Odds-and-ends – Skelton Sketches

Where do Sesame Seeds come from?

Posted on September 10, 2014April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

I know where poppy seeds come from,

and sunflower seeds too. These flourish in my garden:

In past years I’ve planted flax seeds and seen them flower both blue and red…

but as I was falling asleep one night I wondered…

Where do Sesame Seeds come from?

I’ve never grown these.

So, I looked it up. On the Internet, of course. (Why do I keep that World Book set anyway?)

And now I know.

According to Wikipedia, they come from a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum! (would you believe!) “Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods.”

I read on to find that the sesame seed has been domesticated for at least 3000 years and there’s evidence that it was once a major crop in the Middle East. It’s drought tolerant and oil-rich, making it a favorite in places where nothing else will grow. India exports the most sesame seeds and Japan imports the most. And that’s the bare bones of where sesame seeds come from. Just in case you ever wondered…

And if you want to know just a little more…look here.

[Shutterstock photo]

If your curiosity knows no bounds, you’ll enjoy this lovely little blog post featuring eleven foods that grow in unexpected ways. The cashew takes the prize for The Surprising-est!

And with that foray into things unknown, I will return to my own familiar garden and the seeds growing there today!

–LS

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”

And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good. Gen.1:11,12 Amen! and Amen!

All creation sings His praise!

Once upon a time…

Posted on January 7, 2012April 27, 2017 by lindaskelton

Once upon a time there lived a brave ginger teddy and his sweet little wife in a clearing in a meadow in a wild, wild wood…

They were as jolly as a couple of ginger bits could be…unaware of the fate that they tempted living all alone in such a place, far from the crowded tin of kin in yonder peopled place…

One bright day they had a quizzical visitor with a dark and beady eye…

He asked no questions, and he told no lies… merely offered to teach Mr. Ginger to fly…

And one only dare guess what came of that!

The constable was called but when he arrived he had such a gall he dared question the story the brave lady told..

And defenseless she stood awaiting her fate…

…till the dark beady-eyed fellow returned to escort her to join her mate…

And that gray-suited gentleman surveying the scene only had eyes for the vacated home that soon would be his. What a GULL!

He bided his time while darkness descended on the lone little cottage in the wild wild wood…

…and none but the moon saw the devilry done to the lone ginger cottage as vacant it stood…

But when morning had dawned no ginger house stood in the bright little meadow in the wild, wild wood.

–LS

HAPPY NEW YEAR from our big blue house in a soggy little clearing in a wild, wild wood!
May the sweet remains of the season not cling to your hips. That’s what birds are for!

From Small Beginnings…

Posted on April 30, 2011April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

OK, so I haven’t made it up Scout (yet) this week and I haven’t been out and about on any wonderful walks and there just isn’t a lot of ‘Spring’ happening yet but I have planted little wonder seeds and am watching the small beginnings emerge in the greenhouse…

Here are two of my favorites. The first, a little wild lupine from seed I gathered one very rainy day tromping down an old logging road and remembering the profusion of yellow blooms I’d seen earlier in the summer at that spot… OK so it’s a little like growing a mighty weed… but beautiful. And yes, Jim, it will be moving to other quarters before it becomes invasive!

The second little seedling is a happy little licorice-scented volunteer that blooms crazy purple bottlebrushes. I don’t ever seem to use ‘Anise-hyssop’ but I grow it for the love of the scent and the carefree blooms. (Or should I say, it grows itself from the zillions of pepper-sized seeds it scatters). My job is merely Protector from the weeding wizard! So far, so good.

Meanwhile, out and about there are these sweet little fir cones forming bright wee bouquets…

…and Miss Ash, the broccoli look-alike, a young ash grown from seed but destined for destruction as a garden plot is being developed at its feet… and that will never do. Poor ash.

And that’s the week’s findings in the horticulture department. Blessings on all your seed-sowing.

—LS

“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].” Psalm 126:6