November is a month steeped with traditions and family activities. One of my favorite traditions involved the Snow Charts. As I mentioned before, the kids were always apprehensive when the snow started to fly, because their father had to travel down the mountain road we lived on at that time. One snowy day in early November, I kept them busy making Christmas gifts for their grandmothers while we waited for my husband to call and say he arrived safely at work.
(The craft itself was a measuring stick for the yard, sort of like this…)
As we painted the pieces, we began to speculate about the coming winter and what they hoped would be a great amount of snowfall…and the idea of the snow charts was born. One child would be responsible for the Snow Depth Chart. The premise was simple. To win the prize, you had to be the most accurate predictor of how much snow we got at the house for the winter season. At dinner that night, my husband helped them determine the optimal place to put the measuring yardstick. The child who made this chart was responsible for accurately measuring the snow in the yard at that point and entering it on the chart. They also had to record on the chart everyone’s guess at what the final amount would be.
The other child would be responsible for the Snow Frequency Chart, which would maintain and record the number of storms and our predictions of when the largest snowfall of the season would occur. Naturally we had to vote on the rules, such as only storms dumping an inch or more of snow would be counted and the guess for when the largest snowfall occurred was expanded to a week and not a day. The responsibilities would switch every year and the kids were encouraged to make their charts as artistic as they could. And there were additional prizes, of course. The competition grew increasingly fierce as the kids got older, because they no longer coveted a $5 prize—they lobbied instead for Get-out-of chores FREE cards and longer curfews…LOL
I was researching the web for details about the first Thanksgiving and came across this website for an Inn (The Captain’s Manor Inn) that advertises for the Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts:
Travel back in time to the 1620’s at one of the country’s most popular living history museums: Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA!
We’ve all heard the legends of the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock and the first Thanksgiving. Now you can learn the real stories – and so much more – behind one of America’s first settlements. Plimoth Plantation offers an immersive recreation of a 17th-century English Village.
The living history museum recreates 7 and a half months of 1627 every year. The exhibit includes actors portraying historical residents in a painstakingly researched and reconstructed environment. Even the livestock are heritage breeds.
The museum has been in operation since 1947 and includes a colonial village with a fort, water-powered mill, and barns. You can also visit a Wampanoag village and a replica of the Mayflower! Best of all, it’s all just a little over a half-hour’s drive from our Falmouth bed and breakfast, The Captain’s Manor Inn!
Exploring Plimoth
When you visit the 17th-Century English Village at Plimoth Plantation, you’ll feel as if you’ve tumbled through a hole in time. The careful attention to detail and character is completely immersive and truly stunning. You have to experience it to believe it!
The village is filled with modest timber-framed houses and costumed, accented role-players. The homes and many characters you meet represent historical residents of Plymouth Colony. The homes have thatched roofs and include typical furnishings of the time, gardens, and functioning kitchens. Don’t be surprised to discover a pot bubbling away on the fire.
Costumed interpreters act as your intermediary, explaining daily village life and answering any questions you might have. The two-story fort guarding the entrance to the village provides an excellent view of the surrounding area and is a great place for a photo.
Barns at the plantation are home to historic breeds of cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and turkeys. In fact, Plimoth Plantation is part of a global effort to save these old and endangered breeds.
Wampanoag Homesite
The plantation is also home to a recreation of a Wampanoag Homesite that was in the area at the time.
The homesite includes traditional “wetu” huts made of wattle and daub. Staff at the Homesite wear traditional Wampanoag dress. They also demonstrate time honored crafts and activities, such as baking cornmeal cakes wrapped in grape leaves in the embers of a fire.
Unlike the actors at the English Village, however, the staff here are not role-players. Instead, these real indigenous people speak from a modern perspective about their tribe’s history and culture.
The Mayflower II
While in the area, you can also visit the Mayflower II, a full-scale reproduction of the ship the Pilgrims sailed to Plymouth in 1620. The Mayflower II was built in Devon, England in the 1950’s. The faithful replica includes solid oak timbers, tarred hemp rigging, and hand-colored maps.
The ship is just a short drive away in Plymouth Harbor, near Pilgrim Memorial State Park. You’ll marvel at how over 100 people managed to live in this tiny space at sea for more than 10 weeks!
The Mayflower II has been away for restoration but will return to Plymouth Harbor in time for the 400th anniversary during Memorial Day Weekend, 2020.
