Arbor Day Employee Takes a Spin

Dec 09 by in Arbor Day, General tagged with no comments

 

Pat and Vanna from Wheel of FortuneEditor’s Note: The Arbor Day Foundation’s very own Cathy Horner, Human Resources Manager, was selected to appear on the gameshow Wheel of Fortune recently. Naturally, we’re all very excited for her. We had a number of questions about the game show experience, which she was kind enough to answer for us in this blog post. Tune in to watch Cathy on Wheel of Fortune on December 14, 2011.

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Q: How were you selected to be a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune? 
A: My daughter and I attended a Wheel Mobile event, on a whim, last April when Sony Studios was crossing the country in their WheelMobile (a big yellow RV) screening contestants for the Wheel of Fortune.  I was lucky enough to be chosen at random to answer puzzles with a group of people on the stage they set up to look just like the real game show.  After that, I was selected to attend a second audition with a more rigorous screening process.  A couple of weeks later, I was sent a letter stating that I was selected to be a contestant!

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Video: Peaches and Cream Dessert

Aug 15 by in Food & Drink, General, Local food, Recipes tagged , , , , , with no comments

 
Peaches and Cream Dessert

Our very own Executive Chef Matthew Taylor gave a cooking demonstration at last week’s Wine Under the Pines festival at Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard. His overall topic: use local, sustainable ingredients whenever you can for the tastiest, most appealing meals. Specifically speaking: tree-ripened peaches from Kimmel turned into a decadent peaches and cream dessert.

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An Intern’s Perspective: It’s More Than Trees

Aug 15 by in Arbor Day, General, Nature, Trees tagged , , , , with 1 comment

 
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Editor’s Note: We asked our intern, Hanna, to write a blog post about her Arbor Day Farm experience this summer. Below is her contribution. Thank you, Hanna, and may you touch many more lives in nature in the years ahead.

“What is Arbor Day all about?” I ask this question of the visitors during my tours at the Tree Adventure and Arbor Day Farm. As you may expect, I get a variety of answers:  anywhere from planting trees to Johnny Appleseed to saving the planet. I tell them that they all are close, and explain the need to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. 

Throughout my summer as a Nature Interpreter Intern I have learned a lot, starting with the Arbor Day Foundation’s mission and now ending with heirloom varieties of apples. My time this summer, however, has taught me that Arbor Day is about more than just trees.

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From the Lied Lodge Kitchen: Crab Cakes

Jul 05 by in Food & Drink, General, Local food, Recipes tagged , , , , with no comments

 
Chef Matthew Taylor's recipe for Maryland Blue Crab Cakes

This is one of my favorite summer dishes. Crab cakes are an excellent way to kick up the barbecue, especially when you mix and match accompaniments and use fresh, seasonally available ingredients. Let me know how you enjoy this one.

Maryland Blue Crab Cakes
2 lb. blue crab meat, well drained
¼ cup raw garlic
1 cup panko crumbs
2 whole eggs
½ cup red bell pepper bruinoise
½ cup carrot bruinoise
½ cup red onion bruinoise
2 jalapeños, seeded and bruinoise
¼ tbl Old Bay seasoning
2 lemons zest and juiced
1 orange zest
½ cup flat leaf parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Kernels from 2 ears of fresh sweet corn

Procedure:
Heat olive oil on medium flame in sauté pan. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic. Add the peppers, carrot, onion, and jalapeño to the pan and cook gently until just sweated together. Add Old Bay seasoning and parsley, cook until just aromatic, about 2 minutes. Combine all ingredients to mixing bowl and stir together well. Adjust seasoning and panko until the mixture forms small cakes that stay together well and are not too moist or too dry. Form cakes into small cylinder shapes Reserve cakes to order.

Until next time,
Chef Matt

Matthew Taylor is the Executive Chef at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where local, sustainable entrees are served daily. Have a specific recipe you’d like to see featured on this blog? Let us know.

Trees, Water, and Sustainability

Apr 26 by in Arbor Day, General, Nature, Trees tagged , , , , with 1 comment

 

White Mountain National Forest - New HampshireThe Arbor Day Foundation works with many corporate partners to continue the important work of tree planting. Enterprise Rent-a-Car is one such partner. The following is a guest blog post by the Arbor Day Foundation’s founder and chief executive, John Rosenow, as posted to the Enterprise Forewords Blog on 4/26/11.

When we think of forests, we think of trees, the wonders of nature, of sheer beauty, and clean, fresh air. We often don’t think about the water we drink.

We should.

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What’s On Tap: Draft Beers of Lied Lodge

Apr 07 by in Beer, Food & Drink, General tagged , , , , , with no comments

 

Ales, lagers, stouts… When you’re thirsty for a cold beer, our very own Library Lounge here at Lied Lodge won’t disappoint. Watch as Bartender Matt showcases a few of the delicious draft beers he’s pouring for our guests. Not only do we love these beers for their distinct flavors, but we especially love the eco-friendly, sustainability stories that accompany a few of them.

Employee Soup Challenge

Feb 17 by in General tagged , with 2 comments

 
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Fifteen Arbor Day Foundation employees brought their bubbling, steaming crock pots into work today for the 2011 Arbor Day Foundation Employee Soup Challenge. The culinary creations ranged from chicken and beef to veggie and mushroom, and all employees were encouraged to participate – either by entering a soup or by tasting and voting for their top three favorites.   

And the winner is…  

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Roaming the Trails at Night

Jan 04 by in Animals, Arbor Day, General, Nature tagged , , , with 2 comments

 

If you’ve visited Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City recently, you know it’s not uncommon to see animals roaming the trails in broad daylight — herds of deer, wild turkey, maybe a mink, or a fox — but our Arbor Day Farm Tree Cam has captured living proof of animals on the prowl in the night.

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A Tree House Proposal

Aug 03 by in Engagement Proposals, Nature, Tree House, Trees, Weddings tagged , , , with 6 comments

 
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It all started on a cold winter day in December with a little movie called “Swiss Family Robinson.”  This 1960 Disney Classic would spawn my ingenious idea that would later unfold at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, NE.  As I sat on the couch with my girlfriend Melanie that day, I was informed multiple times how amazing the tree house in the movie was.  Being an interior designer, Melanie deeply admired the craftsmanship of that tree house, noting the clever design by the Robinson family.  She pointed out the awesomeness of it every chance she could.  By the end of the movie, I had no doubt that she genuinely wished she could live in a tree house.  As the credits rolled, I had my “Ah-hah!” moment.  That was it.  The engagement idea I had been searching for. 

I knew then and there that I had to propose in a tree house.

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Now in Bloom: Sunflower Patch at Arbor Day Farm

Aug 07 by in General tagged , , , with 3 comments

 
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Reason #32 to come to Arbor Day Farm in early- to mid-August: the one acre sunflower patch is in glorious full bloom.

Granted, there’s no shortage of beautiful landscapes and interesting things to photograph across these 260 acres in any season. But this sunny patch along the Discovery Ride path is simply magnificent.

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