Every Day Is Special

April 26 – National Help a Horse Day

Posted on April 26, 2016

I wasn't sure what the deal is with Help a Horse Day, but it turns out that there are people running equine rescue and sanctuaries – and of course, it costs a lot to feed and provide care for horses. There is an ASPCA Equine Fund that helps those people who are helping horses providing resources, providing experts in laws that protect horses, and collecting donations to help defray horse care costs.

Help a Horse Day is celebrated with special events by local organizations and rescue centers. The day is supposed to increase awareness of the plight of horses and the good work that is already being done on the behalf of horses, plus of course to let community members know how they can help.

So...what is the plight of horses?

Apparently the wild horses of America often face brutal treatment by the government agencies one would hope would be protecting them; public outcry has caused some reforms, but more changes are needed.

Use Google to find a local
equine rescue organization.

And of course some horse owners neglect or mistreat their horses. Whether a horse is being overworked, or underfed, or beat, or denied needed medical attention, the Humane Society, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and local rescue organizations must sometimes seize at-risk horses from their environments.

There are many unwanted horses: horses that are too old or injured to do what their owner wants, horses that are hard to manage, and horses whose owners moved, lost their jobs, or lost their interest in horse ownership!

I tried to find out how many unwanted horses there are – and I discovered that in the U.S. alone around 138,000 horses were sent to slaughter in 2011, and a research-based estimate of unwanted horses was 170,000 in 2007. So...we're talking about a lot of horses!

Also on this date:

Artist Eyvind Earle's birthday

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted's birthday

Richter Scale Day

Mother, Father Deaf Day

Naturalist and artist John Audubon's birthday

Anniversary of a major meteor shower

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

April 25 – Liberation Day in Italy

Posted on April 25, 2016

During World War II, Italy was one of the “enemies.”

And by that, I mean that Italy was part of the “Axis,” fighting WITH the German Nazis and Japan – fighting AGAINST the “Allies” that included the U.S., the U.K., France, U.S.S.R., Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.

Of course, that does not mean that all Italian people were pro-Nazi. As a matter of fact, many, many Italians spent the years before and during WWII actively fighting against their own fascist government. Benito Mussolini was the leader of that government: at first a democratically elected Prime Minister and later a dictator with secret police and almost total control over the people of Italy.

Having a dictator who destroys all political rivals and who controls information and media and education really hurts the people under that “leader.” And that's why the Italian people celebrate the date in 1945 when Allied troops liberated Italy from Nazi occupation and from Mussolini.

Here's how they celebrate:

Parades and marching bands

Do you think of bagpipes as only Scottish?
This photo is labeled "traditional Italian bagpipes."

Music concerts and food festivals

Political rallies

Flags and red-white-and-green colors

Italy is one heck of a gorgeous and fascinating country! Because it is made up of a peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean Sea, plus islands, there are wonderful coasts and beaches and cities made up of canals.

Tropea

Ogliastra, Sardinia

Venice

Italy also has amazing mountain scenery, courtesy of the Alps.

The Dolomites

Lake Como

Italy is of course famous for being the hub of the ancient Roman Empire, and the ruins of its ancient temples and arenas and baths and catacombs are fantastic! Sadder but equally amazing are the towns preserved in volcanic ash when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.

The Forum

The Colosseum

The Catacombs

Pompeii

One of my favorite cuisines is Italian food, and some of the best Italian food I've ever eaten was in Italy!

I especially love pasta with carbonara sauce!

Italian pizzas are thin-crusted - and yummy!

And then there is all of the art, the art, the architecture, and the art!

Also on this date:

DNA Day

Anzac Day

Astronaut Frank De Winne's birthday

World Penguin Day

Anniversary of the first seeing-eye dog in the U.S.

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

April 24 – National Pigs in a Blanket Day

Posted on April 24, 2016

“Sausage wraps” would be a pretty good name for this dish, because every variation is some sort of hot dog, wiener, cocktail sausage, chipolata, breakfast link, or other sausage wrapped in something and then baked or fried.

In the U.K., the sausage is wrapped in bacon. In the U.S., it's wrapped in dough – often croissant dough or biscuit dough. In some places in Europe and Mexico, it's wrapped in a pancake or puff pastry or even tortillas. In Australia and New Zealand, it's simply wrapped in a slice of sandwich bread!

We think that sausages-wrapped-
in-dough dishes have been eaten at least

since the 1600s.

These days, they seem to be most

popular as party food / appetizers.

I couldn't spot where the name “pigs in a blanket” came from – but I'm thinking it's a British name. First of all, Brits are so darned clever and even funny as they name dishes – like “toad in a hole,” “spotted dick,” “bubble and squeak,” “Cullen skink,” or “singing hinnies”!

Second, pigs in a blanket is a traditional dish for Christmas in Britain, and it is often served alongside “devils on horseback,” which consists of prunes wrapped in bacon.

Pølse i svøb is a Danish version of a long sausage wrapped in bacon, served with dipping sauce.