The plantation is located on Warren Avenue in Plymouth, MA and is open 9am to 5pm seasonally, from mid-March through the end of November.
Everyone knows pumpkin pie is the go-to dessert on Thanksgiving. But sometimes I’m way too full for pie and a cookie will suffice. So I went searching for Thanksgiving cookie recipes, and I found several options. Many of these cookies obviously are geared for children—like the cookies with an abundance of candies on them.
Another option is almost painting with frosting! They can be cute or elegant and definitely time consuming, and it seems like a lot of fuss for a single cookie. What is so cool about some of these though is the creativity in choosing a cookie cutter! The turkey faces are actually made with an ice cream cone cookie cutter turned upside down. The turkey legs are made by using a fish cookie cutter.
Personally, I like the last 2 options best—they’re quick and they’re cute! One is a pilgrim hat—made with a striped graham cracker cookie (upside down), a dollop of icing, a peanut butter cup, and a dash of orange gel icing. A chocolate wafer cookie could also be used as the hat brim.
The second is even simpler! A Hershey kiss, a mini Nilla wafer cookie, a dollop and a dot of frosting and a mini chocolate chip!
Of course, you can always skip the cookies, do the dishes, and then later have pie!
Edmund Fitzgerald, St. Mary’s River, 1975. Photo by Bob Campbell
The legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious and controversial of all shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes. Her story is surpassed in books, film and media only by that of the Titanic. Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot inspired popular interest in this vessel with his 1976 ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. Whitefish Point is the site of the Whitefish Point Light Station and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) has conducted three underwater expeditions to the wreck, 1989, 1994, and 1995.At the request of family members surviving her crew, Fitzgerald’s 200 lb. bronze bell was recovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society on July 4, 1995. This expedition was conducted jointly with the National Geographic Society, Canadian Navy, Sony Corporation, and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The bell is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew.The Fateful Journeyby Sean Ley, Development OfficerThe final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began November 9, 1975 at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1, Superior, Wisconsin. Captain Ernest M. McSorley had loaded her with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets, made of processed iron ore, heated and rolled into marble-size balls. Departing Superior about 2:30 pm, she was soon joined by the Arthur M. Anderson, which had departed Two Harbors, Minnesota under Captain Bernie Cooper. The two ships were in radio contact. The Fitzgerald being the faster took the lead, with the distance between the vessels ranging from 10 to 15 miles.Aware of a building November storm entering the Great Lakes from the great plains, Captain McSorley and Captain Cooper agreed to take the northerly course across Lake Superior, where they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore. This took them between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. They would later make a turn to the southeast to eventually reach the shelter of Whitefish Point.Weather conditions continued to deteriorate. Gale warnings had been issued at 7 pm on November 9, upgraded to storm warnings early in the morning of November 10. While conditions were bad, with winds gusting to 50 knots and seas 12 to 16 feet, both Captains had often piloted their vessels in similar conditions. In the early afternoon of November 10, the Fitzgerald had passed Michipicoten Island and was approaching Caribou Island. The Anderson was just approaching Michipicoten, about three miles off the West End Light.Captain Cooper maintained that he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. By this time, snow and rising spray had obscured the Fitzgerald from sight, visible 17 miles ahead on radar.At 3:30 pm that afternoon, Captain McSorley radioed Captain Cooper and said: “Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. I’m checking down. Will you stay by me till I get to Whitefish?” McSorley was checking down his speed to allow the Anderson to close the distance for safety. Captain Cooper asked McSorley if he had his pumps going, and McSorley said, “Yes, both of them.”
“The Wreck Site II” by David Conklin
As the afternoon wore on, radio communications with the Fitzgerald concerned navigational information but no extraordinarily alarming reports were offered by Captain McSorley. At about 5:20 pm the crest of a wave smashed the Anderson’s starboard lifeboat, making it unusable. Captain Cooper reported winds from the NW x W at a steady 58 knots with gusts to 70 knots, and seas of 18 to 25 feet.
According to Captain Cooper, about 6:55 pm, he and the men in the Anderson’s pilothouse felt a “bump”, felt the ship lurch, and then turned to see a monstrous wave engulfing their entire vessel from astern. The wave worked its way along the deck, crashing on the back of the pilothouse, driving the bow of the Anderson down into the sea.
