Here’s a Few Fun Facts surrounding our Winter Solstice
Did you know ……
In Latin, ‘solstice’ translates into ‘sol’ meaning the sun, and ‘sistere’ meaning to stand still.
“For only one brief astronomical moment in time, the sun stands completely still.”*
*In reality, the sun never stands still. If it did, from our perspective, that would mean the earth suddenly stopped orbiting and rotating. Not desirable!
Did you know ……
The winter solstice is often called midwinter, the longest night, or the shortest day. It refers to a moment in time in which the period of daylight is at its shortest. In the Northern Hemisphere, this always happens between December 20 and 23. On this day, the 23.5 degree tilt of the earth’s axis of rotation engulfs the North Pole in continuous darkness or twilight.
Did you know ……
Yule is an ancient pagan season rooted in Norse, Germanic, and Celtic traditions, originally celebrated around the winter solstice. It honored the rebirth of the sun, the endurance of life during deep winter, and the protective power of fire and community. Yule symbolically bridged darkness and the gradual return of light. Today’s modern holiday customs, such as candles, feasting, evergreen decorations, and gatherings, have been influenced by those Pagan rituals of the past. And today, the blending of Yule’s myth and cultural memory appeals to those seeking grounding rituals, nature-based practices, and a deeper connection to seasonal cycles.
For more fun facts about Winter Solstice, check out these past posts shared on December 21, 2022 and 2024.
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Thanks to all for following my creative adventures over the past year(s). Your thoughtful comments and likes are truly appreciated. I’m looking forward to another full year of learning and sharing information about our fascinating natural world. As always, thanks for coming along!
Wishing everyone all the best this winter season and brilliant sunshiny days in the coming year.
My search for still-beautiful Autumn leaves, half hanging, half fallen to the ground, took me to Albuquerque where temperatures hadn’t yet dipped below zero. Striking ‘gold’ in a large vacant parking lot next to a Disc Golf course, are at least 30 full-grown Sycamore trees with what looked to be full canopies of foliage still clinging tight. But for all the leaves yet to fall, there must’ve been 50x that number covering the ground. The morning breeze was causing the recently-fallen leaves to skid across the pavement in jerky movements, coming to rest in the parking lot’s gutters.
It was in these ankle deep gutter piles where the range of leaf sizes, colors and patterns were found. These 1” to 10” broad, palmately veined and ragged-toothed leaves appeared locked together like pieces from a newly-opened 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. And, oh my! The lid to the box just blew away! Now I was faced with a dizzying jumble of multi-colored golden-yellows, burnt oranges, Ruddy duck rust, fading-to-spring greens and saddle browns. It was from these ankle deep gutter piles that I collected Autumn leaves for this project.
Lost in thought, I overlooked the white noise of the city ……. traffic mostly, constantly humming and impatiently honking ……. until a painful ringing in my ears invaded the relative calm of the morning. No longer able to think, I turned around and found an invasion of leaf blowers! Never was there a more loudly screaming, obnoxiously noxious sound. Coming closer and closer, louder and more insistent, their ear-muffled and gas-masked operators approached without hesitation, each blowing away (to where?) every bit of the “unsightly and offending” leaf-litter in their path.
Luna approving of my Sycamore leaf selection
Dang-blasted!
It finally dawned on me this Friday morning that the vacant parking lot only opened for use on Sunday’s. Not agreeable to working weekends, the leaf blower operators were determinedly cleaning up the “messy” lot for the regular Sunday crowd. I was in their way.
Saving as many fallen Sycamore leaves as my collection bags could hold, and silently wishing all remaining leaves a happy landing somewhere on a nutrient-needy plot of land, I ran for the quiet of my car.
My Fallen Leaf Project
Using Sycamore leaves collected from that vacant Albuquerque parking lot, I tried my hand at a new technique; combining watercolor layers with layers of colored pencil. Using my new set of Van Gogh watercolors, I began each leaf with a layer of plain water followed by a light base layer, mixing Azo yellow medium with a touch of Yellow ochre. The bottom leaf (which was the underside of the top leaf) was duller and lighter in color, calling for a bit of Permanent lemon yellow. Allowing that layer to dry, I used various earthy colors from my set of Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils over the watercolor wash, mixing and matching the colors of my pencils with the actual leaf colors. This step tended to leave some areas uncolored with the pencils, so I applied another watercolor wash with Sap green, Burnt Sienna+Yellow ochre, and/or Madder lake deep+Azo yellow medium. I finished each leaf with a Dark sepia colored pencil outline, tipped the leaf margins with Dark sepia, and added shadowing first with Payne’s grey watercolor then Dark sepia colored pencil.
12 half-pan watercolor set and color swatch
The leaves were painted on 140# Canson XL Watercolor paper
Faber-Castell colored pencil set
If you have and questions or comments, please let me know. If you use this combined media technique, any tips you’d like to share would be greatly appreciated too.
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I’d like to send a shout-out and my deep gratitude to Wendy Hollender, botanical artist/illustrator/teacher extraordinaire, who announced in her newsletter free access for over a week to 19 of her bite-sized video lessons. Designed as companions to her book, The Joy of Botanical Drawing, each lesson focused on a different botanical subject and how to artistically render them using watercolor and colored pencil combined. I’ve always wanted to learn this technique and gave it a try with her leaf examples and then mine. Incorporating both media into the same painting was very challenging and way out of my comfort zone.
Thanks so much Wendy, for such wonderful lessons and your fabulous companion book! With lots more practice, my goal is that some day my botanical art looks as natural, skilled and professional as yours.
