Sunflowers

Photo by: Stig Nygaard

My grandfather’s sister taught me how to draw flowers. She also taught me how to appreciate flowers, even the flowers that most people call weeds – like dandelions and clover. I can still see her cupping a dandelion in her hand and saying, “Now, isn’t that just beautiful.”

Her name was Lilly, but all of us kids called her “Nanny.”

Nanny loved ALL flowers, but she did have a favorite, which would become my favorite flower, too.

The SUNFLOWER!

Nanny with a very young Professor Watermelon

Nanny believed that everyone with a yard should plant at least one sunflower a year. For most of my adult life, I have lived in an apartment, but I still buy sunflower seeds every year and give them to my students.

Creative Writers, we’ve found our MUSE! Let’s take a closer look at this garden majesty and see what we can learn.

Sunflowers grow very tall. Normally they reach 5 to 12 feet, but some grow even taller than that. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the tallest recorded sunflower grew 27 feet. This giant was grown in Germany in 2012.

Sunflowers are an American plant. Native Americans harvested sunflowers thousands of years ago. Today, sunflowers are still harvested here in America. Take a look at this video and see how sunflowers are farmed in North Dakota.

While sunflowers may be native to the Americas, they are now grown all over the world. In fact, Russia grows more sunflowers than any other country. Maybe that is why the sunflower is Russia’s national flower.

As you noticed in the video, farmers grow sunflowers for their seeds. One sunflower head can produce over 2,000 seeds. These seeds are used mostly for making sunflower oil, but the rest are eaten by people and… BIRDS!

Take a look at this video of some birds nibbling away at some wild sunflower heads.

Sunflower seeds are also ground into delicious sun-butter. For those of you who are allergic to peanut butter, sun-butter is a tasty alterative.

Growing sunflowers are very easy. Just follow the directions on the back of the seed packet, and you will do just fine. If you would like to see a video on planting sunflowers, I have provided one for you below…

Sunflowers grow very quickly. And when they form a flower bud, watch how it follows the sun in the sky. This is called heliotropism. Once the bud blooms, the sunflower stops following the sun, leaving its blossom facing the East.

"Sunflower" by Professor Watermelon

Like I mentioned before, Nanny taught me how to draw all kinds of different flowers. This is something I still do to this day. Here is picture of a sunflower I drew this morning.

With that new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these “what if” questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF Jack planted a magic sunflower seed instead of a magic bean?

WHAT IF found crop circles were found in Russia’s sunflower fields?

WHAT IF little elves built a city in your main character’s sunflower garden?

The possibilities are endless! And please leave your own “WHAT IF” questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, a piece of paper and a pencil, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere! I look forward to seeing where you take us!

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

P.S. The word of the week is "Heliotropism". Here is the definition: The growth of plants or plant parts (especially flowers) in response to the stimulus of sunlight, so that they turn to face the sun.

Another GARTER SNAKE Spotted near the Gutter

Hello Creative Writers,

I was mowing my friend's lawn again, and guess what I found? ANOTHER GARTER SNAKE! This snake was a little bit bigger than the garter snake I brought to class. Take a look at the video.

With Imagination

Professor Watermelon

Watermelons

One of my Creative Writers gave me a watermelon. He also gave me a watermelon serving tray. THANK YOU, ALEX!

Alex inspired me to share one of my favorite MUSES! You’ll never guess what it is…

Cue the Choir in the loft, please…

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

 

WATERMELONS!

Watermelons are FESTIVE! They are MAGICAL! They are COLORFUL! They are TASTY! And they happen to be my NAMESAKE!

My fascination with watermelons started a very long time ago in Indianapolis, Indiana. My grandfather let me help plan the family garden. Grandpa showed me where he was going to plant the tomatoes, string beans, peppers, beets, and other vegetables. When we got to the back of the garden, he told me that I could plant whatever I wanted. It didn’t take me long to decide on THREE things…

Photo by: Andy Melton

Popcorn!

Pumpkins!

And WATERMELONS!

We planted a row of popcorn. We planted 8 hills of pumpkins and 8 hills of watermelons. (A “hill” is a gardening term. It is when you mound the dirt into a small hill and plant three seeds in a small triangle at the top. This method is often used for vining plants, like watermelons and cucumbers.)

All summer I watered, weeded and WATCHED my garden grow. And when I saw the tiny swelling of a baby watermelon behind a bloom, I was CAPTIVATED. When the blooms fell off, and the watermelons grew bigger and bigger, I was ENTRANCED!