“Then the Anderson just raised up and shook herself off of all that water – barrooff – just like a big dog. Another wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again. I watched those two waves head down the lake towards the Fitzgerald, and I think those were the two that sent him under.”
Keeping Watch
Morgan Clark, first mate of the Anderson, kept watching the Fitzgerald on the radar set to calculate her distance from some other vessels near Whitefish Point. He kept losing sight of the Fitzgerald on the radar from sea return, meaning that seas were so high they interfered with the radar reflection. First mate Clark spoke to the Fitzgerald one last time, about 7:10 pm:
“Fitzgerald, this is the Anderson. Have you checked down?”
“Yes, we have.”
“Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you.”
“Well,” answered Captain McSorley, “Am I going to clear?”
“Yes, he is going to pass to the west of you.”
“Well, fine.”
“By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problems?” asked Clark.
“We are holding our own.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll be talking to you later.” Clark signed off.
The radar signal, or “pip” of the Fitzgerald kept getting obscured by sea return. And around 7:15 pm, the pip was lost again, but this time, did not reappear. Clark called the Fitzgerald again at about 7:22 pm. There was no answer.
Captain Cooper contacted the other ships in the area by radio asking if anyone had seen or heard from the Fitzgerald. The weather had cleared dramatically. His written report states:
“At this time I became very concerned about the Fitzgerald – couldn’t see his lights when we should have. I then called the William Clay Ford to ask him if my phone was putting out a good signal and also if perhaps the Fitzgerald had rounded the point and was in shelter, after a negative report I called the Soo Coast Guard because I was sure something had happened to the Fitzgerald. The Coast Guard were at this time trying to locate a 16-foot boat that was overdue.”
With mounting apprehension, Captain Cooper called the Coast Guard once again, about 8:00 pm, and firmly expressed his concern for the welfare of the Fitzgerald. The Coast Guard then initiated its search for the missing ship. By that time the Anderson had reached the safety of Whitefish Bay to the relief of all aboard. But the Coast Guard called Captain Cooper back at 9:00 pm:
“Anderson, this is Group Soo. What is your present position?”
“We’re down here, about two miles off Parisienne Island right now…the wind is northwest forty to forty-five miles here in the bay.”
“Is it calming down at all, do you think?”
“In the bay it is, but I heard a couple of the salties talking up there, and they wish they hadn’t gone out.”
“Do you think there is any possibility and you could…ah…come about and go back there and do any searching?”
“Ah…God, I don’t know…ah…that…that sea out there is tremendously large. Ah…if you want me to, I can, but I’m not going to be making any time; I’ll be lucky to make two or three miles an hour going back out that way.”
“Well, you’ll have to make a decision as to whether you will be hazarding your vessel or not, but you’re probably one of the only vessels right now that can get to the scene. We’re going to try to contact those saltwater vessels and see if they can’t possibly come about and possibly come back also…things look pretty bad right now; it looks like she may have split apart at the seams like the Morrell did a few years back.”
“Well, that’s what I been thinking. But we were talking to him about seven and he said that everything was going fine. He said that he was going along like an old shoe; no problems at all.”
“Well, again, do you think you could come about and go back and have a look in the area?”
“Well, I’ll go back and take a look, but God, I’m afraid I’m going to take a hell of a beating out there… I’ll turn around and give ‘er a whirl, but God, I don’t know. I’ll give it a try.”
“That would be good.”
“Do you realize what the conditions are out there?”
No reply from the Coast Guard. Captain Cooper tries again.
“Affirmative. From what your reports are I can appreciate the conditions. Again, though, I have to leave that decision up to you as to whether it would be hazarding your vessel or not. If you think you can safely go back up to the area, I would request that you do so. But I have to leave the decision up to you.”
“I’ll give it a try, but that’s all I can do.”
The Anderson turned out to be the primary vessel in the search, taking the lead. With the ship pounding and rolling badly, the crew of the Anderson discovered the Fitzgerald’s two lifeboats and other debris but no sign of survivors. Only one other vessel, the William Clay Ford, was able to leave the safety of Whitefish Bay to join in the search at the time. The Coast Guard launched a fixed-wing HU-16 aircraft at 10 pm and dispatched two cutters, the Naugatuck and the Woodrush. The Naugatuck arrived at 12:45 pm on November 11, and the Woodrush arrived on November 14, having journeyed all the way from Duluth, Minnesota.