Go ahead and ‘Zip,’ ‘Lace,’ or ‘Snap,’ but don’t forget to ‘Button,’ for today we celebrate National Button Day! And not just Button, the noun ….. that often round, oval, and curiously odd-shaped fastener useful for bravely closing shirts and blouses, trousers, and shorts, skirts, jackets …… but Button-ing, the verb …. the ubiquitous and organized hobby of button collecting officially recognized by the National Button Society. Don’t you think it’s about time to Honor the Button!?
Throughout history, buttons have been mostly functional – used to fasten pieces of cloth together. But their intentional use as decoration is well documented.
The oldest known button was found in the Indus Valley, a region of modern Pakistan. Estimated to be around 5,000 years old, it was made from a curved shell and has a flat face that fits into a loop. This unbelievably old button is believed to have been used solely as decoration. (Wonder who the button artist was?)
Ancient Romans, who lived from the 8th century B.C.E. To the 5th century C.E., also made and used buttons. Because they wore loose-fitting garments made of heavy material, their buttons were thick and made of horn, wood, and bronze.
But the button didn’t serve as a functional fastener until the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries C.E), when buttons were used for more fitted clothing for men and women.
Button makers didn’t become popular until the 1600s. During that time, buttons could only be afforded by wealthy men and women, becoming a symbol of prosperity and prestige.
In the 1890s, in response to the fast-growing ready-to-wear industry, freshwater pearl button manufacturing exploded. In factories from Wisconsin to Iowa to Arkansas, workers used tubular saws to cut round blanks from mussel and clam shells, which were ground to standard thickness, then faced, drilled, and polished.
But it wasn’t until the 1920s, that button prices became more affordable and could be worn by everyone. This was primarily because buttons were made of inexpensive synthetic materials and could be made in larger sizes, in a rainbow of colors. Becoming increasingly common, ready-to-wear fashions began featuring buttons that were not only functional but decorative.
Today, buttons can be simple disks with two to four holes, and are made of metals, plastics, resins, and acrylics. But button makers still create more elaborate designs. If you can imagine it, there’s probably a button like it. From animals and food to iconic buildings and famous people, button makers make them. They’re colorful and fun and designed to be decorative. While the fun ones may be less practical, they’re still made to function.
What Makes a Button?
Over the millennia, people have made buttons from a variety of materials. In ancient times, buttons were formed from natural and readily available substances such as stone, shell, bone, clay, or wood. Some rare antique buttons (those more than 100 years old) made of early plastics like celluloid or Bakelite are highly collectible, as are those made from bone, stone or wood, glass or metal, and shells such as mother of pearl or tortoiseshell. (Note: if your grandma left you her button jar, look for buttons made from just about anything but modern plastic ….. they may be considered collectibles and might demand a hefty price! (Do I see an Antiques Roadshow in your future?)In more modern times, metals, plastics, resins, and acrylics have been used.
The Art of Buttoning
Did your grandma or mom snip the buttons off clothes headed for the rag bag? So many buttons collected in jars or tins. One day I discovered a decorative fruitcake tin high on a closet shelf. Afraid a waxed paper-wrapped brick of cake might still be ‘mulling’ inside, I held my breath and took a look. Instead of a dense cake, the tin was heavy with the weight of hundreds of colorful orphaned buttons! Running my hand through the collection, it was easy to imagine I’d stumbled upon a treasure chest of gold as the buttons fell between my fingers back into the tin! That ‘treasure’ continued to feed my imagination for years. They became great substitutes for missing Jax pieces; strung together, buttons made draped garlands, tree ornaments, a bracelet and necklace; even a stuffed bear who was ‘blind’ in one eye, regained his ‘sight’ after receiving a button transplant.
Today, the National Button Society (NBS), with a membership of over 3,000, reports there are thousands of button collectors in the United States (are you one of them?). Also, more than 70% of states have their own button societies (now that’s just ‘cute as a button’), and countless smaller, local clubs exist across the country.
Did You Know ………
As of May of 2001, Guinness World Records certified that Dalton Stevens, from South Carolina, had the largest collection of buttons in the world. With a total of 439,900 unique buttons, he was also known as the “Button King.” His collection is housed in a museum in Bishopville, South Carolina, and features numerous objects covered with his unique buttons, including a car, an outhouse, and a coffin.
Another large button collection can be experienced at the The Waterbury Button Museum, located on the top floor of the Mattatuk Museum in Waterbury, CT. This collection of over 20,000 buttons was donated by the Waterbury Companies in December 1999, and includes buttons from around the world. From mass-produced military buttons to handmade fashion buttons, the display includes buttons made from glass, bone, jade, porcelain, plastic, and metal. The buttons represent the history of Waterbury, which became synonymous with button manufacturing, particularly for military uniforms, since 1812.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL BUTTON DAY
Do you have a fun button collection? Are you a member of a local button group? Have you joined The Official Button Lovers Group on Facebook? If you’re intrigued by buttons after reading this post, or want to be, here’s some ideas to pique your curiosity and cultivate a budding love of buttons:
Start a button collection
Make a button necklace or bracelet
Design a craft using buttons
Make an ornament using buttons
Play a game with buttons, like Tic Tac Toe or Checkers
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Did you ever imagine you would be thinking twice (or more times) about buttons today? I certainly didn’t! So why not come along with me and jump on that button-covered Band Wagon to celebrate and pay homage to the hard-working button, the “fossil of the sartorial world.”
But more than anything, have a fun National Button Day, because as J.D. Barber once said, “Trying to make the presidency work these days is like trying to sew buttons on a custard pie.”
As always, thanks for clicking on your email button today, and stopping by!
Today is the second Monday in October ….. a day to pause and honor the deep roots, rich cultures, and enduring spirit of the first peoples of this land. Native American Day celebrates the history, contributions, and resilience of Native American tribes all across the nation.
