Time to talk turkey

Few foods receive the fanfare of turkey come the holiday season. The National Turkey Federation says Americans eat 46 million turkeys each Thanksgiving and another 22 million on Christmas. An additional 19 million enjoy turkey as part of their Easter celebrations. 
Though turkey is enjoyed throughout the year, it is most popular during the holiday season. Some celebrants may want to know more about this beloved bird before sinking their teeth into their next holiday meal. The following turkey tidbits may surprise you.

• Turkeys are large game birds that are closely related to chickens, pheasants and quail.
• The turkey’s scientific name is “meleagris gallopavo,” which is the wild turkey from which the domesticated turkey many people eat descends. There is another species of turkey known as the ocellated turkey, which is native to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
• By the early 1900s, the wild turkey neared extinction. Restoration projects have increased the number of turkeys from approximately 30,000 birds back then to nearly seven million now.
• Despite their size, turkeys can fly in the wild. They often perch in trees to sleep to protect themselves from predators. Some domesticated turkeys may not fly because they have been bred to be overly large to produce more breast meat.
• The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds.
• A male turkey is called a “tom” or a “gobbler,” while female turkeys are referred to as “hens.” Only the male will make the familiar gobbling sound, which is used to attract mates.
• A hen is smaller than a gobbler and does not have the distinctive beard of modified feathers that gobblers have on their breasts. Males also have sharp spurs on their legs for fighting.
• Male and female turkeys also can be differentiated by their droppings. Male droppings are spiral-shaped, while females’ look like the letter J.
• Both genders of turkey have snoods (the dangling appendage on the face) as well as red wattles under their chins.
• A hen can lay about 10 to 12 eggs over a period of two weeks. The eggs will incubate for 28 days before hatching. Baby turkeys are called “poults.”
• Turkeys and peacocks may look similar, but they are not closely related.
• Turkeys have excellent vision due to their eyes being located on the sides of their head. This gives the birds periscopic vision.
• The gizzard is a part of the turkey’s stomach that contains tiny stones that the bird has swallowed. The stones facilitate the digestion process.
• Benjamin Franklin did not support the bald eagle as the nation’s symbol, feeling the turkey would be a better choice. In a letter to his daughter, he wrote, “He [bald eagle] is a rank coward; the little king-bird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. For in truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. Eagles have been found in all countries, but the turkey was peculiar to ours …”
• Turkeys will have 3,500 feathers at maturity. Rumor has it the costume worn by the “Sesame Street” character “Big Bird” is made of turkey feathers.
• The turkey shares its name with a country. But why? A turkey bears some resemblance to the guinea fowl. Though it is native to eastern Africa, the guinea fowl was imported to Europe through the Ottoman Empire and came to be called the “turkey-cock” or “turkey-hen.” When settlers in the New World began to send similar-looking fowl back to Europe, they were mistakenly called “turkeys.”
• Despite an abundance of turkeys being eaten between November and January, June is National Turkey Month. 

Throw a hauntingly good Halloween party

Halloween is a special day that delights children of all ages and helps adults feel like kids at heart. Few people want the fun to end once trick-or-treating is over. By throwing a Halloween party, revelers can continue celebrating well into the evening.
When hosting a Halloween party, it helps to determine who will be in attendance before making any plans. Parties that include children should be PG in nature, and hosts should find the right balance between scary and fun. While you want to have a certain measure of the macabre, make sure you don’t send young guests home with nightmares. Reserve gruesome decorations and details for adult-only parties. 

Halloween parties do not necessarily need to be ghoulish to be fun. Try a glittery gala masquerade party or decorate exclusively in orange and black. Classically eerie parties may feature ravens and crows, or they can be subtlety spooky with red candles and heavy curtains.
Many people can’t wait to dress up for a Halloween party, even picking  out their costumes months in advance. Still, not everyone feels comfortable donning a costume. To welcome all guests, don’t make costumes mandatory. One way around this is to set up a Halloween Disguise Table full of accessories that anyone can borrow and use to alter their appearance. Goofy glasses, strange hats, adhesive mustaches, or masks can be fun. If someone didn’t feel comfortable dressing in full costume, he or she may be more apt to pop in a set of plastic fangs or put on a spinning bow tie.