The Coast Guard conducted an extensive and thorough search. On November 14, a U.S. Navy plane equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector located a strong contact 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point. During the following three days, the Coast Guard cutter Woodrush, using a sidescan sonar, located two large pieces of wreckage in the same area. Another sonar survey was conducted November 22-25.
Finding the Fitzgerald
Restored Fitzgerald bell – Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
The following May, 1976, Woodrush was again on the scene to conduct a third sidescan sonar survey. Contacts were strong enough to bring in the U.S. Navy’s CURV III controlled underwater recovery vehicle, operating from Woodrush.
The CURV III unit took 43,000 feet of video tape and 900 photographs of the wreck. On May 20, 1976, the words “Edmund Fitzgerald” were clearly seen on the stern, upside down, 535 feet below the surface of the lake.
On April 15, 1977 the U.S. Coast Guard released its official report of “Subject: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, official number 277437, sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975 with loss of life.” While the Coast Guard said the cause of the sinking could not be conclusively determined, it maintained that “the most probable cause of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was the loss of buoyancy and stability resulting from massive flooding of the cargo hold. The flooding of the cargo hold took place through ineffective hatch closures as boarding seas rolled along the spar deck.”
However, the Lake Carrier’s Association vigorously disagreed with the Coast Guard’s suggestion that the lack of attention to properly closing the hatch covers by the crew was responsible for the disaster. They issued a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board in September, 1977. The Lake Carrier’s Association was inclined to accept that Fitzgerald passed over the Six Fathom Shoal Area as reported by Captain Cooper.
Later, in a videotaped conversation with GLSHS, Captain Cooper said that he always believed McSorley knew something serious had happened to Fitzgerald as the ship passed over Caribou Shoal. Cooper believes that from that point on, McSorley knew he was sinking.
Conflicting theories about the cause of the tragedy remain active today. GLSHS’ three expeditions to the wreck revealed that it is likely she “submarined” bow first into an enormous sea, as damage forward is indicative of a powerful, quick force to the superstructure. But what caused the ship to take on water, enough to lose buoyancy and dive to the bottom so quickly, without a single cry for help, cannot be determined.
Twenty-nine men were lost when the Fitzgerald went down. There is absolutely no conclusive evidence to determine the cause of the sinking. The bell of the ship is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew.
In my house growing up, Thanksgiving always featured the gelatinous cranberry sauce above. It wiggled on the plate as we passed it around—carefully avoiding my plate, thank you very much! I turned up my nose and passed it along. Thankfully when I wed, my husband had a similar revulsion to the stuff. However, upon researching cranberries for this open and seeing more appetizing versions, I realized I probably misjudged this berry. So I hereby apologize sincerely and if anyone reading this has a good recipe for homemade cranberry sauce, I would be more than willing to try it out. Read on for some interesting facts about cranberries from the justfunfacts.com website.
The name cranberry is used to describe tart red berries produced by several plant species.
In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species Vaccinium oxycoccos, while in North America, cranberry may refer to Vaccinium macrocarpon.
Vaccinium oxycoccos is cultivated in central and northern Europe, while Vaccinium macrocarpon is cultivated throughout the northern United States, Canada and Chile.
Vaccinium oxycoccos is known by the common names small cranberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry while Vaccinium macrocarpon is known by the common names large cranberry, American cranberry and bearberry.
Native Americans used the cranberries as a staple as early as 1550.
By 1620 Pilgrims learned how to use cranberries from the Native Americans.
The development of cultivated varieties cranberries occurred only during the past 100 years, making it one of the most recently domesticated fruit crops.
Cranberries are a major commercial crop in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec.
Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines that can grow up to 7 feet long and 2 to 8 inches in height.
They have slender, wiry stems that are not thickly woody and have small evergreen leaves.
The flowers are pink, with very distinct reflexed petals, leaving the style and stamens fully exposed and pointing forward. Small flowers appear in June and are pollinated by bees.
The fruit is a berry that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially light green, turning red when ripe. It is edible, but with an acidic taste that usually overwhelms its sweetness.
Berry picking begins in early September and continues until late October. More than 121,255 US tons are produced in the United States annually. Most cranberry products are consumed in the United States and Canada.
Cranberries are a very good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and manganese, as well as a good source of vitamin E, vitamin K, copper and pantothenic acid.