Yesteryears
Native American Day honors all Native Americans. South Dakota led the way, officially changing Columbus Day to Native American Day in 1990 after a “Year of Reconciliation” was declared by Governor George S. Mickelson. California soon followed. In recent years, the movement has gained national momentum. Many states and cities have chosen to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the same date. Then in 2021, President Joseph Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation for National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, marking a significant step in acknowledging and respecting the history and contributions of America’s first inhabitants.
Celebrating the second Monday in October is more than acknowledging the past ….. it’s a day to recognize the living cultures that continue to enrich our country’s tapestry. It’s an opportunity to move beyond stereotypes and learn about the diverse traditions, languages, and stories that have shaped this continent for millennia. Native American Day also highlights the efforts to revitalize and preserve hundreds of indigenous languages, each one a unique expression of culture and knowledge. When we celebrate Native American Day, we celebrate the incredible diversity of traditions. Instead of a single culture, there are hundreds of distinct nations, each with its own unique customs.
Storytelling and Art Making
Native Americans have a powerful storytelling tradition of oral history, where foundational stories, lessons, and legacies were and still are passed down through generations. Many of these stories of life and culture are told through artwork, from ancient pictographs (rock paintings) and petroglyphs (images cut into rocks by pecking, incising or abrading) created by the indigenous peoples that lived throughout America, the intricate beadwork of the Plains tribes, the iconic pottery of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest, to contemporary painting and sculpture. Native art is a cornerstone of American culture.
New Mexico Rock Art
Images painted on and carved into rock that were used in ancient storytelling can be found throughout my home state of New Mexico. Many of these sites are protected and preserved by federal designation as National historic landmarks, National Parks, and by the Bureau of Land Management as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, and as a significant part of our Archaeological heritage.
Traditional cultures and customs continue to fascinate me, and in “drawing” attention to the important contribution rock art has and continues to play, I wished to shared some of the designs (symbols) created by Native American tribes indigenous to the 4-corners region of the Southwest, with focus on those found in New Mexico. The Kokopelli symbol, the dancing flute player, is a familiar and favorite character throughout the area and has many meanings tied to fertility and harvest. The symbol depicted shows Kokopelli with a hump in his back where he carries seeds ready for planting, while he plays his flute, a symbol of warmth. He also carries a sunflower disk flower (the ‘complete’ inflorescence) to display fertility, the Sun symbol for happiness, and several crop symbols designed by the Acoma, Hopi, and Navajo.
A Kokopelli created in 2017 … on toned grey paper and colored with Prismacolors
The very first known Kokopelli images appeared on ancient Hohokam pottery, dating from between 850 and 750 C.E. The drawing of the Kokopelli petroglyph, in the bottom left of my panel, is inspired by one of these first images that was discovered near Embudo, NM.
Ideas to Celebrate Native American Day ….. Learn, listen and engage by …..
.…. reading a book by a Native American author, such as Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie or Tommy Orange,
….. exploring a museum or a state historic site to learn firsthand about the lives and history of the region’s tribes,
….. purchasing authentic arts, crafts, and goods from Native artists, which directly supports and helps preserve their cultural practices,
….. attending one of many community- or university-hosted talks, film screenings, or celebrations such as a powwow
Zentangle patterns: Spanders, Footlites, Diver, Lewe, Fifolia, Sprave, Qurtuba, Cloudy Day, Fission, Icantoo, Marbles, Soutache, Strutz, RowRow, Ping, FITA (Flies in the Air), Ease, Antique, Barberpole, ArcFlower, & Arrow Tree
Did you notice World Ampersand Day was more than a week ago? No worries! Although September 8th is the official day for this World celebration, such a fun & functional, curly & quirky little character, know as the “Ampersand,” deserves a party every day of the year! Don’t you agree?
The Symbol we use today for the ampersand is more than 2,000 years old! Designed by an Ancient Roman scribe around 63 CE, it served as the shorthand version of the Latin word “et,” meaning “and.” This ingenious calligrapher created the Symbol by combining the letters “e” & “t” into a single ligature or glyph, for the purpose of saving valuable time, space, & parchment while writing the voluminous & tediously-penned documents of the day.
Observation #1: if you refer to my drawing, top left, you’ll see how the evolution of the ampersand symbol changed over the course of a few thousand years, beginning with Figure #1, the 2,000 year old design.
Observation #2: unless the old Roman cursive “et” included exaggerated negative space before, after, and/or within, I’m uncertain how the symbol in Fig. #1 saved space? What are your thoughts?
The Word “Ampersand” didn’t emerge until the early 19th century (1837) as the shortcut to the commonly used phrase “and per se and.” Now that phrase-to-pronunciation of “Ampersand” may seem intuitive, the eventual slurring of the four words follows a more complex explanation that’s pretty interesting. Based upon a traditional English custom that involved spelling out loud, “any letter that could also be used as a word in itself (“A”, “I”, & “O“) was referred to by the Latin expression per se(‘by itself’), as in “per se A” or “A per se A” or “A by itself = A.” Following that tradition of verbal spelling, the single Ampersand glyph was verbally spelled aloud like this: “and per se and,” “& per se &,” or (much more helpful) “& by itself = and.” This clarification of “& by itself” was necessary so as not to confuse the more extended forms of the “&” in use, such as “&c.” which is one of the abbreviations for the Latin phrase “et cetera,” which, of course, means “the rest.”
Today’s Stylistic Ampersand Symbols
Today, it seems there are hundreds and hundreds of unique ways of symbolizing the Ampersand. A quick internet search of font styles reveals a different twist on the symbol for each font. Can you imagine what an extensive search of fonts would uncover?! But there’s one criteria that must be met, somehow, in designing each “&” …… it must be a ligature (a combination) of the letters “e” & “t” into a single glyph (character), & if not readily recognizable, the artist must be able to demonstrate the presence of both letters, no matter how abstract.