Photo by: Harsha K.R.

At the end of the summer, Grandpa and I harvested our first watermelon. We took it inside the house and grandma taught me how to cut it open. As soon as I saw the BRIGHT red center, speckled with black seeds, I was EXTATIC!

When Grandma handed me a wedge of that beautiful fruit, I sank my teeth into it and was transported to WATERMELON HEAVEN!

I HAD FOUND MY FIRST MUSE!

At that point I wanted to know everything there was to know about WATERMELONS. And now, I will share what I know with YOU!

Watermelons have a RICH history. The first recorded watermelon harvest was 5000 years ago in Egypt. Yes, EGYPT! Archeologists found paintings of watermelons on the walls of ancient Egyptian buildings. It is believed that watermelons were placed in the tombs of the Pharaohs when they died.

By the 10^th century, watermelons were being grown in China, which is still the largest grower of watermelons in the world.

By the 13^th century, watermelons were being grown in Europe.

And by the 1600’s, watermelons were being grown in America. It is believed that African slaves brought watermelon seeds with them from Africa.

Today, the United States is ranked 4^th in the worldwide production of watermelons.

And watermelons area a huge SLICE of American culture! In fact, many regions have watermelon festivals. Take a look at this watermelon festival in Lulling, Texas.

Did you see the Watermelon Water Tower? How about the Watermelon Queen? Who would like to participate in the Watermelon Eating Contest or Seed Spitting Contest? Me! Me! Me!

Take a look at this video to learn how to spit watermelon seeds!

Not only are watermelons festive and fun, they are also very nutritious! They are chocked full of vitamins and minerals, and they keep your body hydrated on hot summer days. Why? Because they are 92% water!  Maybe that is why they are called… WATERMELONS!

Like I mentioned before, I am CRAZY about watermelons, but this cat might have even ME beat.

HILARIOUS!

I can’t end this MUSE without sharing the world’s largest watermelon. Lloyd Bright of Arkadelphia, Arkansas holds this record for growing a 268.8 pound watermelon in 2005.

Here’s another quick fact: Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.

Yellow Watermelon
Photo by: Le Mai

Okay, one more: The rind of the watermelon is often pickled. Maybe this is because watermelons are the cucumber’s cousin.

Here’s one for the road: There are hundreds of watermelon varieties, but there are five common types: Seeded, Seedless, Mini, Yellow, and Orange.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these WHAT IF questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF there was a PLANET WATERMELON?

WHAT IF the seeds of the watermelon were creatures and they turned their watermelon into a SPACESHIP?

WHAT IF your main character lived on a watermelon farm? What if he/she grew a watermelon that would not stop growing?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “canteen”. Here is the definition: a small container used especially by soldiers and hikers for carrying water or other liquids.

Garter Snake RELEASED back to the WILD

Creative Writers,

Good evening!

As I had promised, I have released our Garter Snake friend. After a week of being our Creative Writing MUSE, he was certainly ready to go back home. Before I knew it, he had already climbed out of the cage and had slithered towards freedom.

Let's all take a moment to wish him LUCK!

So long, friend.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

Garter Snakes

Common Garter Snake
Photo by: Brian Gratwicke

While mowing my friend’s lawn, guess what I found slithering through the grass? (The key word here is “slither”.)

That’s right, a SNAKE!

I knew right away what I had found – a common garter snake. Since these cute little guys are harmless, I decided to scoop him up.

Creative Writers, we’ve found another MUSE!

GARTER SNAKES!

Garter snakes are the most common snakes in North America. They are mildly venomous but harmless to humans. Even if they do bite you, the toxins in their saliva do not harm people. In fact, a garter snake’s bite hardly ever breaks the skin.

Garter snakes like to live near water. Here, they will find plenty of frogs, tadpoles, earthworms, slugs, and small fish to eat. They use a “grab and swallow” method to catch and eat their prey. Take a look at this video and watch a garter snake devour a worm.

Garter snakes hunt for prey during the day. And while they are hunting, other animals are hunting them. Hawks, eagles, and crows eat garter snakes. So do foxes, coyotes, and raccoons. Baby garter snakes are often eaten by bullfrogs.

Like many other reptiles, garter snakes hibernate during the colder months. They usually hibernate in large groups in a hibernaculum. What a HUGE word! Try sounding it out.