The health benefits of cranberries include relief from urinary tract infection (UTI), respiratory disorders, kidney stones, cancer and heart diseases. Cranberries are especially beneficial to the eyes (they significantly improve symptoms of cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy).
As fresh cranberries are hard, sour, and bitter, about 95% of cranberries are processed and used to make cranberry juice, sauce, compote or jelly.
They are also sold dried and sweetened.
Cranberry juice is usually sweetened or blended with other fruit juices to reduce its natural tartness.
Cranberry sauce is a traditional accompaniment to turkey at Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom, and at Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners in the United States and Canada.
Cranberries are also used in baking (muffins, scones, cakes and breads).
At one teaspoon of sugar per ounce, cranberry juice cocktail is more highly sweetened than even soda drinks that have been linked to obesity.
There are several alcoholic cocktails, including the Cosmopolitan, that include cranberry juice.
The Lenni-lenape Indians of New Jersey called the cranberry “Pakim” meaning ‘bitter berry.’ They used this wild red berry as a part of their food and as a symbol of peace and friendship. The Chippawas called the cranberry “a’ni-bimin,” the Alogonquin called it “atoqua,” and the Naragansetts called it “sasemineash.” Native Americans would eat it raw, mixed in with maple sugar, or with deer meat (as a dried “Pemmican”).
Cranberries were offered to the pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving.
(If, like me, you are discouraged by the current political rhetoric, you might be surprised to learn the last few elections have not been the weirdest or nastiest in our history. I stumbled upon this article by Stephanie Pappas that details what were 5 of the nastiest elections in our history in her opinion. Keep in mind when you read this, it’s dated 2012, so her list may have changed.)
Reading the political news, you’d think this election is the nastiest, most contentious and most important our nation has ever faced. No doubt the outcome matters, but in the annals of American elections, this one barely registers for sheer strangeness.
In fact, electoral politics have always been a down-and-dirty business, starting at least as early as 1800, when our founding fathers proved themselves adept at bitter battles. Other elections have featured nasty accusations, bizarre happenstance and even the death of one of the candidates.
Read on for five of the strangest presidential elections in U.S. history.
1. The very first one, 1788-1789
The first presidential election in our nation’s history was one-of-a-kind in that it was literally no contest. Organized political parties had yet to form, and George Washington ran unopposed. His victory is the only one in the nation’s history to feature 100 percent of the Electoral College vote.
The real question in 1788 was who would become vice president. At the time, this office was awarded to the runner-up in the electoral vote (each elector cast two votes to ensure there would be a runner-up.) Eleven candidates made a play for the vice-presidency, but John Adams came out on top.
2. It’s a tie, 1800
Electoral politics got serious in 1800. Forget the hand-holding peace of George Washington’s first run — political parties were in full swing by this time, and they battled over high-stakes issues (taxes, states’ rights and foreign policy alignments). Thomas Jefferson ran as the Democratic-Republican candidate and John Adams as the Federalist.
At the time, states got to pick their own election days, so voting ran from April to October (and you thought waiting for the West Coast polls to close was frustrating). Because of the complicated “pick two” voting structure in the Electoral College, the election ended up a tie between Jefferson and his vice-presidential pick, Aaron Burr. One South Carolina delegate was supposed to give one of his votes to another candidate, so as to arrange for Jefferson to win and Burr to come in second. The plan somehow went wrong, and both men ended up with 73 electoral votes.
That sent the tie-breaking vote to the House of Representatives, not all of whom were on board with a Jefferson presidency and Burr vice-presidency. Seven tense days of voting followed, but Jefferson finally pulled ahead of Burr. The drama triggered the passage of the 12th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which stipulates that the Electoral College pick the president and vice-president separately, doing away with the runner-up complications.
3. Things get nasty, 1828
Anything involving dueling war veteran Andrew Jackson was liable to get dirty, but the 1828 electoral battle between Jackson and John Quincy Adams took the cake for mudslinging. Jackson had lost out to Adams in 1824 after Speaker of the House Henry Clay cast a tie-breaking vote. When Adams chose Clay as his Secretary of State, Jackson was furious and accused the two of a “corrupt bargain.”
And that was before the 1828 election even got started, when Adams was accused of pimping out an American girl to a Russian Czar. Jackson’s wife, Rachel, was called a “convicted adulteress,” because she had, years earlier, married Jackson before finalizing her divorce to her previous husband. Rachel died after Jackson won the election, but before his inauguration; at her funeral, Jackson blamed his opponents’ bigamy accusations. “May God Almighty forgiver her murderers, as I know she forgave them,” Jackson said. “I never can.”
