Good 38º cloudy morning.
Yesterday the dark clouds and gloom hung out for awhile...
Then the clouds lifted and we had blue sky and wind. We topped at 76º.
That gloom didn't bother Dude... he was still a happy camper laying on the grass and keeping an eye on the gate!
Picture of the Day... perfect timing
Interesting about Ben Franklin's choice of our national bird....
Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Also, he was a famous writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, etc. If he had his way at the time, the turkey would have been named the national bird of the USA.
U.S. history tells us the story that Ben Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol. The story began to circulate in American newspapers around the time of the country’s centennial and were based on a January 26, 1784, letter in which he panned the eagle and extolled the virtues of the gobbler (turkey) to his daughter, Sarah. In doing so he was not delivering a critique of the Great Seal of the United States but a new medal issued by the Society of the Cincinnati, an association of Continental Army veterans. “For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country,” he wrote. The Founding Father argued that the eagle was “a bird of bad moral character” that “does not get his living honestly” because it steals food from the fishing hawk and is “too lazy to fish for himself.” In contrast, Franklin called the turkey “a much more respectable bird” and “a true original native of America.”
Here's Mr. and Mrs. Wild Texas Turkey in my yard....
From Mr. Food
Drive your gang wild by serving 'em the creamiest, cheesiest, and most flavorful whipped potatoes they've ever eaten. Our Drive 'Em Wild Potatoes combine some of the tastiest ingredients out there to create the ultimate side dish recipe. They're perfect alongside any of your favorite main dishes!
- 3 cups warmed mashed potatoes
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons real bacon bits
- 2 tablespoons sliced fresh chives, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Preheat oven to 375º. Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, 1 tablespoon chives, and pepper; mix well. Spoon into the casserole dish and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is golden. Sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve.
***Feel free to use either instant of homemade mashed potatoes, whatever works for you!
Historically this date...
1328 – Wars of Scottish Independence end: Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton – the Kingdom of England recognizes the Kingdom of Scotland as an independent state.
1707 – The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1785 – Kamehameha I, the king of Hawaii, defeats Kalanikupule and establishes the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1884 – Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.
1915 – The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans, rousing American sentiment against Germany.
1930 – The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City
1945 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are murdered by Magda by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths.
1948 – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as leader.
1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
1960 – Cold War: U-2 incident – Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spy plane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
1991 – Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics steals his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment is overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitches his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record.
2007 – The Los Angeles May Day mêlée occurs, in which the Los Angeles Police Department's response to a May Day pro-immigration rally become a matter of controversy.
2011 – Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks is killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Due to the time difference between the United States and Pakistan, bin Laden was actually killed on May 2.
And births this date include...
1852 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman (d. 1903)
1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian actor (d. 2006)
1925 – Scott Carpenter, American astronaut (d.2013)
Darn! He was so cute when he was young!
1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer and actor
All I know. Nuff said. Happy TGIF. Ciao.
xo Sue Mom Bobo
On May 1st, May Day ushers in a traditional celebration of flowers and spring. In many ancient calendars, May 1st welcomed the first day of summer. This was truly a cause for celebration.
One of the more popular rituals was harvesting flowers and giving them to neighbors and strangers in cone-shaped baskets. These May Baskets become more commonly known as May Day Baskets. The current tradition is observed by hanging a cone-shaped basket full of flowers or other gifts on the outside doorknob, then knocking or ringing the doorbell and running away.
May Day has been a traditional day of celebration for centuries, with some of the earliest appearing in pre-Christian times. In English tradition, the observance is celebrated by crowning a May Queen and dancing around a maypole. The Finnish recognize a carnival-type celebration in the streets that includes a special type of lemonade made with lemons, brown sugar, and yeast. In France, it is correct to give people either dogwood or lily of the valley while Italians celebrate with a seasonal feast in honor of the arrival of spring.
HOW TO OBSERVE
While there are several ways to celebrate the day, don’t limit yourself to just one! Choose several of these spring options:
- Dance! Either dance around a May Pole or just dance with someone near to you.
- Plant flowers. Make a point of planting wildflowers and you will attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
And, today is also............
National Mother Goose Day on May 1st each year honors Mother Goose and the imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes we loved as children. Mother Goose is often illustrated as an elderly countrywoman in a tall hat and shawl, but she is also sometimes depicted as a goose wearing a bonnet.
Enjoy two different versions of Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater:
(Originally dated in Mother Goose’s Quarto c1825)
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had another, and didn’t love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.
Had another, and didn’t love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.
(Most well-known version)
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he keeps her very well.
NATIONAL MOTHER GOOSE DAY HISTORY
Charles Perrault is believed to be the initiator of the fairy tale genre when he published his fairy tale collection in 1695. His publication marks the first authenticated starting-point for the Mother Goose stories. An English version of Perrault’s collection appeared in 1729: Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past Times, Told by Mother Goose. These fairy tales introduced Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, and others. Mother Goose’s Melody – A book of poems for children was published in 1781 and has been enjoyed by billions since then.
In 1987, Gloria T. Delamar in tandem with the publication of her book, Mother Goose; From Nursery to Literature founded Mother Goose Day. For more information on National Mother Goose Day visit The Official Home of the Mother Goose Society.
