Valentine Candy Hearts

Does anyone else like these candy hearts?  I always buy a bag and eat most of them myself.  The little sayings are fun, but I actually like the taste even though I am not sure what is in them (read below) They are manufactured by Necco which also make these

which I also find delicious.  They can be hard to find, but Cracker Barrel consistently has them in stock.

I came upon an article today entitled "9 Things You Didn't Know About Valentine Candy Hearts"  In case you don't want to take the time, I'll summarize.

1.  They date back to 1866.  

2.  One of the first messages was, "Send a Lock of Hair by Return Mail"  I think this was more of a fortune cookie type message, but still...

3.  There were originally shaped like scallop shells

4.  They were originally popular wedding treats before becoming popular during Valentines Day

5.  The Heart shape took off in 1902.  Some of the original sayings KISS ME, SWEET TALK, and  BE MINE have been in circulation for over 100 years.

6.  They change the messages every year. Messages like DIG ME and GROOVY are definitely from another era.  Here are a few past messages.  My personal favorite is LOVE, which I think has been around since I was a kid.  I think Dan might have gave me one in grade school!

7.  They will keep up to five years.  Got to wonder.....

8.  Necco produces enough every year that everyone on the planet could have one.

9.  They will dance in a can of soda.  

Tree Stump

Dan has talked about working on this mulberry tree for a long time.  Unfortunately, we did not take a "before" picture of this remarkable tree.  Remarkable in that the original tree had  been sawed off years ago.  The stump was left without any further treatment.  This video shows the results.  I counted ten different shoots off the original trunk that had grown into independent trees.

 I didn't remove the tractor noise.  There is snow on the ground now and more to be expected tomorrow.  I think we will have a big fire either tomorrow or Wednesday while we have the snow and try to get rid of what is a big pile of brush since this video was taken..