I’M JUST CURIOUS: A collection of tidbits

by Debbie Walker

Well, I’ve been reading again. That, of course, means I have some tidbits to share with you tonight. These are all coming from the 2021 Farmer’s Almanac. I love those little books! They are loaded with ideas and information, not just the weather or gardening. So much more.

I’ll share these with you:

• One kind word can warm three winter months.
• You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream, and that’s sort of the same thing.
• Peel and freeze bananas for use in smoothies. Toss into blender, no need for ice.
• Have you ever bought baguettes and the next day they are too hard to break off apiece? Sprinkle the crust with water, wrap in foil and bake in toaster oven for five minutes.
• Broken a glass? Get a slice of bread and wipe up the glass pieces.
• Freeze lemons – not something I ever thought of. Slice a lemon and freeze the slices for use in your water. First pat them with a paper towel and place in single layer on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, then you can bag them up.
• Oranges – save and dry the orange peels. They work well as fire starters.
• A pants hanger makes an effective recipe holder. Hang from cabinet door and use the clips to hold the recipe card or pages for smaller cookbooks.
• Place a binder clip on the head of razors to protect them and your fingers when traveling. (It works!)
• Wish I knew this one when I was working with first and second grade kids! When shoelaces won’t stay tied, wet the shoelace, and then tie it. It will stay tied.
• Gum in your pet’s hair? Saturate the gum with olive oil, shampoo the dog as you normally would.
• As counterintuitive as it sounds, foods that are hot – in temperature and spice – may be better at cooling you off than ice cream.
• If seagulls fly over the sea, do bagels fly over the bay?
• If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth?
• If the plural of goose is geese, shouldn’t the plural of moose be meese?
• If tomato is fruit, is ketchup a smoothie?
• If pro and con are opposite, is congress the opposite of progress?

Can Birds Predict the Weather?

If the rooster crows on going to bed,
You may rise with a watery head.

Or – If a rooster crows at night,
There will be rain by morning.

People have observed that an approaching storm makes birds restless. And it was believed when a rooster can’t rest , he tends to crow more.

If birds fly low, expect rain and a blow.
Or if birds fly low, then rain we shall know.

A drop in air pressure causes air to become “heavier”, making it difficult for birds to fly at higher altitudes.
Birds on a telephone wire predict the coming rain.

There’s no real evidence that birds just resting on a wire indicate any sort of weather approaching.

I’m just curious about the one ‘when cows are laying down it means rain.’ They didn’t mention that one. I hope all this gave you a smile. Please remember these all came from the 2021 Farmer’s Almanac. Any questions or comments can be sent to DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a safe, healthy week. Thanks for reading!