holiday Inn and Tropical Casino. I admit I was feeling a bit confused as we pulled into the hotel parking lot and that stupid rap song started going off in my head. Well, we were trampling through, carrying gallons of water to refill the traps. Guess who slipped on the loose rocks...again...and in the same pants I was wearing the time it happened in Costa Rica! Fortunately, there was no blood, only some scrapes. I was fine.
After that, onto Juana Diaz, where there is another field station. We trekked through the forest (past the old car frame and rusty barbed wire) to get to some more traps and then through the starfruit orchard where the weeds were quite overgrown and the trees were heavy with fruit. Outside of the orchard were more yellow sticky traps. I hate seeing little lizards stuck to them. We tried to save him, but he had so much sticcky stuff on his feet...

7/8/2011
Lab Day
We prepared everything for the ELISA test, which is used to detect the amount of virus present in a sample. So this is what they were collecting all those plants along the roadside for! We were going to test the leaves of papaya, pumpkin, and other host plants, for the presence of the Papaya Ringspot Virus. We macerated the leaf material. In a well plate, you add antibody, followed by the sample, followed by another antibody, to which an enzyme is attached. This forms a double-antibody sandwich. The first antibody sticks to the bottom of the well and catches viral particles from the sample. The second antibody gloms onto the captured viral particles. Then add substrate for the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme attached to the second antibody. The product is colored, so the intensity of the color is correlated to amount of virus present in the sample.
We also looked through dirt from underneath rotting mangoes for fruit fly pupae. Oh gosh. The sangria I had last night was not sitting well and now I had to deal with rotting fruit and dirt and flies. Don't worry it gets better!
In the afternoon, we decapitated female fruit flies. We put the heads between electrodes and squirted different gases to see what scents stimulate them. Delicate business. I got frustrated trying to get this teeny tiny head in exactly the right position. Then, we dropped one of the heads. We looked and looked and looked. Heads will roll! (Haha, pun intended.) She finally found it. How? It looked exactly like a speck of dirt! Anyway, it was too late. The thing wasn't reacting. It was dead.
And it gets even better! Not only do we take off the females' heads, we also cut them open to look at their eggs. Ok. I can't handle that. And the squirm the whole time you're trying to make the longitudinal cut to open the body. Stupid headless fly is still moving and I don't want to hurt it and it's really already a goner, and please stop moving so I can pull out your eggs. Aw man, I did one. Or at least attempted to. I ended up mangling the darn thing and couldn't even measure and count what needed to be measured and counted. But that was it, I was done. I mean, I had asked my high school health teacher if I could step out a moment when the class watched one of those stupic Rescue 911 videos, which really aren't even that graphic!
So, this is why I work with plants (and bees that are already dead and don't need to be dissected). If I had any notion of going to grad school for entomology, that has been squashed.
My stomach recovered.
I prepared yotilla, a hairy root vegetable. I thought it was pretty good.
After dinner, I went out for Rex Cream. Mocha and almond. Yumm...ok, maybe it was a bit more ice cream than I could handle, but it wasonly $2.50 and so good and of course on a cone with sprinkles, so I had to eat the cone! I mean, that's why I GET the cone, so there's no waste. See, I eat sustainably.

7/10/2011
Someone asked me the other day what I miss most about home. After my family and friends and dog, I would probably have to say the farmers' markets. If I'm up in New Brunswick, I go to the market at the Rutgers Gardens. I love talking with Bo the Bread Guy, who has the best olive and pumpernickel rolls and amazing cinnamon bread (that my dad makes into fantastic French toast, but is also great plain or toasted or with PB). Bo also went to Rutgers. We chat about the university, what it was like when he went there, how it's changed, how my last adventure went or where I'm going next.
Also at the Rutgers Gardens market is Chickadee Creek Farm, owned, managed, run, weeded, tended to, etc. by one amazing young woman. She produces fantastic produce, include some of the best spinach I've ever had. She was munching on the leaves one afternoon. Here, try some! She was so proud of her greens! She also grows mustard greens, which I had not tried before, but now love and can't wait for fall to get some more. But I get ahead of myself.
If I'm at home, I go to the Red Bank market, which is a bit larger. Farmer Ed, an organic grower whom everyone who grows or buys organic produce seems to know, has a stand there. The Cinnamon Snail, a vegan and raw food truck parks there every Sunday, selling delicious goodies. The man who owns has an amazing soul. Really the entire family is as sweet as his amazing vegan cinnamon buns. (Ok, that was corny...but rreally, no corn syrup! Ok, I'll stop.) At the Red Bank market there are plenty of produce vendors and bakers. Cherry Grove Farm is there selling their sustainably produced meats and cheeses. It's a great way to spend a Sunday morning.
So, yesterday, I finally found Plaza Del Mercado in Mayaguez! It reminds me of the Reading Terminal in Philly, but smaller and quainter. Produce, meats, seafood. I was surprised that many of the vendors spoke English. That made life easier. I bought some items. I only needed yotilla and pepper, so I stopped at one of the stands and chose the items. Unfortunately, I only had a $20-bill and he couldn't break it for only $1 worth of goods. So he just gave them to me! I went back this morning to see if he was there so I could give him the dollar. He wasn't. : (