To enter, just leave your caption in a comment. We can’t wait to read them!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

To enter, just type in your caption in a comment on this blog post.

The winner may choose between two prizes: a framed copy of the photo, with his/her caption, or a $50 Storybook Quilts gift certificate. Please enter by August 1, 2010.

We look forward to your entries!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

What do you know about this delicious treat?

Where they came from
Watermelons are thought to have come from the Kalahari Desert in Africa (down near the southern tip; mostly in Botswana).

This is an old favorite!
Watermelon seeds were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen. The Chinese were cultivating watermelons as early as the 9th century AD. The Moors, from northern Africa, introduced them to Europe (Spain) in the 13th century. The word “watermelon” was in English dictionaries as early as 1615.

When did watermelons arrive in the US?
Ah, there’s a debate about that. Some say the Spaniards brought them in the 1500s; others say watermelons arrived in the early 1600s, in New England.

Hey! What happened to the seeds?!
Good question! The full explanation is pretty technical, but the advantages include watermelons that are sweeter and have firmer flesh than the seeded varieties. We have Warren Barham to thank for this treat; he began working on a seedless variety in 1949.

Our big, long-loved seeded watermelons are becoming increasingly difficult to find: about 85% of watermelons grown now in the US are seedless. For a number of reasons, they are more profitable.

Watermelon seeds themselves still have a following. Spitting contests continue. And, roasted, they are a favorite snack in the Middle East. In the US, watermelon seed oil is used in baby formulations, creams, lotions, soaps, and eye creams.

How much watermelon do Americans eat?
Per capita fresh watermelon consumption in 2008 was 15.4 pounds. A round, seedless watermelon weights between 10 and 15 pounds – so, it’s really just a big one of those. Not enough, I’d say!

How are watermelons good for your health?
It’s amazing how healthy watermelons are. And how low in calories. A two- cup serving of diced watermelon (10 oz) only has about 80 calories, according to the National Watermelon Promotion Board. Watermelon is full of nutrition. Those same two cups have 20% of daily requirements for Vitamin A, 25% for Vitamin C and 7% for potassium. No fat, of course, but 8% of daily fiber requirements and even some calcium and iron!

Watermelon ranks first among fresh fruits and vegetables (beating out tomatoes) in lycopene content, a cancer fighting antioxidant.

Luna the Turtle’s watermelon
It’s no surprise that watermelon is full of water – 92% water – which is why Aunt Jen took some to the beach with Adia. And it was one thing Adia was very happy to see after Luna and Stitch rescued her from the pirates. Eating watermelon is a great way to stay hydrated on a hot day!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

1. The song wasn’t around on the first Independence Day, in 1776. In fact, it wasn’t until the second war with Britain, decades later, that it was written.

2. The words of the song were written near the end of the War of 1812 — in September 1814, to be exact, by Frances Scott Key. The British had just burned Washington, DC, and were headed to Baltimore to bombard Ft. McHenry. Key was on a British ship seeking the release of another American and was kept on the fleet to prevent him from warning about the British plans.

3. Key wrote a poem, “Defense of Ft. McHenry,” in honor of the huge American flag that hung after the successful American defense of Ft. McHenry. The poem later was set to the music of a popular tune at the time, “The Anacreontic Song.” Ironically, that song had been written by a Brit, probably John Stafford Smith.

4. The stirring song was unofficially adopted as the national anthem and played at 4th of July celebrations throughout the 1800s. In 1889, it was officially adopted by the Navy as the song to be played when the flag is raised. (Click on the link below to hear the Navy Band play it.)

In 1897, it was played at the opening day baseball game in Philadelphia. In 1916, President Wilson ordered it played at military and other patriotic occassions. The song became even more popular when it was sung at the 1918 World Series of Baseball, in honor of the armed forces fighting in World War I.

5. On March 3, 1931, Congress proclaimed the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem.

6. In our Storybook Quilt, Emily and Maurice the Cat hear the band playing the Star Spangled Banneras their runaway balloon soars above the park.

7. The song is very difficult to sing! In 2009, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian held a national singing contest that anyone could enter. See the results here.

Star Spangled Banner by the Navy Band

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve lived in an area with Monarch butterflies, perhaps you know how fascinating they are. Each year, they migrate thousands of miles — to warmth for the winter and back again in the spring. What makes this even more amazing is that it takes several generations for these migrations to be completed. And the female butterfly must find milkweed plant as a place to lay her eggs — the caterpillar is a fussy eater and that is all it will eat!

This is a hauntingly beautiful video of the Monarch.

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What kind is the talking butterfly in Magic Boots and Wild Horses? (Opps. We just gave away the answer to #8!) Well, you’ll have to make up your own mind about that. We haven’t named the butterfly yet — any suggestions?.

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

According to whatscookingamerica.net, Philadelphia was the ice cream capital of the US by the early 1800s. Large quantities of ice cream were produced there and its public ice cream “houses” were famous. A much-loved vanilla-and-egg flavor was named “Philadelphia.”

The “father of ice cream” is Augustus Jackson, an African-American cook/chef at the White House, who is credited with developing the modern method of making ice cream in around 1832. He used ice mixed with salt to lower and control the temperature of his special mix of ingredients. He later moved to Philadelphia where he distributed his popular flavors in tin cans to Philadelphia’s many ice cream parlors.

It took a woman named Nancy (Johnson), though, to invent the first hand-cranked ice cream maker. Her basic design, still used today, made it possible for anyone to make ice cream at home. (I remember my father doing that – hand cranking as we watched the fireflies on the 4th of July. Was that good ice cream!)

