As I was leaving the office today a woman came in looking for medical attention. Even though my doctor had already gone home for the day I knew I could help her because I have a notebook full of numbers, an Internet connection, and a phone, plus I know how to triage if a situation requires 9-1-1. I jotted down a few numbers, copied a map to a local urgent care and provided the woman with an application to apply for state benefits (she was unemployed and did not have insurance). It took me all of ten minutes and as she walked out the door she turned to me to say, “You have helped me so much today and I want to thank you”.

This particular situation got me thinking about how we interact online and whether it should be any different from a face-to-face meeting. It is a given we do not have the body language, nor the facial expressions that help guide us when dealing with people and situations, yet don’t you agree online interactions have the bonus of heightening our senses? They gift us with the chance to pick up on certain phrases, words, or no-words from someone you usually chat with or e-mail all the time. Additionally, you have the power to leave good thoughts on a lens well done or positive advice on one that you naturally know has the potential to be more!

I’m leaving you with these questions to ponder (jot down your ideas in comments for our benefit):

• In your interactions online how do you lend a hand?
• Do you have resources available should someone ‘approach you’ with a question or advice?
• Is there someone you mentor with that can help you help someone else? (Two or more heads are better then one in many situations

Spring is just around the corner and with it comes some of my favorite garden goodies. I searched around Squidoo and found these must visit lenses that are all about Spring’s garden harvest!

Did not find noteworthy links on Squidoo to these Spring garden goodies…Fiddlehead Ferns, Mustard Greens, Snap Peas, Fava Beans, Dandelions, Watercress, Radishes, + more. Food for thought…build your spring garden idea lens and then share it here for all of us to enjoy!

**Please see my tip about sharing recipes at the end of this post…I think you may like to try it for your creations on Squidoo and beyond. If you are not able to download Jing and would like me to create a link for your lens, website, and or blog, please leave a note in the comments (you must add your e-mail for a return reply) and as time allows, I will create and then provide you with the link.

ARTICHOKES are related to the thistle plant. Left on the plant, it would expand into a beautiful purple flower. Very small, new artichokes are found mostly in spring, These can be sauteed and eaten whole because the choke hasn’t yet developed. I love mine steamed and dip the leaves and heart in melted lemon garlic butter.

I Heart Artichoke Dip! by Susan52
A is for Artichoke by KimGiancaterino

ASPARAGUS has been used from very early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavor and diruetic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’ third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter.

Asparagus by KCStargazer
Fresh Asparagus Recipes by rms
Chuck’s Asparagus Ham Wraps with Cheese by food6846

AVOCADO is a dense, evergreen tree, shedding many leaves in early spring. It is fast growing and can with age reach 80 feet, although usually less, and generally branches to form a broad tree. Avocado flowers appear in January – March before the first seasonal growth.

Homemade Guacamole Recipes by Naiza
I Love Avocados by awelldressedbullet

BEETS Although these root vegetables may be found in markets year-round, spring beets are tiny, tender and altogether exceptional. In addition to the vivid purple color that is associated with beets, recent years have seen new strains of the vegetable. Now there are golden and scarlet beets, as well as all sorts of striped, streaked, mottled and multicolored variants.

Beet and Blueberry Salad with Feta by chriskelley
Got Some Beets? Then You Can Make Your Own Baby Food by Mom_of_Two_Boys
Orange Pickled Beets by clouda9

LEEK cultivars can be subdivided in several ways, but the most common types are “summer leeks”, intended for harvest in the season when planted, and overwintering leeks, meant to be harvested in the spring of the year following planting. Summer leek types are generally smaller than overwintering types; overwintering types are generally more strongly flavored.

Healthy Vegetarian Recipes – Spicy Leek and Potato Soup by flighty02
How to Cook With Leeks by Lorenzo83
Ramp and Red Potatoes – A Delicious Recipe by JaguarJulie

MANGO fruit grows on a large evergreen tree that can reach 25 feet tall. Mango leaves are long, narrow and leathery. One mango tree can yield as many as 100 fruits in a year with fruit clusters usually ripening from spring to summer or fall to winter depending upon the variety. Fruits are ready for harvest 4 to 5 months after bloom.

Mango Salsa Recipe by QUILLE
All about Mangos by Superwife

VIDALIA ONION harvesting typically occurs from late April through mid-June. Standard practices in onion harvesting include undercutting the onions, allowing them to cure (air dry) for two to three days, clipping the tops and roots, bagging in burlap sacks, transporting to a warehouse, drying, grading, bagging or boxing, and shipping.

Vidalia Chicken Salad by chickendumplinchick
Gator’s Chili by GatorBlair

**TIP…I have been using Jing for a few months now and am slowly adding links to recipes that I offer on my lenses. Bonus for doing this for your visitors is that you give them something to take away from your share, as well as outside promotion of your lens…because you always add a link to your page. Here are a couple that I made from lenses I visited today, plus a few that I already have on my own lenses. Please feel free to take away any of the links, share and share alike.

Garlicky Holy Guacamole
Beet Salad with Blueberries and Feta
Texas Sheet Cake
Baked Mac and Cheese