Used to be ……
Did you know the Ampersand used to be the last letter of the English alphabet? It’s true! The “&” was added as the 27th letter in the alphabet in the 19th century &, as such, was taught to children learning their ABCs. Primers written for ‘little folks,’ some novels, & even nursery rhymes recognized the “&” as an official character. One especially popular nursery rhyme, Apple Pie ABC1, finishes with the lines “X, Y, Z, and ampersand, All wished for a piece in hand.” But sometimes good things come to an end. By the late 19th century, the “&” was accepted as a ligature it truly is, rather than a letter, & lost its place in the alphabet.
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Celebrate every day by having fun with the Ampersand:
Use lots & lots of ampersands!
Substitute “&” for “and” in everything you write
Think of syllable replacements in words such as: &roid, c&elabra, b&
Send friends whose names contain “and” a special note — &y, &rea, Alex&er, Br&don, Gr&ma
Design new styles of ampersands being sure they represent the letters “et”
Count the number of ampersands in my drawing2
Well, Flambé doesn’t know about you, but she certainly had lots of fun learning about the Ampersand, & is kicking-off a campaign to have it restored as the 27th letter of the alphabet. After all, we lost Pluto as the 9th planet in the solar system, the Ampersand has almost been around as long as Pluto, & most importantly the “&” has the shape of her long lost best cat friend & lover, Cognac, who’s been on a planetary exploration for years, and has probably reached Pluto by now. Kat says, “Let’s bring back the Ampersand! All in favor, say, “and & and & and & and …..!’”
As always thanks for stopping by, & for voting because Flambé believes all voices must be heard on the issue of the deported Ampersand.
1“ApplePie ABC” is a simple rhyme written to teach children the order of the alphabet by relating the various ways children react to an apple pie. After the first line, A was an apple pie, the rest of the letters refer to verbs.
“A was an Apple pie; B bit it; C cut it; D dealt it; E eat it; F fought for it; G got it; H had it; J joined it; K kept it; L longed for it; M mourned for it; N nodded at it; O opened it; P peeped in it; Q quartered it; R ran for it; S stole it; T took it; V viewed it; W wanted it; X, Y, Z, and &, All wished for a piece in hand”.
Note the absence of two letters; the vowels I & U. When the rhyme was originally written (sometime in the 18th century), there was no differentiation between the capital letters I & J, & between U & V. But in 19th century versions, when the I & U were accepted as distinct letters, the rhyme was updated to include these two lines:
“I inspected it” & “U upset it.”
2 Spoiler Alert: Flambé & I each counted twice & agree …. you should come up with a total of 29 Ampersands in my drawing. If you also agree, Bravo! If you found fewer than 29, try again! If you found more than 29, send a message PDQ, letting us know how many there actually are & that we must’ve been sniffing too much catnip to count higher than 29! Then I’ll have Kat begin the scavenger hunt anew!
Zentangle patterns: Spanders, Footlites, Diver, Lewe, Fifolia, Sprave, Qurtuba, Cloudy Day, Fission, Icantoo, Marbles, Soutache, Strutz, RowRow, Ping, FITA (Flies in the Air), Ease, Antique, Barberpole, ArcFlower, & Arrow Tree
Sunflowers!🌻 Absolutely the happiest flower on Earth. Wouldn’t you agree?
Sunflowers, a symbol of adoration, loyalty, and longevity, represent happiness, friendship, and intelligence. Much like the sun, sunflowers reflect vibrancy and an energy of life. While National Sunflower Day is the official day to celebrate these beautiful flowers, why not declare the entire growing season reason a-plenty to radiate your inner sunshine and mirror the smiling faces of every sunflower encountered!
Then and Now
Did you know sunflowers have been around since about 1000 BCE? In the U.S. indigenous peoples used sunflowers as a valuable food source, for oil, paint, and textiles, and during ceremonies. Some archaeologists even believe sunflowers may have been cultivated before corn. Today, sunflowers are still used for food (seeds, salad mixes) and beverages (tea), cooking oil, in beauty and skin care treatments, for medicinal purposes, and for hobbies and crafts.
Annual Sunflower over 6 feet tall!
The sunflower crop
The U.S. is a mass producer of sunflowers, particularly in the plains states, and is a major crop in both North Dakota and South Dakota. The average cultivated sunflower plant is five to six feet tall, and the central face of disc flowers can grow bigger than a human head. As the weight of the sunflower head becomes heavy, it begins to fall forward causing the petals to fall off. Shortly after the harvest begins. On average, one sunflower can produce up to 2,000 seeds per head. In 2022, North Dakota produced 762 billion pounds of sunflower seeds!
The Happiest and the most Intelligent flower
Have you ever noticed sunflowers track the sun, from sunrise to sunset? It’s true! Sunflowers follow the sun’s movements throughout the day. You may notice that before sunrise, a sunflower is in sort of a sleeping position with its head slightly down. As the sun comes over the horizon, the flower awakens and slowly lifts its face to ‘look’ directly at the rising sun. As the day progresses and we observe the sun moving from east to west, so too does the sunflower by turning its face in sync with the sun’s apparent movements until sunset.1 When the sun sets in the evening, sunflowers nod off to sleep, but not before untwisting themselves and slowly return to face the east. Ingenious!
This charmer is called Cowpen Daisy
1 However, on very hot days, sunflowers tend to avoid looking directly at the sun to keep from overheating. And I’ve noticed on cloudy days, sunflowers may appear confused about the sun’s location, seeming to make their best guess on which way to face.
A season of yellows and oranges
Although you can find flowers in the Aster (sunflower) family in the Spring, August is the peak growing and blooming season for these cheerful plants. Brilliant displays of yellow flowers welcoming the morning sun can be found wherever sunflowers grow. Witnessing fields of sunflowers is guaranteed to lift your spirits as you oooooh and aaaaaaaah at their breathtaking beauty.
