Tuesday, January 17, 2006

An apple a day


Radio question of the day:

3.2 Million American married couples don't do this together...

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What I learned today:

Apples don't "grow true" from seeds. An apple tree grown from a seed bears little resemblance to its parent, and the fruit normally is almost inedible, very sour or bitter. To get edible apples, you graft trees, producing a clone of a tree that you know bears tasty fruit, rather than plant from seeds.

Here's something else you probably didn't know. In the 1700s and 1800s, most apples were grown not for eating but for making hard cider. Johnny Appleseed didn't just bring fresh fruit to the frontier, he brought the alcoholic drink of choice.

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It's only 16 days until Groundhog Day. Yesterday I made reservations for husband Niks and I to attend the event. It's held in Punxsutawney, PA. We'll freeze our butts off, but I know it's going to be great fun. I'm pretty excited about it.

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Answer to the question of the day:

They don't live together. Those guys! But I guess it cuts down on divorce.

21 comments:

lime said...

yep, i knew about johnny appleseed and the growing methods, funy aint it!

how cool that you are headed to punxatawney! one day i will get there myself! looks like a helluva lotta fun

Sar said...

Here's an idea. Maybe you should heat some hard cider and bring it in a thermos to Punxsutawney to keep you & Niks warm!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Wow! I had no idea what the answer was to your question..Very Very Interesting! Who knew???

Bela said...

Be very very careful in Punxsutawney. Remember what happened to Bill. OK?

Don't know what the number is in the UK, but my partner and I don't live together (still going strong after nearly 20 years). Very handy when one of our bathrooms is out of order. :-)

Jamie Dawn said...

For fifteen years, we lived on a ranch neart Modesto, CA and had 43 acres of Sausuma Mandarins. When we planted new trees, they were grafts and had to be pre-ordered well in advance of planting. Pretty cool, huh?

My best friend's mother has lived apart from her husband for over 25 years. They don't have hardly any contact, but they never took steps to divorce.

Tammy said...

My answer to the question would have been separate vacations but either way the separation could be a very good thing.

Rachel said...

I missed the answer as usual! Cool that you are going to see the Groundhog! They are cute little fellows but they love to eat all my garden stuff up...grrrr..

OldHorsetailSnake said...

How many Punxsutawney Phils have there been? What is the lifespan of a groundhog. (See, here's some more stuff you could set about learning.)

BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

I love groundhog's day! And it will follow Rabbit day! Two animals in one week for the price of one. That must say something.

Anonymous said...

Alone time is a good thing, but living apart?
Whatever works!

"I got you babe..."

Ivy the Goober said...

Hey, I'll watch for you on the news. Try to wave at me, OK?

Fred said...

I should make this required reading for my students. They might learn something.

Doug The Una said...

I love the cartoon! So wrong, so funny.

Lila said...

TLP, you know what's REALLY weird? I thought about posting about how apples come from grafting rather than seeds -- like, yesterday! Seriously! Bizarre!

I was eating a Golden Delicious and bemoaning that their skin is harder than it used to be, and they aren't as tastey. Something has gone wrong.

Anonymous said...

Groundhog Day is the movie Kent and I saw on our first date. So, fond memories of Punxsutawney Phil here!

Doug The Una said...

Oh, and just to be a smart-alec, the reason apples don't maintain traits from seed is that they're heterozygotic. I don't think that word will ever appear on Waking Ambrose, so I'm glad I got to use it once.

Klondike Kate said...

I didn't know that TLP and I live in the Apple Capital - WA! ('course I just moved here but I don't think that they'll let me have that excuse!)

And I never knew a married couple who lived apart. Interesting...

The Lazy Iguana said...

I am not a big hard cider fan - I actually like the unfermeted apple juice better.

If I were Johnny Appleseed, I would be known as Johnny The Beer Guy. Or maybe Johnny Barley Seed, or even Johnny Hop Head.

Then again, maybe I would have just packed some pot seeds. It grows faster than apple trees or wheat, and does not require any cooking (unless you make brownies) or fermenting.

Peter said...

Great to hear that you will be attending Groundhog day Lucy, hope it's only once this year.

Mikki Marshall said...

I'm sorry, but I lost all train of thought once the mention of cider with alcohol came into the picture. And I immediately began obsessing about the fact that the season of Fall has come and gone and I
missed out on a cup of really good drink.

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