Holidays that Honor the Treat of Ice Cream (And A Shout Out to Ice Cream Makers)

I learned of the holiday known as National Ice Cream Day when I went to my local flea market which is kiddy corner from The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).

According to Holiday Insights (HI), it is always celebrated on the third Sunday of the month.

HI writes "In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month. He also established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in the month."

The holiday could've easily come and gone without my knowing it, because I either had forgotten about this occasion, or, I didn't realize that yesterday was already the third Sunday of the month!

But because of my Sunday routine I was made aware of the holiday.

You see, quite often on Sunday I will bring my "materials" to a composting station at a nearby Greenmarket that is situated parallel to the grounds of The AMNH. On occasion, after doing so, I will check out my local flea market since it is in such close proximity.

Yesterday, there was an array of ice cream vendors at that flea market, which is not the norm, and the array of what each one offered was mind boggling, causing me to recall the Mutts strip which I've posted atop this entry.

Unfortunately I was not feeling very well and eating ice cream would not have been an option, but I still was able to check out the array of vendors, and since they are NYC based, there's a good chance that I can try their products when I'm feeling better.

I need not worry that I could not do so on the official day, for, as I just stated President Regan, ear-marked the entire month of July as National Ice Cream month. And if I'm not feeling better during the  fifteen days that remain in July, I can always celebrate on December 13th, which is Ice Cream Day!

In any event, for you New Yorkers who may have missed National Ice Cream Day, fear not, I have the scoop (excuse the pun) on the various vendors who participated at my local flea market and you can check them out at your leisure.

The first one that I came upon was Too Cool Chix Ice Cream sandwiches. Their web-site states:"The founders of Too Cool Chix are Michele Elmer and Sharon Monahan. Together they’ve elevated the humble ice cream sandwich because they think outside the pint."

I was drawn to their "station" because of their use of birds (chicks) in their logo and packaging as seen below:

I am hoping to feel well enough to try their "Beauty Bar," which is Lavender Ice Cream with a Soft Lemon Cookie.

I told the women working their that I had helped Cam write her book, Words In Our Beak Volume One,

and I boldly proposed they came up with a flavor in Cam's honor! Rather they do this or not, I intend to try their product and encourage you to do so also, dear reader.

Another vendor that I came upon was VICTORY GARDEN, featuring gelato made from goat's milk.

I will be eager to try this at some point, for my cyber-freindship with the goat-raising, Italy-based Michelle Fabio, has always been an impetus for me to try products made with goat's milk. Readers of my blog may recall that I've written about Fabio in by gone years.

Moreover, Fabio has reviewed the digital version of Words In Our Beak Volume One for Goodreads.

Be that as it may I'm intrigued by products made with goats milk because of the wonderful cheeses made by Ardith Mae, who sells them at the greenmarket that I go to on Sundays.

The folks at VICTORY GARDEN were very accommodating and if their product is anything like the goodness they showed, I'm in for a taste treat when I'm on the mend!

Bras CAN be for the Birds — Especially Pigeons! (Thursday's Testimony)

IMAGE CREDIT

Before I tell you about the picture atop this entry of a paratrooper wearing a pigeon vest, please take a moment to consider the image directly below...

IMAGE CREDIT

... it appeared in my news feed this morning from Jem Humphrey who wrote often calls herself "The crazy Pigeon Lady." Here's what she said re this picture. "Good morning! Lets begin the day with some beautiful words from Archimedes about our favorite bird!"

Fred (or Freddie), A Touring Pumpkin

It's been a very rainy (understatement) chilly day in NYC, but that didn't stop Freddie the pumpkin from continuing with his greenmarket tour.

He's been making the rounds (visiting various greenmarkets in NYC) since the first Sunday in October (when he debuted — wearing a face-mask — at the Greenmarket alongside The AMNH (American Museum of Natural History) on the UWS.

He wants people to guess his weight and whomever comes the closest will win a bag of local produce.

Contestants write their guess along with their name and contact info on a piece of paper and give it to the person monitoring his space.

And evidently, on this Saturday, which is the last Saturday in October, the winner will be annouced at the Greenmarket at Tucker Square and where I saw him today).

You would think with the array of pumpkins that are in my garden, which I've carried up five flights of stairs, that I might have an idea, but I don't, I just put down a wild guess, for you have to be in it to win it as the saying goes.