A trio of cowpen daisies
Ideas to celebrate a day, week, month or year of sunflowers
Spend a day with a wild sunflower and watch its face track the sun.
Take a drive to view fields of sunflowers to see their true beauty in mass.
Give a bouquet of sunflowers to a friend to brighten their day.
Add sunflower petals and seeds to your salad.
Create a painting of your favorite sunflower and frame it to enjoy year-round.
Try your hand at a Zentangled sunflower bouquet ….. there are as many pattern possibilities as there are blooming sunflowers!
Plan a road trip to North Dakota in August and coordinate places to stop to visit sunflower fields and get updates from local farmers who cultivate sunflowers.
A collection of cowpen daisies in my backyard.
If you missed celebrating this year’s National Sunflower Day, no worries! Every time you come across any sunflower, of any size, anywhere, pause and hold a personal celebration in honor of its splendiferous magnificence!
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Sunflower photos were taken in our backyard ….. all volunteers too!
Today, Flambé was craving a generous dollop of whimsy and an extreme sugar rush to feed her ever insatiable sweet tooth. Today, she insisted on choosing the National celebratory day that would simultaneously satisfy both her exorbitant desires. Today, Kat took a calculated leap, gracefully “sticking” her landing on one of those oversized spirals of sweet colors-on-a-stick. Today, Flambé picked National Lollipop Day!
While Kat is frantically licking her paws to break free of that giant Lollipop, my task was to learn stuff about those ultra-sweet confections.
Pixabay photo
Lollipops have been around for how long? Apparently no one is really sure how old the ‘lollipop’ is, but it’s likely this treat on a stick has been around for centuries. There’s even speculation that during prehistoric times, a form of ‘lollipop’ may have preserved nuts and berries in honey. Then as sugar became commonplace, lollys “popped” up as a popular treat in 16th century Europe. In the 17th century, the English enjoyed boiled sugar candy treats on sticks, which made the candies easier to eat. And in the mid-19th century (1860s), confectionaries and medicine shops in the U.S sold ‘lollipops’ in various forms.
The Name Lollipop ….. may have been used for centuries. A word sounding much like ‘lollipop’ was heard in Europe as early as the 4th century. Nomadic Roma people (also called Gypsies) migrating throughout Europe, had a tradition of selling candy apples on a stick. Red apple in the Romani language is loli phaba. In the late 18th century (1796), English lexicographer1 Francis Grose recorded the term ‘lollipop’ that was likely derived by combining the words ‘lolly’ (which means tongue) and ‘pop’ (which means slap, describing the slapping or popping sound one made when sucking on hard candy). But it wasn’t until 1908, when Mr. George Smith, an American candy store owner and inventor from New Haven, Connecticut, developed a machine that could produce large quantities of hard candies mounted on sticks. Thinking about what to call those popular treats, he finally decided on Lollipop, the name of his favorite racehorse “Lolly Pops.” Smith trademarked the lollipop name in 1931.
Pixabay photo
Today, the modern Lollipop comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors (usually brightly colored), and flavors (usually fruit flavored). Some have fillings, like bubblegum, soft candy (think Tootsie Pops), soft chocolate, jawbreakers, and fizzy candy. Some are even medicinal (where medicines for weight loss and cancer treatments are added to the candy). And then there’s the novelty lollipops! Some contain unusual items like a mealworm larvae, scorpion, cricket, or ants, suspended in the clear-as-glass candy, so you can see the bugs while sucking on the lollipop! Some novelty lollipops have non-edible centers, like a flashing light, a small toy, or even a motorized device attached to the stick that makes the candy spin around in your mouth!
Pixabay photo
Lollipop Pop Culture – By now you’re probably humming one of Shirley Temple’s favorite tunes, “On the Good Ship Lollipop.” Maybe you’re thinking about “The Lollipop Guild” gleefully welcoming Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Did you ever (or maybe you still do) count the number of licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop? I always questioned whether Kojak (you know, the TV series from the 70s) actually became more of a tough guy while sucking a lollipop. Hmmmmm?
Celebrate National Lollipop Day – The phrase of the day must be Lollipop Fun! You’re never too old to enjoy a brightly-colored, spirally-twisted lollipop. Buy a bagful of Tootsie Pops or Dum-Dums and share them with your family, friends, and neighbors. Visit a local candy-making factory and watch how they make these sweet treats on a stick. Try out one of the unique novelty lollipops, if you dare. Write a short story or a poem about lollipops and illustrate it in a kaleidoscope of colors. To me, lollipops remind me of riding a carousel pony, possibly named “Lolly Pops,” while at the carnival.
Pixabay photo
Now that Flambé has freed her paws from that giant spiral-shaped lollipop, she’s busy licking her way to the soft tuna center. That should keep her out of mischief for the rest of the day! Meanwhile, please let us know what your Lollipop Fun plans are for the day. Maybe share your favorite lollipop shape, color, and flavor guaranteed to put a big smile on your face!
Pixabay photo
As always, thanks for stopping by!
1 A lexicographer is a person who compiles dictionaries. You know …. of ‘Webster’s Dictionary’ fame, Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”.
I’ll never forget my first taste of catfish! Just the memory of that meal makes my mouth water. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!
