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It is the time of year again for the earth to reward us with her bounty. For tomatoes to hang lushly from green vines and fragrant lavender to show off her purple blooms. The fields are alive, city pots are full. This harvest of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs that taste like they're supposed to in this their natural season will provide building blocks for healthy bodies and mind.
And so it was again with great pleasure that the Lone Wolf and I attended the second reception for the jardin potager ornamental at the residence of the American Ambassador Charles Rivkin and his wife Susan M. Tolson. And for the second year in a row, Ms. Tolson presided over this event.
You'll remember we went to this lovely event last year...
We were attending a reception in honor of the inauguration of the jardin potager ornemental (the organic herb and vegetable garden) for the American Ambassador's residence that Ms. Tolson had initiated to support the work of America's First Lady Michelle Obama and her organic vegetable garden at the White House. This movement called "The People's Garden" at the USDA is not just a symbol to encourage all of us to eat healthily and well and to care for the earth; at the same time it's also a living, growing reality that has crossed the Atlantic to Europe.
But this year the American Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was also one of the hosts. And we were again honoring the students of L'Ecole du Breuil in Paris for their excellent work in creating The People's Garden in Paris. This, of course, had been organized by Agricultural Economist Xavier Audran who engaged the students in this French-American collaboration so successfully.