Squirrels are living high on the hog thanks to the government stalemate – feasting on tomatoes from the First Lady’s beloved White House garden while federal gardeners remain idle. In the famous White House kitchen garden, tomatoes are rotting on the vine. Herbs have gone to seed. And the sweet potatoes - a favorite of President Barack Obama - have become worm food. With the shutdown entering its third week, the Park Service gardeners who normally tend the mushrooms, peppers, squash and other tasty items have only been permitted to water the plants. Under the peculiar rules in effect, they are not allowed to rake or weed or even mow the grass. “The tomato plants are now an impressive tangle of browning vines, with ripe Sungolds littering the ground beneath,” writes Eddie Gehman Kohan on her Obama Foodorama blog. “Yellow and brown leaves now remain on crops throughout the garden, including on the potted dwarf papaya tree that sits on one side, now boasting five big green papayas,” she continues. Local squirrels – already a nuisance in D.C. thanks to soft-hearted tourists bearing popcorn and other snacks – have been milking the shutdown as much as camera-hungry politicians. “The squirrels are always a problem in the garden, eating the berry crop in the summer months,” notes Kohan. “But they’re now kids in a candy store, gorging themselves” on Sungolds and other tomatoes. Many White House staff members who normally volunteer to help weed the garden are on furlough. Food from the garden gets served at state dinners as well as an array of other events, and has been featured prominently in Michelle Obama’s healthy eating campaign. “Due to the shutdown, regular maintenance has stopped and only periodic watering is being done, consistent with other National Park Service managed landscape areas,” a White House official told the Post. |
松鼠們得要感謝政府的歇業(yè)了,深受第一夫人鐘愛的白宮蔬果園里,松鼠們生活奢侈,盡情地享受著番茄的美味,而照料這座蔬果園的聯(lián)邦園丁們卻閑得無事可做,這個(gè)著名的白宮蔬果園內(nèi)成了這樣一幅景象:番茄爛在藤上、一些植物已經(jīng)結(jié)籽,總統(tǒng)奧巴馬愛吃的甜薯成了蟲子的美食。 政府停業(yè)已經(jīng)進(jìn)入了第三個(gè)星期,原本照料園中那些蘑菇、辣椒、南瓜和其他美味園蔬的公園管理處園藝工們只能給這些蔬菜澆澆水了。 依據(jù)這個(gè)在實(shí)施中的怪異規(guī)則,園藝工們不許在園中鋤地、除草、甚至割草。 埃迪·而吉曼·科恩(Eddie Gehman Kohan)在她的‘奧巴馬口味’博客中寫道:“番茄藤現(xiàn)在長成了褐色的一團(tuán)亂麻,太陽杏散落了一地,滿園盡是黃色或褐色的葉子殘留于枝頭,一株放置在園子一側(cè)的盆栽矮木瓜樹結(jié)了有5個(gè)大木瓜,而葉子也開始凋零了?!?/p> 松鼠在華盛頓特區(qū)一直叫人心煩,不過它們應(yīng)感謝那些好心腸的游客們喂給它們爆米花等小食品,這些松鼠們和有上鏡饑渴癥的政客們一樣正貪婪地攫取著因政府停業(yè)所帶來的豐厚食物。 科恩注明:“園中松鼠一直是個(gè)問題,它們?cè)谙奶斐缘魸{果禾苗,但現(xiàn)在它們?nèi)缤⒆觽儊淼搅颂枪?,松鼠們狼吞虎咽地吃著太陽杏和番茄等蔬菜果?shí)?!?/p> 園中產(chǎn)出的蔬菜果品會(huì)上到國家宴會(huì)和其他一大批場(chǎng)合中的餐桌上,也一直顯著地渲染著米歇爾·奧巴馬(Michelle Obama)的健康飲食運(yùn)動(dòng)。 相關(guān)閱讀 莫斯科青年遇害引發(fā)反移民暴動(dòng) 約380人被捕 牛津大學(xué)副校長:學(xué)校越好,學(xué)費(fèi)應(yīng)該越高 (譯者 arcadian 編輯 Julie) |