To round out a rough election, Jackson’s inauguration party (open to the public) turned into a mob scene, with thousands of well-wishers crowding into the White House.
“Ladies fainted, men were seen with bloody noses, and such a scene of confusion took place as is impossible to describe,” wrote Margaret Smith, a Washington socialite who attended the party.
4. Running against a corpse, 1872
In 1872, incumbent Ulysses S. Grant had an easy run for a second term — because his opponent died before the final votes were cast.
Grant had the election in the bag even before his opponent, Horace Greeley, died, however. The incumbent won 286 electoral votes compared with Greeley’s 66 after election day. But on Nov. 29, 1872, before the Electoral College votes were in, Greeley died and his electoral votes were split among other candidates. Greeley remains the only presidential candidate to die before the election was finalized.
5. The hanging chads, 2000
Democrat Al Gore beat Republican George W. Bush in the popular vote in the 2000 election, but the electoral vote was a close, and controversial, call. As election night drew to a close, New Mexico, Oregon and Florida remained too close to call.
It would be Florida that determined the winner, but not until the Supreme Court weighed in. For a month, the outcome of the election remained in recount limbo, as Gore’s campaign contested the vote count in several close counties and the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts engaged in a tug-of-war over whether to halt the recounts or extend their deadlines. Among the challenges faced by the hand counts: determining whether semi-attached scraps of paper, or “hanging chads,” on punch-card ballots should count as votes.
Ultimately, on Dec. 12, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a statewide recount was unconstitutional, alongside a further decision that the smaller recounts could not go forward. The decision meant the original vote counts stood, giving the election to Bush.
Thankfully, I am NOT referring to the butterball above! I’m talking turkey!!
Female turkeys don’t gobble, but they do purr.
Turkeys are known for the gobbling sound they make, but it turns out that only the male birds make that iconic call. Female turkeys—or hens—on the other hand, will instead cluck like a chicken, yelp if they’re excited or agitated, or purr like a cat (although, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation, it’s more of a “rolling, almost staccato call” than a purr, but it conveys the same feeling of contentment).
Turkeys were once primarily bred for their feathers, not their meat.
These days, farmers breed turkeys in order to sell them for their meat. But, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, up until 1935, the birds were bred for their “beautifully colored plumage,” which features stunning striped patterns.
An adult turkey has around 5,000 to 6,000 feathers.
Not only do turkeys have gorgeous feathers, but they also have a lot of them. According to the U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service, an adult turkey has anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 individual feathers on their body.
Male turkeys are called toms or gobblers.
Female turkeys are called hens, just like female chickens; but male turkeys aren’t roosters. Instead, they’re called toms, or, since male turkeys are the ones who make the notorious gobbling sound, they can also be called gobblers.
Toms have more warts than hens.
While some of the differences between male and female turkeys could be considered endearing—such as the noises they make and the names they’ve been given—there’s at least one difference between the two genders that isn’t quite so cute. Tom turkeys have more warts on their heads than their lady friends, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Hens also weigh about half as much as their male counterparts.
Male and female turkey droppings are shaped differently.
Although you might expect there to be a few differences between the way male and female turkeys look, you might be surprised to find out that there’s also a difference when it comes to their bathroom habits. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, male droppings are “j-shaped,” while those of females take on a more “spiral or curlicue” shape.
Turkeys hear certain sounds better than humans.
When you think about animals with amazing hearing, dogs, elephants, bats, or owls likely come to mind, but probably not turkeys. It turns out, however, turkeys can actually hear far-off and low-frequency sounds better than humans, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation. “Hearing allows the bird to detect a threat if its eyes are occupied on finding food,” retired regional biologist Bob Eriksen for the NWTF explains. “Wild turkeys have an uncanny ability to locate the source of a sound.”
Turkeys lived around 10 million years ago.
The woolly mammoth had its hey-day on Earth until about 10,500 years ago before eventually becoming extinct 4,000 years ago. While it’s hard to imagine a turkey flying above a gigantic woolly mammoth, the birds have actually been around for a lot longer. In fact, turkeys have been on the scene for almost 10 million years, according to the University of Illinois.
Turkeys almost went extinct—twice.