Food is an integral part of any party and can enhance Halloween soirées. Candy is a pivotal component of Halloween and you can play off that theme at your party. Set up a candy bar full of appropriately hued candies of all shapes and sizes. Put them on display in clear glass or plastic canisters so they add to your Halloween décor.
Some people like to get creative with Halloween cuisine, crafting foods into items that may look like parts of the body or other symbols of the holiday. Cookie cutters can turn sandwiches, desserts, biscuits, and many other foods into different shapes. However, foods also can be made a tad more spooky simply by renaming them or presenting them in interesting containers. Why not serve punch out of a fish aquarium? Other beverages can be housed in jugs or old bottles and labeled “potions.” Use laboratory instruments, such as petri dishes, vials and beakers, to serve snacks. 

A Halloween party makes for a fun night, and there is no limit to what hosts can do when planning their scary soirées. 

Clever Alternatives to Traditional Dyed Easter Eggs

Easter is a time when Christian families gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Religious customs abound on Easter, but a number of secular traditions have emerged as well. Perhaps the most popular secular tradition associated with Easter is the coloring of Easter eggs.
Easter egg dyeing kits emerge in early spring. Consumers have a variety of alternatives to these kits at their disposal. There are some people who desire more environmentally friendly Easter eggs, so here are some creative and greener ideas for coloring eggs this year.

• Wooden eggs: Visit a craft store and purchase wooden eggs that can be painted and decorated however you desire. The wooden eggs will be durable and can be stored away for use each and every year. Because they are made of wood, a naturally recyclable material, they are easy on the environment.
• Consider natural dyes. Use different food items to create all-natural dyes for the eggs. Tea, fruit and vegetable juices -- even packaged drink mixes -- can be used to tint Easter eggs in various colors. Because you're controlling the materials you use, you can ensure they are safe to use.
• Experiment with papier mache. This ancient paper crafting technique uses recycled paper and a paste to create a hardened mold. Turn excess scraps of paper into delightful eggs put on display for the holiday.
• Purchase corn starch eggs. Corn starch is used in everything from packing materials to children's craft products. Corn starch can be molded into solid forms or foam-type consistencies. Egg kits are sold with this green material. When Easter is over, the corn starch eggs can be put out for composting. Foam-type eggs may be dissolved with water.
• Make edible eggs. Traditional Easter eggs can be wasteful if the eggs are boiled and used entirely for display. Rather, make eggs that will be enjoyed and are not at risk of spoiling too soon after being on display. Gelatin-dessert eggs is one way to use the eggs after Easter, and creative people can try crafting eggs out of meringue as well.
• Dough eggs: Have the children get out their favorite modeling dough and craft multi-colored eggs as a fun, rainy-day project. Those who want the eggs to last can purchase actual clay from the craft store or whip up their own medium at home. After drying, the eggs should be ready to paint.
• Drained eggs: Those interested in using the yolks and albumen from the eggs for cooking can poke small holes into the eggs and drain them. Then the remaining eggshells can be decorated and put on display. 

Groundhog Facts

Every February 2nd, people across the country anxiously await the groundhog's weather forecast. Should the groundhog see his shadow, it is six more weeks of winter. If the shadow goes unseen, spring will arrive ahead of schedule. For some, Groundhog Day is the only time a person actually lays eyes on the animal doing the prognosticating. But there's more to groundhogs than their ability to forecast the weather.

1. Groundhogs do little in that burrow during their winter rest. They go into profound hibernation, where their metabolic rates and their body temperatures drop considerably. Many groundhogs begin to come out of hibernation naturally around early- to mid-February. The groundhogs that make it on television for Groundhog Day may get an earlier wake-up call.
2. The scientific name of the groundhog is Marmota monax. Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are closely related to squirrels and actually can climb trees and swim.
3.  Groundhogs are herbivores, mostly feeding on whatever plant material they can find. Because they like crops, many farmers view them as pests. On occasion, groundhogs will scavenge for and eat insects.
4. The burrows made by the animals have several chambers and different entrances and exits. It may be challenging to find a groundhog's entry point to your yard as a result.
5.  On average, a groundhog will live between 3 to 6 years in the wild. In captivity, a groundhog can live to around age 10.
6. A wildlife biologist once measured the inside volume of a typical woodchuck burrow. It was estimated that if the hole was filled with wood shavings instead of dirt, that woodchuck could chuck about 700 pounds' worth of wood.
7. Groundhogs are often mistaken for other animals. In fact, the "gopher" that was seen in the film "Caddyshack" was actually a groundhog.
8. A groundhog can produce a high-pierced whistle when frightened, which has earned it the nickname "whistlepig."
9. Groundhog fur is not particularly thick or warm, so the animal has never really been prized for its coat for clothing.