Flap Your Wings!

HELLO!

I have a lot on my mind this morning, so let’s get started 😊

First up is a traffic update from up here in Maine. We are in full tourist season mode and that entitles everyone, including locals, to drive faster and sometimes dumber than they usually would. It is amazing to see the number of people who are actually on vacation…trying to relax…who tetter on road rage. Not sure why you took a break from the city…just slow down, relax, get to where you are going and calmly watch a sunset!

Our three baby birds are growing. I identified momma as a wren, so they are aptly named Ben, Ken and Yoshi. Here is a two-day old photo and obviously I interrupted dinnertime!

Here is a four-day old photo.

Oops. Sorry. Wrong picture. Here is them really at four days. You can see they fill up the next a bit more and since I accidentally included my thumb, you can see how small the nest is. They were fast asleep in this picture.

Have you ever wondered how some fruits and vegetables are named? Well, I have and it is usually while I am out on the garden weeding.

It seems there was this Egyptian landowner, Bosimini, back around 600 AD who had a big spread on the river Nile. He had workers who tended to his crops, making sure water from the river flowed to the many trees and shrubs he planted to help feed the surrounding towns. In charge of all the workers was his most-trusted man servant.

One day, Bosimini was surveying some of his trees that had this bright yellow fruit on it. He asked his servant what they were called. The servant could only reply, “Sir, you have not yet named this fruit.”

Bosimini started to walk away and called back over his shoulder, “Come, Kwat” to his man servant. And to this day, that is still what they are called.

Now you can dispute that story all you want but I am sticking to it. Seems like all you have to do is put it out there enough and it becomes folk lore. But I did a little more digging into kumquats and I might have to get a couple of trees! While they used to be a tender thing to grow, needing lots of sun and heat, there are now varieties than can stand temperatures down to -10 degrees. I will keep you posted if I get any!

Then there is the story of Arthur from Seattle, Washington. He was born and raised there but always yearned for a warmer, drier climate. Soon after graduating high school, he moved south to the fertile San Joaquin Valley in central California.

After working a few years and saving his money, Arthur purchased a few acres of land on which to start a farm. At first, he grew tomatoes and cucumbers. Once he learned the ways of farming better, Arthur wanted to try his hand at some other fruits and vegetables. The tomatoes and cucumbers paid the bills, but the people seemed to want something more exotic and the more exotic it was, the more they seemed to pay for it.

So, Arthur searched for just the right crop, traveling the world to find his niche. When he was in Greece, in the Mediterranean, he found this one vegetable, the kaktos as the Greeks called them, and brought it back to his home in California. Arthur had studied how they grew the kaktos, how they harvested the vegetable and how they served it, as he knew that would have to be part of his merchandising scheme.

When his first crop was ready for harvest, he invited all the food chain owners to his home to feast on the new product. He had now been in the area a good ten years, and everyone had grown fond of Arthur. As he was mingling at the party, people were excited to be there.

The mayor clapped hm on the back and said, “Arty, thanks for being a great neighbor and community supporter!”

But it was too late for too much conversation, as the chefs had started to bring out the new food, the kaktos! Arthur went to the head table to make his opening speech.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you all for coming to taste my newest creation! Allow me to show you the best way to savor our kaktos!”

With that, Arty pulled apart his kaktos, dipped a part of it in a garlic butter, and stuck it in his mouth. But he could not catch his breath and fell to the floor, gasping for air. Within minutes, Arty was dead.

And to this day, they are called artichokes. Whether you believe that or not will depend on how much desert land you would like to buy, but I'm guessing you will remember the story :)

But now, look at these things!

If I had brought one of those things home, the first thing my mother would have said was, "Keep that out of your mouth!" The plant itself looks like an intrusive weed!

I think I will stick with the kumquat!

It is now time for my second cup of coffee on this marvelous summer day. We finally got some rain last night after three weeks of barely a dew in the morning. Last year in July we received 7 inches of rain. Before last night’s rain, it was 0.75 for the month. Our tomato and cucumber plants look happy as I look at them through my office window. I checked the rain gauge and we got a wee bit over 1.5 inches. THANK YOU!!!

I wish you all a tremendous day and rest of your week! PEACE OUT!!!!!