When I was about 9 yrs old, my aunt and uncle invited the family for a visit to their home in Nashville. My jolly Aunt Sis, always the organizer, planned an entire week of non-stop fun and sightseeing that included a firefly safari, touring a life-sized Parthenon replica, exploring Civil War battlegrounds, front row seats at the Grand Ole Opry, and an overnight camping trip into the Great Smoky Mountains. I especially remember the drive into the mountains. The narrow road, which seemed to twist and turn for hours, was flanked on each side by an impenetrable forest of hardwood trees, the view broken only by roadside cafes spaced 2-5 miles apart. These cafes, with their hand-painted signs, all advertised the same daily lunch special —- 2 fresh caught catfish fillets/breaded with cornmeal and deep fried/served with a pile of hot hushpuppies and slaw/$1.75 to-go. “Could we stop, could we? Please, please, pleeeeaaaassssseee!” Knowing the sight of these cafes would be too hard to resist, Aunt Sis had already planned to stop for lunch at a very special one; Cataloochee Creek Catfish Cafe. She said they always fried up and served the freshest catfish and hushpuppies in all of the Great Smoky Mountains. Two hairpin curves later we had arrived. Oh what an aroma!
Needless to say, my clever Aunt Sis was right! That catfish was (and still is) the best ever! Whether the little one-room Cataloochee Creek Catfish Cafe is still in business, and whatever species of catfish they served up that day may forever be a mystery. But I’ll always have a fond place in my heart (and stomach) for catfish…………. So ……………
when discovering June 25th is a designated National Day in honor of the catfish, I took notice (and so did Flambé – either hoping for a new friend or a take-away meal!). About time I learned a little something about catfish. And of course I wanted to share.
Why the name “Catfish?”
In addition to not being remotely related to any fish species, it’s well known that most cats are not big fans of water. So how did the catfish get its name? The most likely origin of the name “catfish” comes from the 1610s when mariners referred to the Atlantic wolf-fish as a “catfish” due to its ferocity. But later the name was given to a freshwater fish found in North America’s river systems. This odd looking fish had barbels protruding from its jaw and chin that resembled cat whiskers. Also when this fish was removed from the water, it made a purring sound. It may be one or both of these cat-like similarities that led to the common name “catfish.” ….. Oh, and about those barbels that grow out of the jaw and chin of most all catfish species. They function as sensory organs; used for tasting and feeling their environment.
How do you enjoy your catfish?
In 1986, catfish made up the third-highest volume of finned fish consumed in the U.S., with the most commonly eaten species being the channel catfish and blue catfish. Today, catfish is still a popular dish; one that can be prepared in many different ways, including baking, deep frying, sautéing, and stewing.
Traditionally, the fish was coated in cornmeal and fried. Many still enjoy catfish fillets prepared this way, or prefer baking or frying fillets or even the entire fish. If you fry the entire fish, do you also savor the crunch of the crispy tail? Spices complement catfish, and it’s also yummy served with a little lemon and butter. No matter what method you prefer, this tender whitefish always separates easily from the bones.
There are 38 known species of catfish in the U.S., and 22 are found in Tennessee. But the most commonly caught in the state are the flathead, the channel, and the blue catfish. The flathead is reported to be the tastiest of all. Perhaps the catfish I loved so much as a kid were from the flathead? To this day, my memory has me convinced those fried morsels from yesteryear remain the tastiest I’ve ever enjoyed. (Until further research unveils what hushpuppy ‘species’ were the perfect melt-in-your-mouth side-kick to those delicious cornmeal-breaded flathead bits, I remain clueless ….. but insatiably curious).
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL CATFISH DAY
While baking and frying catfish may be the most popular ways to enjoy this flavorful fish, they’re not the only way. How about some catfish pasta dishes or catfish soup? If you’ve never tasted catfish before, #NationalCatfishDay encourages you to explore catfish dishes bursting with flavor.
Until next time …… add a little catfish to your menu!
As always thanks for stopping by!
And now, for your entertainment and enlightenment, why not take a few minutes to read these
Fun to Fascinating Catfish Facts
Catfish are found on every continent except Antarctica, with the highest abundance in tropical waters of Asia, Africa, and South America.
New species of catfish are regularly being discovered, and by 2030 the number of identified species may reach 5,000.
Catfish exhibit a wide range of sizes, from the tiny candiru (1/2” long) to the giant Mekong catfish, which can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh over 600 pounds. The largest catfish caught on record was 646 pounds and 9 feet long.
Catfish typically live between 15 and 20 years, but some can live up to 60 years.
Around 1,600 species of catfish may be venomous. Their venom glands are associated with the bony spines in front of their dorsal and pectoral fins. Used in defense against other fish, venom is released if a spine punctures another organism. If a person is punctured by a venomous spine it can cause severe pain and swelling; the wound may become infected. However, a few catfish species – the striped eel catfish and the Asian stinging catfish – have a venom so strong it can lead to hospitalization or even death for humans.
Most catfish are nocturnal.
Electric catfish can discharge up to 350 volts and seem to be immune to high shocks themselves.
Catfish are sometimes known as “swimming tongues,” because their bodies are covered in about 100,000 tastebuds that detect chemicals present in the water.
Catfish can produce and detect sounds using the Weberian apparatus, a structure connecting their swim bladder to their inner ear. The hearing of some catfish species is so good that it can be used as a form of echolocation in dark, murky waters.
Some species have flexible teeth that bend as the fish scrape algae and other food particles from rocks, preventing wear and tear.
Unlike many fish, catfish typically lack scales; they have smooth, naked skin.
Some catfish including the Mekong catfish have been known to fast.
Large catfish usually migrate huge distances and create ecological links between parts of a river miles apart. Catfish native to the Amazon River make some of the longest migrations of any freshwater species: covering up to 5,000 miles when swimming back to their birthplace. Large catfish usually migrate huge distances and create ecological links between parts of a river miles apart.
The Asian walking catfish, an air breathing species, sometimes resembles a dark, bloated slug and can survive for 18 hours, moving up to 3/4 miles on land to travel between water bodies. Much like slugs, they are often seen after periods of rain or flooding, their long and sweeping barbels helping them navigate the land.
