Ever visited friends or relatives in Europe? If so, maybe you've been impressed, as I was, with how much Europeans walk or bike for their various daily errands. Our friends and relative in Germany and Holland wouldn't think of wasting gas to go out and pick up groceries, for instance. They'd head out to a local market on foot, or on a bicycle equipped with a little carrier basket, instead, and reap the multiple advantages of better health, trimmer waistlines, lower fuel costs, and cleaner local air!

Now, part of the reason for that is that Europeans have eschewed ourr typical suburban sprawl, so that local markets, bakeries, butchers, etc., are all in pretty close proximity to our friends' homes. But I've started wondering whether I couldn't put some of that "walk-or-bike" mentality into practice here at home.

Now, if anybody lives in an area that's not conducive to this concept, I do! Bosque Farms, NM, is half an hour outside Albuquerque, and is so small that we don't even have a supermarket in town, and our post office is shared with, and located in, neighboring Peralta, New Mexico! Nonetheless, it seems to me that I could profit by taking the time to walk or bike whewnever possible, and a two-mile radius seemed to me to be a reasonable distance to consider. I can walk two miles in half an hour, or bike it in half that time, so I started to investigate what I could find within that distance of my home.

As you'll notice from the map at right, a two-mile radius frorm my home takes in a huge percentage of areas that are, shopping-wise, a good deal less than useful! I can, for instance,

1. wade in the Rio Grande river
2. wander onto the Isleta Indian reservation
3. visit a whole lot of small farms, horse properties and rural homes

None of these are terribly helpful from a shopping perspective! (Although I can purchase some of the wonderful, completely local raw milk that I wrote about in a recent post, directly from one of my Bosque Farms neighbors, Sunshine Dairy.)

But really, the only direction in which I can reach anything remotely "shoppable" is to the east, on Bosque Loop and Highway 47. And there is still not a Walmart or superermarket to be found. But I did find a lot of wonderful small businesses, locally owned, featuring local products that I can patronize while getting some great exercise as well! Here are some of my great local options:

• I can get locally grown apples, (and fresh honey, too) from Hays Apple Farm.

• One of my favorite places on days when I just can't find time to cook, is Teriyaki Express. Their terriyaki chicken bowls are my favorite, frershly prepared, and pretty healthy eating. Biking the two miles to pick it up doesn't take much longer than driving over, and is much healthier.

• Fresh produce, that's really ripe, is always available at our local Garden Fresh produce market. Some of the produce is from local farms, and I've found it is always fresher and riper than what I can get by driving 15 minutes to the nearest supermarket.

• We do have a number of other restaurants in Bosque Farms as well, some of them offering pretty healthy options, like the local Sopa's, Burritos Alinstante, and the Bosque Farms Subway. (Of course, we've got some less healthy options, too, like Blake's Lotaburger, McDonald's, and Sonic Drive-in. Can't push those as "green" in any fashion, but they're there in walking or biking distance, for those craving junk food!)

• Another option for getting that local honey, that's so great for helping prevent seasonal allergies, is Bosque Honey Farm, not more than half a mile from my house.

• We've even got a little health food store, Back to the Basics, right on Highway 47, that offers organic foods, herbs, and vitamins.

• For the occasional non-healthy moods that strike most of us from time to time, we've got our own local donut place, too, called Paradise Donuts.

• I find I can even walk or bike to a surprising number of recreational activities: There's a bowling alley, tennis courts, riding arena, community center, and library all within my 2-mile circle as well.

So, OK, here in Bosque Farms, where it's a 15-minute drive to the nearest supermarket, I still find I can walk or bike to get organic food, fresh produce, local milk, honey, and apples, restaurant meals, and half a dozen leisure activities. And it's a plus for my figure, my pocketbook, and my carbon-footprint! What's in your 2-mile circle?

The latest buzz about honey is that it can actually help eliminate or reduce seasonal allergies, but there's one caveat: it's got to be very, very LOCAL honey!

Here's the idea:

Since bees make honey from pollen, which they collect from flowers in their area, by eating local honey produced right in your own neighborhood, you will be ingesting the same pollens that trouble you come spring. According to a recent article at www.citynews.ca, it's also important that the honey be raw and unfiltered, so as to tetain these pollens and not have them filtered out. This gradual exposure to the local pollens is thought to build the immune response to the pollens, much as immunological injections from an allergist gradually work to reduce the "hay-fever" symptoms of seasonal allergies to various pollens.

Veterinarian Michael W. Fox, in his column in the Washington Post, even recommends honey for relieving pets' seasonal allergies!

The key to the concept, though, is to have the honey be LOCAL, since it is local pollens that will be triggering your allergic response. It does no good to eat honey produced in California if you're living in Vermont!

We've always had the advantage of lots of local honey options here in Bosque Farms, NM, where we live. Our next-door-neighbors keep hives, and occasionally gift us with some of their fresh honey. That's about as local as it gets, since I'm not up to trying my hand at beekeeping myself! And then, there are two local honey farms right here in Bosque Farms, from which we've often bought honey. It's not next door, but it's within a mile or so, and I don't think we grow any plants around our house that don't also grow a mile down the road! And, if I'm out of honey, and decide to just pick some up while at the supermarket, our local grocery carries honey produced just down the road in Los Lunas, NM. Not quite as nearby, but I'll bet that five-mile strectch stille qualifies as pretty "local" as far as the pollen strains are concerned!

It's a thoroughly natural and green idea, and helps boost "buying local." Honey's also got a number of other pluses to it:

1. It's a good source of anti-oxidants
2. It's got 40% less calories than sugar, so is better for your diet
3. Honey is more easily digested than sugar

It seems it can't hurt, and may help, so get out there and find yourself some local honey. Try a couple of spoonfuls daily through the winter, and see if your spring allergies aren't improved!