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[IceWizard]

28 Mar 2017


Weed Appreciation Day

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.
– A. A. Milne

Is there anything more aggravating then working in your garden and finding yet another sprouting of weeds after you thought you got them all? Seriously, weeds are just so incredibly annoying and you’re right to rip them out. Then afterwards you can sit on your porch and enjoy the dandelions that grow in your front yard, their bright yellow eyes turned to the sun. Weed Appreciation Day reminds you that those dandelions are weeds too, along with numerous other plants that you don’t mind growing in the yard.

History of Weed Appreciation Day

Weed Appreciation Day was established to remind people that a weed is just a plant growing where you don’t want it to grow. Blackberries are fantastic when you find them growing wild in the forest, but are perhaps less desirable when you find them growing in the middle of your rhododendron bushes. That’s basically the details of what makes a weed a weed, and there are hundreds of ‘weeds’ that are incredibly important in health, science, and culinary uses. After all, dandelion wine isn’t just a pretty name!

There’s also chickweed, which believe it or not is actually quite tasty and packed with vitamins, but most people just rip them out and throw them in the compost bin or burn them. Chicory is often considered to be a weed as well, though it’s a pretty little plant with bright blue flowers, but it’s a hugely popular drink in the south, especially in Louisiana. Certainly it’s the roots, but still, weeds are weeds only if you don’t want them where you find them!

Weed Appreciation Day reminds you to get out there and really look at your yard, and find out if perhaps what you once thought of us as a weed, is actually a wonderful new surprise living in your lawn.




And






Black Forest Cake Day



Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is a word that is perhaps beyond the reach of most of us, a rich word with a rich history, but perhaps a bit too exotic to describe a treat we are all familiar with. And what a treat it is, rich layers of chocolate sponge cake mortared together with a flavorful whipped cream and assortment of cherries, and frosted and topped with more of the same. That’s right! It’s a Black Forest Cake, and Black Forest Cake Day celebrates this most amazing and exotic of treats.

History of Black Forest Cake Day

A true Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is made with the rich flavorful liquor that comes from the region for which it’s named Schwarzwälder Kirsch(wasser). In the region grows a variety of tart cherries that lend the spirit its unique flavor, and in turn provide a notable and local flavor to the Black Forest Cherry-Torte. This cake certainly has a long storied history, having first appeared in Schwarzwälder (The Black Forest) in 1915, or so that’s the tale that Josef Keller told until his death in 1981. Whether his tale is true or not, what is well known is it was indelibly tied to Berlin by 1931, and has spread throughout the world to become a famous and recognizable treat.
Interestingly, there is actually a Swedish variation of this dish, consisting merely of layers of rich flavorful chocolate and whipped cream. Once this is completed the Schwarzwaldtårta is decorated with rich slivers or plates of chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder for a distinctive and delicious appearance. In spite of the shared name, it has no other relation to the Cherry-Torte mentioned above. But that doesn’t stop us from enjoying it as well on Black Forest Cake Day!

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March 28 Birthdays





Lady Gaga - 31




Reba McEntire - 62




Vince Vaughn - 47




Kate Gosselin - 42









March 28th

2010: Rush were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. They were recognized for the songs “Closer to the Heart”, “The Spirit of Radio”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight” & “Subdivisions”.

2005: Queen kicked off their first tour with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company and Free replacing Freddie Mercury on vocals at London’s Brixton Academy.

1996: Phil Collins announced that he was leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career, soundtrack work and some jazz projects.

1994: Nirvana singer & guitarist Kurt Cobain checked into the Exodus Recovery Center in Marina del Rey, CA after Dave Grohl & Krist Novoselic threatened to disband Nirvana if he didn’t enter rehab. Cobain walked out of the center three days later.

1992: Over $100,000 worth of damage was caused during an Ozzy Osbourne concert at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA after Osbourne invited the first two rows of the audience onstage. Other members of the audience took up the offer which forced the band to leave the stage.

1982: David Crosby was pulled over in Los Angeles and was arrested discovered to be driving under the influence of cocaine. Police later discovered Quaaludes, drug paraphernalia & a .45 caliber pistol in his car.

1981: Rush peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with their eighth studio album Moving Pictures which spent three consecutive weeks at number three. The album became their most commercially successful album in the U.S. where it sold four million copies.

1970: John Lennon peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles Chart with “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)” which was Lennon’s first top ten single as a solo artist in the U.S.

1958: Eddie Cochran recorded “Summertime Blues”, which was later covered by artists such as Blue Cheer, The Who & Rush.



Birthdays:

John Evan - Keyboardist for Jethro Tull born in 1948