While turkeys aren’t currently an endangered species, there were two points in the past when we almost lost them completely. According to the Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine, the California turkey went extinct about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, likely due to climate change or overhunting, or a combination of the two. And when European settlers arrived in America, turkeys again found themselves as targets of prolific hunting. The birds were totally gone from Connecticut by 1813, disappeared from Vermont around 1842, and by the 1930s, turkeys were again growing dangerously close to extinction before efforts were taken to make sure they weren’t wiped out.
Turkeys were named after the “Turkish” area despite being from North America.
You might have wondered why turkeys have the name that they do despite the fact that they originated in North America. Encyclopedia Britannica explains that when the bird became popular in England, the name turkey-cock, formerly used for the guinea fowl found in Islamic (or “Turkish”) lands, was used to refer to the bird we know as a turkey today.
All but 12 U.S. states have turkeys.
While people in all 50 states enjoy turkey as a part of their Thanksgiving dinners, the birds, specifically Eastern wild turkeys, can be found roaming wild in 38 states in the U.S., according to the National Wild Turkey Federation. They can also be spotted in various provinces up in Canada.
Turkey beards grow three to five inches per year.
Yes, turkeys have beards, but they aren’t made of hair. Instead, turkey beards consist of modified feathers that form bristles or filaments, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Some turkeys even have multiple beards that can each grow up to three to five inches each year.
Turkeys can—and will—attack humans.
Turkeys may not have the fierce reputation that some fang-gnashing, claw-showing predators have earned, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have an aggressive side. In fact, turkeys are fully willing and able to attack humans. That’s why the Massachusetts government provides tips on how to prevent conflicts with turkeys while both CBS Boston and Good Day Sacramento offer insights into what to do should you find yourself as a victim of a turkey attack.
Store-bought turkeys can’t fly.
The turkey that you buy at the grocery store has been bred and raised to provide you with as much meat as possible. Because of this, they end up with unnaturally large breasts which hinder their ability to fly, according to The Patriot News.
Wild turkeys, however, can soar for over a mile.
Wild turkeys, on the other hand, are perfectly capable of taking flight. In fact, according to The Patriot News, they can reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour while in the air. And the Pennsylvania Game Commission reports they can soar for a mile or more by alternating between strong wingbeats and gliding.
Turkeys can run 12 miles per hour.
Some turkeys may not be able to fly, but their inability to get airborne doesn’t completely slow them down. Even while on the ground, they can still move at a pretty good clip, running upwards of 12 miles an hour, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Turkeys have more than doubled in size in the last 40 years.
If you’re able to feed your entire family with one turkey at Thanksgiving, that’s due to the fact that the birds have gotten much bigger over the years. As recently as 1980, the typical U.S. domesticated turkey weighed less than 19 pounds at slaughter—not much bigger than a wild turkey, according to the Pew Research Center. But nowadays, the average bird we carve up on Thanksgiving weighs 29.8 pounds, more than twice the average weight nearly 40 years ago.
We eat nearly 50 million turkeys each Thanksgiving.
Around 88 percent of Americans choose the traditional bird for their Thanksgiving meal, which means that around 46 million turkeys are eaten in the U.S. on that one day each year, according to the University of Illinois. It’s also a popular pick for other holidays as well, with 22 million and 19 million eaten each year on Christmas and Easter, respectively.
The average American eats 104.9 pounds of turkey every year.
Along with eating turkeys on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, Americans also enjoy the bird’s meat throughout the rest of the year in sandwiches, soups, and a range of other dishes. And according to 2015 data from U.S. News and World Report, the average U.S. citizen eats nearly 105 pounds of turkey annually.
Nearly 229 million turkeys were produced in the U.S. last year.
There are more than 330 million people in the United States. And in 2019 alone, 229 million turkeys were produced across the country, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Soon they might overtake us!
The world record for the fastest turkey carving is 3 minutes and 19.47 seconds.
On June 3, 2009, the U.K.’s Paul Kelly set the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to carve a turkey. He was able to successfully butcher the bird in just 3 minutes and 19.47 seconds!
We all know the turkey is the STAR of Thanksgiving, and even though that “puppet” above is do-it-yourself, lol, I was thinking of something a little more grownup. The first offering is painted mason jars. (Seems you can use mason jars for every holiday there is!)
They make a wonderful grouping, require little skill (being able to paint and glue) and they look awesome! If you’d like step by step instructions, please visit TheSoccerMomBlog.com
The second offering is also pumpkins, but these require certain skills.
