4 Fun Fall Facts

Fun Fall fact #1: 
Did you know that the stem on pumpkins has a name (and it's not stem). It's called a peduncle. I only recently learned that peduncles are five-sided. Who knew? 

Fun Fall fact #2: 
Did you know that the contents of the cans of pumpkin puree that many of us use to make pumpkin pie is really squash, not pumpkin. Of course, pumpkin and squash are in the same family, but squash has a firmer consistency that is better for making pies so that is why it is sold as pumpkin puree.

Fun Fall fact #3: 
Did you know that the best conditions for producing the most spectacular fall leaf colours are a wet spring and summer followed by a sunny cool fall. Having lots of sunshine in the fall encourages leaves to produce more sugar. Cool (but frostless) nights cause the veins in the leaves to close, trapping the sugar which promotes the formation of pigments that give fall leaves their colourful tints, especially reds and purples.

Fun Fall fact #4:

Did you know that there are only two days of the year when you can stand an egg on its end - the fall and spring equinox. Since we've missed the autumnal equinox, the hardest part of getting an egg to stand on its end will be remembering to do it on March 20, 2015.

And speaking of fall, we made our carved - or maybe I should call them etched pumpkins - again this year in art class. They are always so much fun to make. If you look closely at the first photo in this blog you will see that I carved five vines coming from each of the points on the peduncle (as per fun fact #1).

I love that the etched pumpkins add a little pretty to the front porch. I'm really not into scary so this suits me much better. You can see below the other ones I've made in previous years.

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And in other news - did you see the photos from my instagram account on my sidebar. I finally joined yet another form of social media. Actually, I've had an account for awhile (and even a few followers), but never posted anything until now... Anyway, it is a bit lonely out there right now so if you want to have a look I would love to see you on instagram. Let me know if you have an account as I'm looking for friends too!