A continuing argument is who made the first ice cream cone. Rumor has it that the first ice cream cone was created at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904 when an ice cream vendor ran out of bowls and a pastry maker then put the ice cream in crisp wafers. This may have been the first cone in the US (or not), but it wasn’t the first in the world.

We found almost as many facts about ice cream as there are ice cream lovers, so we’ll stop here (and go get some ice cream!).

What’s your favorite ice cream? Or your favorite ice cream concoction?

Ice cream features in our Storybook Quilt about Emily and Maurice the Cat. Emily shares the end of her cone with Maurice just before they go off on a very unexpected balloon adventure! Of course, the quilt includes an ice cream cone fabric – our stories are written around the fabrics in the quilt.

A PS: We do know that Memorial Day has a very serious and important side to it. Children do need learn about it and we hope that parents make a point of that.

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

Learning to ride a bike has to be one of the most thrilling experiences of childhood – well, after the falls are over. I remember my father holding the back of the seat to steady my blue two-wheeler as I wobbled down a dirt driveway. (I trusted him to keep me from falling – perhaps that trust is the serious lesson from learning to ride.) Then, suddenly, I could DO IT! And a whole new world opened up.

This is one experience that hasn’t changed much. Now we make sure our children are wearing helmets (a very good idea), but biking is pretty much the same. It still takes balance and two in-line wheels.

These websites include some great tips on teaching a child — or an adult! — to ride.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/teachride.html
http://www.ibike.org/education/teaching-kids.htm#Mistakes
http://www.biketas.org.au/bikeed.php

Family biking can be a great way to share fun time together and to stay fit. Get really good at it and compete in mountain biking competitions, like my nephew and his family!

Tell us your experiences. It’s American Bike Month!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

Do you have a favorite tree — one you gaze at every day, one you look for on your way to/from work, one you planted and are watching grow, or one you climb? Maybe it’s not just one tree, but a stand of trees. Or a forest.

The yard behind our workshop has many trees. The stately old walnut has stood there for probably 75 years.

The gorgeous maple below, planted just three years ago, is growing incredibly quickly.

As children, my brother and I had a particular sugar maple that we climbed, off in a pasture away from the house. I’m not entirely sure Mom knew we did that (probably the best for her sanity!). It was a big tree — maybe 70 years old then. My younger brother would climb higher than me; he didn’t seem to get as scared when the wind made the branches sway. (Or, at least, he wouldn’t admit it.)
We used to carve initials on one particular branch in that tree. I think the last time I did that I was old enough to be “in love” and I was up there on my own.

Do you have a favorite tree? We’d love to hear that story!

And . . . in case you’ve forgotten the words, here’s the poem.

TREES
Alfred Joyce Kilmer

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

How much do you know about sugaring time and maple syrup?

Who discovered maple syrup?
The Native Americans discovered it. Maple syrup was used for barter among the peoples living along the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River.

How is the sap collected?
A probe is inserted into the tree – in the outside layers, about 1½ inches in. The Native Americans (and the rest of us) initially used half-round sticks with a channel and a whittled end. These were replaced later by cast iron and other metals. The sap drips into buckets that are emptied into a large tank. (I remember a big tank on a wooden sledge drawn by horses through the snow in the 1950s.) Larger farms may use plastic tubing hooked into a collection tank.

Do all varieties of maple trees have the right sap?
Although all have sap – every tree does – only the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) has the sweet sap that makes a clear, really yummy maple syrup. That’s the same tree that makes New England so brilliantly gorgeous in the autumn.

How is the syrup made?
The sap is boiled for hours and hours and hours until most of the water evaporates. It can be boiled further to produce maple cream and maple sugar. One winter treat is “sugar on snow,” made by boiling maple syrup to the hard candy stage and then drizzling that over a bowl of fresh (clean!) snow. There’s nothing like it!

Where is maple syrup made?
“Sugar houses” are small buildings set away from other buildings (in case of fire, presumably) where a fire is kept going under a large tank. Often, they are built right in the “sugar bush,” where the maple trees grow. Farmers used to fuel these fires exclusively with wood; now propane often is used.

How much sap does it take to make a gallon of syrup?
That depends on the sugar content of the sap. In general, the ratio is 43 to 1, so it would take 43 gallon milk jugs full of sap to make one gallon of syrup!

What are the grades of syrup?
Maple syrup grades are by color, which relates to taste. The very best grade, light amber, is from the first tappings, when the tree is only beginning to think about spring. It has the lightest and most delicate flavor. Next in line is medium amber, followed by dark amber and “Grade B.” Most supermarkets carry medium or dark amber; light amber is available primarily from gourmet food shops or maple farmers. As with many foods, there’s nothing better than syrup made by a local farmer and bought on site.

Does maple syrup have any nutritional value?
Yes! Maple sugar (and syrup) is less refined than sweetening products from other sources. (Remember, bees process the honey.) So, maple products contain minerals, antioxidants, and other compounds that have been shown to have health benefits.

Which state produces the best maple syrup?
Now, that’s a heated issue! I think New York State makes the best syrup, but that’s where I was raised so I would say that, wouldn’t I?

Where can you go to see maple syrup being made?
Many states and localities offer tours. Search for “maple sugar tours” in any search engine. Tours are available and several localities have maple syrup festivals this time of year. The American Maple Museum is in west Croghan, NY, not far from Lake Ontario and the Canadian border.

For more details on the process and syrup, see Cornell University’s FAQ.
For information on how you can make maple syrup at home (outdoors!), see the University of Maine’s instructions.
For a great series of photos on the process, visit the Wright Farms website.

We’re thinking of a Storybook Quilt with a maple tree theme? What do you think? Could you make up a good story about that?

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.