Honoring the (5) Great "new brand" Pumpkins (National Pumpkin Day 2019)

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is not part of my blog posting schedule for this week, but this entry is being published in honor of National Pumpkin Day!

One can hardly think of pumpkins without thinking of The Great Pumpkin made famous by Charles Schultz's Peanuts character, Linus, who can be seen with Sally (directly above) taking delight in a pumpkin patch, where they are awaiting the arrival of him/her.

This year I have five great "new brand variety" pumpkins and a few "standard" pumpkins, all of which I got from various farmers in the tri-state area who come to the Greenmarkets on the UWS.

Sunday's Statements: The "odd warty growths" (One Side-Effect of Being a Muscovy Duck)

The bird seen in the photographs atop this entry is known as a Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata). I encountered the creature last Wednesday (9-20-2017), when I took a walk along a Hudson River pier located in NYC's UWS.

The Color Purple in the Cauliflower Family (Tuesday's Truths WK 98)

The picture atop today's entry is a screenshot of something I saw in my FB newsfeed from Grow NYC, an organization which sponsors the greenmarkets that I've written about here on Blogger.

When I was at their UWS market this past Sunday, which is now alongside the main entrance (Seventy-Seventh Street) of The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), I saw the a number of farmers who carried this vegetable (and photographed it as evidenced in the next picture) that Grow NYC has "missed" and color wise, I can certainly see why.

Now having been introduced to this vegetable, I've done some research to learn more about it, and the facts that I've come upon are the subject of this ninety-eight segment of my Tuesday's Truths series.

According to a number of sources, including, thekitchn.com, "Purple cauliflower gets its beautiful hue, which can vary from pale to jewel-toned, from the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin, which is also found in red cabbage and red wine... is mild and slightly sweet with nutty nuances...."

They go on to explain that one can "cook with colored cauliflower just as you would with white cauliflower! You can roast it, steam it, mash it, rice it or make it into a soup. And, of course, you can also eat it raw."

Cooking is not my strength, but the recipes included in the article sound delish, so don't read the aforementioned web-page when you are hungry.

It's Pokémon's Anniversary

The creation of Pokémon took place on this day of February 27th in 1996. I confess that I don't know anything about Pokémon or the character Pikachu, but I recognize the fact that there is a huge community out there who apppreciate this phenomenon, and so I'm sharing what I know about it, which is limited to my seeing Pikachu in a few Macy's Parades. 

I first saw the character in this venue when I attended the 2014 Macy's Parade and took note of how he could be considered a voyeurs. This is something as you might also surmise from the photo-op atop this entry, but Pikachu is certainly not the only one to be a Peeping Tom when participatingin the parade.

It's Christmas Time in The City...

In two weeks time, it will be Christmas Eve and NYC is ready.

Here are a few examples: The Met's tree, a 20-foot-high blue spruce is hung with ornate Neapolitan angels, and the base of the tree is the setting for an elaborate Italian Nativity scene; the tree in close proximity (Dante Park) to Lincoln Center was lit on the Monday after Thanksgiving, November twenty-sixth (the same night as my presentation at NYSEC aka New York Society for Ethical Culture); and the in the evening of the Wednesday after Thanksgiving the tree at Rockefeller Center was lit (more of NYC's Christmas decor can be found on a web page for trip savvy).

Inside the AMNH (The American Museum of Natural History) a nondenominational holiday tree decorated with origami animals (800-plus folded-paper critters) is up and outside, at the building's entrance across from Central Park, is a topiary of two dinosaurs, facing each other as they hold a wreath; prompting my caption, "With this wreath, I thee wed."

Grow NYC's compost is in the bag!

Every Sunday, under all types of weather conditions, I take any food scraps I have as well as pieces of foliage from pruned plants and trees (that grow in my roof extension garden) to a Greenmarket that is sponsored by Grow NYC and is located alongside The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and I put them in their compost bin.

From there the folks who work at their Compost Station transport everything to Governor’s Island where it is ultimately turned into soil that’s suitable for house plants and/or a great “product” to use as fertilizer if one has an outdoor garden.

Today individual bags (an example is featured in the image atop this posting) of their “concoction” were given to those who bought any food scraps (as well as pieces of foliage from pruned plants and trees) to their compost bin.

So glad to have been a recipient of a bag of it.