In 2021 scientists coined a new term – “reffling” – after studying the movement of the armored suckermouth catfish which uses its mouth, tail and a “grasping” pelvic fin to haul itself across dry ground.They can survive 30 hours out of water, provided a layer of mucus keeps them moist.
Similarly, some catfish have a climbing style known as “inching”, where they alternate between using suction from their mouths and their pelvic disc to shuffle up vertical cave walls.
The Mekong catfish is one of the world’s most endangered fish species. It’s population is estimated to have decreased by 90% in the last decade.
Large catfish are especially at risk of endangerment due to habitat loss, the building of dams, river pollution and hunting. Losing them would be a huge loss for species diversity, and would also threaten the ecosystems they live in.
While some catfish species are at risk, others have become invasive. Invasive species often disturb the food webs and biodiversity of an ecosystem because the native wildlife is not adapted to their presence. The blue catfish was introduced to the Chesapeake Bay for recreational fishing, but have since become an invasive. Like most catfish, blue catfish are generalists and opportunistic feeders, having created a predator-prey imbalance in Chesapeake.
The Asian walking catfish (mentioned above), has become highly invasive in Florida. Its ability to breath air and “walk” on land has greatly accelerated its invasive nature.
There are between 34 and 44 families of catfish and at least 3,400 different species, depending on taxonomic classification.
What a whirlwind celebration! Sketchbook Revival (SR) 2025 Binge Fest was so much fun. And Wow! Two jam packed weeks of creativity was over in the blink of an eye!
Karen Abend, SR creator, host extraordinaire, and wonderful artist, came up with a brilliant idea for the SR 2025 session. I would swear the creative gears inside her head were spinning with delight as she declared, “Yureka! I’ve got it!”
Beginning on May 27th thru June 9th, Karen generously opened up the SR historic vault and set free all of the workshops conducted the first 5 years of SR (2018-2022)! That unbelievable offering came to more than 130 one-hour-long workshops of inspiring, hands-on, and creative play time all instructed by well-known experts in artistic fields associated with Sketchbook Journaling.
Challenge presented ……. Challenge accepted.
Since I’ve been participating in SR each year since 2018, and attended most of these workshops in the past, my goals and strategies to tackle the challenge were these:
Complete a minimum of 4 workshops daily;
Two workshops should involve a project outside of my comfort zone, such as portrait drawing, fantasy, word play, collage, and properly stitching my own SR sketchbook so it wouldn’t fall apart during the 2-week challenge, etc.;
Two workshops should involve projects within my comfort zone, such nature subjects, urban sketching, whimsey, and lettering, and those using watercolor pencils, graphite, and ink;
Develop fresh, interesting, and imaginative sketches during the workshops;
Allow Flambé to play along;
Slow down, breathe, and enjoy the 2-week marathon without becoming overwhelmed;
Recognize and gather take-away tips and techniques to bring into my Nature Journaling practice and Zentangle storytelling.
Keep sketching and sharing.
After two weeks of play, I was able to fill up my handmade and successfully stitched SR 2025 sketchbook! With a total of 46 pages completed (doubling up workshop projects on a handful of pages), including several pockets with inserts, I was pretty happy (and a bit exhausted).
If you’ve participated in SR in the past, or maybe took on the 2025 challenge as your first time, you know how intense (in an exhilarating way) it can become. If not, and would like to learn more, check out this link
This link will take you to Karen Abend’s website where you can ask for more information about Sketchbook Revival. https://karenabend.com
Hope my collection made you smile and laugh! I certainly got a kick out of the experience.
Well, until Sketchbook Revival next year, thanks for coming along!
Front and back of the concertina book that tucks into the pocket above.My hand sewn, one signature SR 2025 Sketchbook.
Always landing on the 2nd Saturday in June, the annual dragonfly celebration pays tribute to this fascinatingly unique and beautiful insect that’s been flying over our planet for nearly 300 million years. Wow!
There’s no mistaking the fossil record. Dragonflies have populated the airspace for nearly 300 million years, some with 3-foot wingspans. Paleontologists say they may have had 6-8 foot wingspans, making them the size of a bald eagle!
As scary as that may have looked to their prey, the 2-5 inch wingspans of modern dragonflies, combined with their body makeup, make these animals some of the most accurate and ravenous hunters known today.
It’s a warm summer day and the air above the wetlands is full of countless insects such as mosquitoes, true flies, mayflies, and midges. Perched motionless on a tall reed is a metallic colored dragonfly, and she’s hungry. To feed an insatiable appetite, she’s always on the hunt for her next meal. To satisfy her hunger, she has evolved into one of the most skilled predators in animal kingdom.
A Green Darner Dragonfly hangs onto a blade of marsh grass
But are dragonflies really that good? And if so, why?
Consider the proverbial ‘King of the Jungle;’ lions are frequent hunters, but might be successful only 20% of the time. Birds of prey, like owls, falcons and hawks, average a 25% success rate. But dragonflies catch their prey 95% of the time! Now I’d call that amazing. Dragonflies owe their survival to two key characteristics:
Eyes – in addition to three simple eyes, dragonflies (and bees) have two large compound eyes; the largest of any insect. With 30,000 facets per eye, both compound eyes together cover most of their head. This multifaceted eye makes a dragonfly acutely sensitive to movement. Because each of the 30,000 facets face a different direction, dragonflies have almost a 360 degree field of vision. This means they can see you from behind as they wing on by. ……. And speaking of wings! ………
Wings – When compared to all other insects, dragonflies are the most skilled, agile, and the fastest fliers of all insect species. With muscles attached directly to their wings, they not only can fly at speeds up to 35 mph, but are able to maneuver like a helicopter. They can fly straight up or down, forward or backward, side-to-side, upside down, and can even hover and pivot in place while keeping perfectly level. To understand how dragonflies achieve backward flight, high speed cameras revealed they angle their bodies vertically, at a 90-degree angle to the horizon. They’re also capable of independently moving and twisting each of their four wings to improve flight control.
