Weather ~ Brush Hog Dave ~ Picture of the Day ~ Ladybugs ~ Tomato Pie ~ National Solitaire Day

 

 

Good 40º clear sunny morning. We topped at 82º yesterday.

 

 

Yesterday morning early Dave Bourisaw showed up with his tractor and brush hog to cut down all the grass in my pastures.

He will be back today to finish.

 

 

 

Picture of the Day
...I'm keeping and eye on the ladybug!

 

 

 

Interesting about ladybugs.....

The name coccinellids is derived from the Latin word coccineus meaning "scarlet". The name ladybird originated in Britain where the insects became known as "Our Lady's bird" or the Lady beetle. Mary (Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings, and the spots of the seven-spot ladybird (the most common in Europe) were said to symbolise her seven joys and seven sorrows. In the United States, the name was adapted to ladybug. Common names in some other European languages share associations; for example, the German name Marienkäfer translates to Marybeetle.

 

Coccinellids are often conspicuously coloured yellow, orange, or red with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, heads and antennae. There is, however, great variation in these colour patterns. For example, a minority of species, such as Vibidia duodecimguttata, a twelve-spotted species, have whitish spots on a brown background. Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 6,000 species described.

 

Most coccinellids have round to elliptical, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. Depending on the species, they can have spots, stripes, or no markings at all. Seven-spotted coccinellids are red or orange with three spots on each side and one in the middle; they have a black head with white patches on each side.

 

As well as the usual yellow and deep red colourings, many coccinellid species are mostly, or entirely, black, dark grey, gray, or brown.

 

The main predators of coccinellids are usually birds, but they are also the prey of frogs, wasps, spiders, and dragonflies. The bright colours of many coccinellids discourage some potential predators from making a meal of them. This phenomenon, called aposematism, works because predators learn by experience to associate certain prey phenotypes with a bad taste. A further defence, known as "reflex bleeding", exists in which an alkaloid toxin is exuded through the joints of the exoskeleton, triggered by mechanical stimulation (such as by predator attack) in both larval and adult beetles, deterring feeding.

 

 

In North America, coccinellids usually begin to appear indoors in the autumn when they leave their summer feeding sites in fields, forests, and yards and search out places to spend the winter. Typically, when temperatures warm to the mid-60s °F in the late afternoon, following a period of cooler weather, they will swarm onto or into buildings illuminated by the sun. Swarms of coccinellids fly to buildings in September through November depending on location and weather conditions. Homes or other buildings near fields or woods are particularly prone to infestation.

 

 

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

This summer, how about using those ruby red tomatoes to bake up something a little unusual but a whole lot tasty? We call it Summer's Best Tomato Pie and it's so fresh and creamy, you're gonna have a hard time stopping at one slice. With tomatoes being such a great summer food buy, you may want to bake one for a friend, too!

 

• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

 

1. Preheat oven to 450º. Unroll pie crust and place in a 9-inch pie plate; fold edges under and crimp. Prick bottom and sides of crust with a fork. Bake 8 minutes, remove from oven, and reduce oven to 350 degrees F.
    
2. Arrange tomato slices in crust. In a medium bowl, combine egg, heavy cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper; mix well and pour over tomatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
    
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let sit 5 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
   
   

 

 

 

Historically this date....

1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".

1915 – Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain other than Mount St. Helens to erupt in the contiguous US during the 20th century.

1942 – World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.

1960 – An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.

1968 – The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.

1992 – After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.

2004 – The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado(part of the May 2004 tornado outbreak sequence) that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide, which kills one resident.

2008 – The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an EF4 and an EF5 tornado, between May 22 and May 31, 2008. The tornadoes struck 19 states and one Canadian province.

2011 – An EF5 Tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri killing 161 people, the single deadliest tornado in the United States since modern record keeping began in 1950.

 

And births this date include....

1938 – Richard Benjamin, American actor

.....still married to Paula Prentis!

 

1940 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (d. 2011)

 

1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Sunday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

 

On May 22, National Solitaire Day recognizes a card game that has been around for more than 200 years.

Also known as Klondike, the classic version of the game uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The object of the game is to clear the board by creating a stack of cards from low to high in each suit. If the player completes each suit, the player wins the game of Solitaire.

It wasn’t until 1990 when Microsoft included Solitaire in Windows 3.0 that the game truly went viral. Microsoft Solitaire successfully helped teach computer users how to use a mouse and, in the process, ended up becoming one of the most played video games in history.

“…For the past 30 years, Microsoft Solitaire has been providing great entertainment to hundreds of millions of players in every corner of the world, and we’re happy to announce that May 22 of each calendar year will officially be designated as National Solitaire Day, recognizing the day Microsoft first included Solitaire in Windows,” says Paul Jensen, Studio Manager for Microsoft Casual Games.

In 2012, Microsoft evolved Solitaire into the Microsoft Solitaire Collection. These changes feature five of the top Solitaire games in one app. Since then, the game has been played by over 242 million people.

HOW TO OBSERVE

There’s no need to be particularly productive to celebrate the day – just play some Solitaire! Either on a computer, laptop, tablet, phone, or “go retro” and play using real cards. 

NATIONAL SOLITAIRE DAY HISTORY

Microsoft founded National Solitaire Day on May 22, 2018, to celebrate one of the most played computer games. In 2015, Microsoft Solitaire celebrated its 25th anniversary. National Solitaire Day continues that celebration with an annual event recognizing the contributions Microsoft Solitaire has provided in the computer age of the game.

 

30th Anniversary Details

May 22nd, 2020 marked the 30th Anniversary of Microsoft Solitaire. With a worldwide appeal, Microsoft Solitaire Collection hosts tens of millions of players per month, from over 200 countries, in 65 different languages. Even after 30 years, Microsoft Solitaire remains among the most played games on the planet. Within this vast and diverse audience, players complete over 100 Million hands of Solitaire every day! Inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame in 2019, it is incredible to see what has transpired from a simple game that came with the Windows 3.0 operating system. 30 years later, Microsoft is excited to celebrate this major milestone with fans across the globe.

In 2018, the Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed the day to be observed on May 22nd, annually.