This is from: woodyouliketocraft.blogspot.com. A slice is cut from a log (the skilled part). Then apply paint to nearly the edges. The “stem” is a 2 1/2 inch piece of thin wood glued to the back of the wood slice. Spray stiffener (starch) or mod podge can be applied to burlap, and then when dry, leaves can be cut from that. Spray the stiffener on thick jute to create the curlicue. (Wrap the jute around a thick dowel, apply the stiffener and allow to dry before sliding it off the dowel.) Glue in place.
The last offering is a “reclaimed” project that I adore!
When I saw the pilgrim pair, I remembered I had 2 wooden candle holders in a box in my basement. But they could be found at flea markets and yard sales. The heads are 2 inch wooden doll heads (Hobby Lobby $1.99 each). The hat is a reclaimed wooden napkin ring and a wooden disk (Hobby Lobby $.29 each). The collars and the lady’s hat brim are white foam remnants.
There are 2 ways to approach this project: glue the wooden pieces together before painting OR paint the pieces first and glue second.
The directions say to first remove the metal insert in the candle holders or bend them inward. Mine did not have them at all. He then glued his pieces together.
He painted the pilgrims next, allowed them to dry, and cut out the foam pieces. Then he glued the foam pieces on and viola, they’re done! Easy peasy!
My favorite use for cinnamon is, of course, warm cinnamon buns! But there are many interesting facts you might not know about cinnamon.
Cinnamon is the aromatic, inner bark of certain bushy, tropical, evergreen trees of the Cinnamomum genus.
It is native to Sri Lanka, the neighboring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma).
Cinnamon has been in use by humans for thousands of years—as early as 2,000 B.C. Egyptians employed it, as well as the related spice cassia, as a perfuming agent during the embalming process.
Evidence suggests it was used throughout the ancient world, and that Arab traders brought it to Europe, where it proved equally popular.
Legend holds that the Roman emperor Nero burned as much as he could find of the precious spice on the funeral pyre of his second wife Poppaea Sabina in A.D. 65 to atone for his role in her death.
In the first century A.D., Pliny the Elder wrote off 350 grams of cinnamon as being equal in value to over five kilograms of silver, about fifteen times the value of silver per weight.
Through the Middle Ages, the source of cinnamon remained a mystery to the Western world.
Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree 33-49 feet tall.
The leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, 3-7 inches long.
The flowers, which are arranged in panicles, have a greenish color, and have a rather disagreeable odor.
The fruit is a purple one-centimeter berry containing a single seed.
When harvesting the spice, the bark and leaves are the primary parts of the plant used.
It is principally employed in cookingas a condiment and flavoring material.
Cinnamon is often used in savory dishes of chicken and lamb.
In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavor cereals, bread-based dishes, such as toast, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is sold separately for such purposes.
Ground cinnamon is composed of around 11% water, 81% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and1%fat.
Cinnamon has a long history of use in traditional medicine.
The health benefits of cinnamon include its ability to help manage diabetes, protect against fungal and bacterial infections, increase brain function, prevent certain cognitive disorders, improve digestion, boost the strength of the immune system.
Cinnamon is a rich source of vitamin K, calcium, and iron, while providing moderate amounts of vitamin B6, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc.
Cinnamon constituents include some 80 aromatic compounds, including eugenol found in the oil from leaves or bark of cinnamon trees.
Cinnamon is a popular flavoring in numerous alcoholic beverages and cocktails.
Indonesia and China are world largest producers of cinnamon with 75% of the world’s supply.
The term “cinnamon” also is used to describe its mid-brown color.
In Exodus 30:23-4, Moses is ordered to use both sweet cinnamon (Kinnamon) and cassia (qəṣî`â) together with myrrh, sweet calamus (qənê-bosem, literally cane of fragrance), and olive oil to produce a holy oil to anoint the Ark of the Covenant.
Cinnamon also is mentioned in Proverbs 7:17-18, where the lover’s bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon. Psalm 45:8 mentions the garments of Torah scholars that smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
Cinnamon also is alluded to by Herodotus and other classical writers. According to Herodotus, both cinnamon and cassia grow in Arabia, together with incense, myrrh, and ladanum, and are guarded by winged serpents. The phoenix builds its nest from cinnamon and cassia.
Sew Colorful 