Look! A Mosquito Hawk!
It’s been reported that one adult dragonfly can capture and eat from 30 to 100 mosquitos a day, earning them the name ‘’Mosquito Hawk.” Considered such prevalent mosquito predators when they are adults, a dragonfly nymph feasts on mosquito larvae too, devouring as many as 40 a day!
A variegated meadowhawk
And How About these Dragonfly Fun Facts!
A dragonfly is classified as an Odonata, which is the family of flying insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies. Odonata means “toothed one” in Greek. However, dragonflies don’t have teeth. The name refers to its serrated mandible, which comes in handy for holding and crushing prey.
There are around 5,000 species of dragonflies around the world.
Dragonflies can live for years underwater as predatory larvae (aka nymphs). At the end of its larval stage, the nymph crawls out of the water, its exoskeleton cracks open releasing its abdomen (which had been packed in like a telescope), then out come its four wings and its entire body dries and hardens over the next several hours.
Most adult dragonflies live for only a few weeks, but some do live up to a year.
Dragonflies can live in the winter but are normally small and stumpy in size.
Dragonflies use both their feet and mandibles to catch their food.
When dragonflies mate, the pair first forms a flying, loop-like structure known as a mating wheel or mating circle. Then the male grasps the female’s neck with claspers on his abdomen to transfer his sperm. Sometimes, he will continue to guard the female from other males until she lays eggs in the water. If a female doesn’t consent to mating, she might play dead. Or, she might wrestle away her suitor by twisting, shaking, flying backward or clinging to a reed to prevent takeoff. In some cases, the female might even take control of the flight, then dunk the male into a body of water, buying herself time to flee.
Mysterious swarming behavior – sometimes 100’s of dragonflies of different species will gather in swarms, possibly to locate new and/or better habitat, for feeding, or migration. Not much is known about this short-lived behavior, but it is being studied by members of the Dragonfly Swarm Project. You can read more about the Swarm Project here: https://thedragonflywoman.com/dsp/ And you can report seeing a swarm through this website: https://thedragonflywoman.com/dsp/report/
The Scarlet Dwarf is the smallest known dragonfly. Less than two centimeters long, it’s only 0.59 inches long (15 millimeters), and has a wingspan of about 0.79 inches (20 millimeters). These dragonflies are native to Southeast Asia, as well as China and Japan.
Many species of dragonflies migrate annually. To track them, scientists attach tiny transmitters to their wings with a combination of eyelash adhesive and superglue. One of their findings revealed the two inch dragonfly called the globe skimmer has the longest migration of any insect — flying up to 11,000 miles across multiple generations between India and Africa. Aided by winds, the globe skimmers cross the Indian Ocean stopping at islands along the way. They have even been spotted at altitudes of around 20,000 feet in the Himalayas.
Of the 445 kinds of dragonflies in North America, only 9 of these species (or 2%) migrate regularly. One of these species is called the green darner which migrates in swarms. They complete a multi-generational migration from Canada and the northern U.S. to the Gulf Coast and Mexico in late summer and fall, and then return again in the spring. By tracking the migration, it was found their journey covered over 800 miles one way. To accomplish this feat, they travel only every third day, averaging 7.5 miles per day.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (2021) found that 16 percent of the 6,016 species of dragonflies and damselflies that were studied are at risk of extinction as they lose the freshwater breeding grounds needed to maintain their populations. Clearing of forests in South and Southeast Asia as well as in Central and South America has driven habitat loss for the insects, and in North America and Europe, dragonflies are most threatened by pesticides and climate change.
Mosaic darner
The Good Luck Insect
Not surprisingly, the dragonfly has symbolic meaning in almost every part of the world. Many cultures believe this insect symbolizes good luck. Because dragonflies have such short lifespans, they also represent new beginnings and change, especially for strength, growth, courage, and happiness. A few ancient cultures say dreaming about a dragonfly indicates you are in a powerful transition in your life.
Here’s a Few of those Symbolic Dragonfly Beliefs. Do you know of more?
Native Americans believe a dragonfly symbolizes life transformations.
South American cultures believe the dragonfly symbolizes good luck and prosperity, and many artists include the dragonfly in their work.
European cultures see the dragonfly as a symbol of change and adaptability, and are included in many of their folklore stories and beliefs.
Asian cultures believe the dragonfly represents good luck, prosperity and new beginnings.
South Africans believe dragonflies are a sign of spirits and bring good luck. Africans also hold dragonflies in high regard because they are water gods who bring rain.
A South Dakota dragonfly resting on a milkweed
How Will you Celebrate National Dragonfly Day? Here’s a few ideas:
Learn about the species of dragonflies near you.
Visit your local wetland habitats to observe dragonflies, as nymphs and as adults.
When you travel in the summer, search out new-to-you species of dragonflies and record your observations.
Learn about the symbolism of dragonflies in your own culture.
Sketch or paint a dragonfly in its habitat.
Photograph a dragonfly and share on social media using #NationalDragonflyDay.
It was great fun and so eye-opening to learn about this species. A few months ago I watched a nature program about dragonflies and how they fly like stunt pilots. It was fascinating, and gave me a whole new appreciation of these insects. Can you imagine living in the dragonfly’s world 300 million years ago? Wonder if they could also fly like a helicopter?
Please share your dragonfly stories. Have you ever tried to catch a dragonfly? Have you seen one flying upside down or hover? What colors of dragonflies have you seen? Let me know if you enjoyed this post about dragonflies, and give it a Like!
a curious nature 