A hi-ber-nac-u-lum is a place where animals go to hibernate. For a bear this might be a cave. Garter snakes look for mild underground dens. Take a look at this video to see the largest garter snake hibernaculum in the WORLD!

One of the most interesting facts I learned about garter snakes is that they give birth to live young. Most snakes lay eggs, but not the garter snake. Sometimes a female will give birth to as many as 85 babies. Another snake that gives birth to live young is the ANACONDA!

A baby garter snake is usually about 5 inches long. An adult garter snake can grow over 4 feet long. They can live up to 15 years.

This is the garter snake that I found. He/she is probably just a year old.

Here’s another interesting fact. The garter snake is the ONLY snake that lives in Alaska.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these WHAT IF questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your main character was terrified of snakes and he/she had to go on a field trip to a garter snake hibernaculum?

WHAT IF your main character’s best friend was turned into a garter snake by his/her teacher who was secretly a witch?

WHAT IF the garter snakes had an underground city?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “reptile”. Here is the definition: any cold-blooded vertebrate in the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs.

Lobsters



Photo by: Rex Sorgatz

While shopping at the supermarket, I passed the seafood counter and noticed a dead lobster in the lobster tank. As a creative writing professor, I knew I could not let this opportunity pass. I asked the attendant if she would donate the dead lobster to a good cause.

“You want a dead lobster?” she repeated.

“Well, you see, I’m a teacher, and this dead lobster will make the perfect MUSE for my students,” I told her.

“Let me call my manager,” she said.

Eavesdropping on her conversation, I heard her say to the manager, “Sir, I have a very strange request from a man who claims to be a teacher. He wants us to donate a dead lobster for a class project.”

The conversation lasted two or three minutes. When the attendant hung up the phone, she walked back over to the counter.

“You can have the dead lobster,” she said. “But you must write and sign a note stating that if anyone eats this dead lobster you will take full responsibility.”

“Deal!” I said, a little too excited, probably. 

While I wrote and signed the “contract”, the attendant fished the dead lobster from the tank.  We traded lobster for contract, and I thanked her dearly.

JEEPERS CREEPERS, I had found another MUSE!

When I returned from the supermarket, I placed the dead lobster in a Ziploc and packed him in the deep-freeze. It was time for me to research lobsters. Here is what I found:

The lobsters we find in the supermarket or at restaurants are closely related to their freshwater

Crawfish

cousins, the crawfish. I prefer to call them crawdads. In fact, if you look at these creatures, they truly look like miniature lobsters.

Lobsters, crawfish, shrimp, and crabs are all crustaceans. Crustaceans are a group of arthropods that all have exoskeletons (hard outer shells). Humans have “skeletons”, which is the opposite. Our structural foundation is on the inside.

Crustaceans are all set apart from other arthropods because they have two-parted limbs, in most cases “claws”.

When lobsters are not hiding out in a crevice or burrow, they slowly crawl along the ocean floor looking for food. If they are spooked, they flip their abdomen (we call it their tail) back and forth to flee. Sometimes they can reach 11 mph in speed.

Like snails and spiders, lobsters have BLUE blood. This is due to the copper in their blood. Our blood is red, due to the iron.

Lobsters possess a unique ability to produce a special enzyme that repairs their DNA. Some scientists believe that lobster could live almost forever, if they were not hunted, trapped, or if they did not contract a disease.

Lobsters are omnivores, which mean they eat both plants and animals. Their diet consists mainly of fish, mollusks (clams), other crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. Lobsters have been known to be cannibalistic in captivity. Do you know what that means? THEY EAT EACH OTHER! Wowsers!

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest lobster ever caught was 44 pounds. This monster was caught off the shores of Nova Scotia, Canada.

The commercial lobster industry brings in over one billion dollars a year.

Take a look at this video to learn even MORE about lobsters!

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these what if questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your main character went swimming in the ocean and was encountered by a lobster three times his/her size?

WHAT IF your main character was a lobster trapper and he/she trapped the world’s only rainbow lobster. Maybe this lobster has special powers. What are they?

WHAT IF your main character was a lobster that was trapped and lived in the lobster tank at a supermarket. How does he/she escape?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

P.S. The word of the day is “arthropod”. Here is the definition: any invertebrate in the phylum arthropoda, having a segmented body, jointed limbs, and usually a chitinous shell that undergoes moltings, including the insects, spiders, and other arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods.