Hooray! It's a Bumper Crop of Chili

Perfectly timed and amounts of rain has brought us an early and big crop of green chili - the real reason for living.

I was excited by news of the bumper crop. Then my excitement turned to curiosity. What does the word "bumper" have to do with a crop of anything?

Ah, never fear. There is always The Word Detective to consult.

From a November, 2000 column, titled "IS IT OK TO PET THE COW?"

Dear Word Detective:

We recently moved out into the country and have heard the phrase "bumper crop" thrown about. Where did this phrase originate? My husband thinks that there must be something called a bumper at the top of a grain bin and when the bin is full there is a "bumper crop." What do you think? -- Marcia Timmerman, via the internet.

Well, I think the first thing you should do is to warn your husband not to mention his theory to any of the local farmers. Take it from me, nothing launches the average farmer into gales of helpless laughter like the innocent antics of city folks. The first autumn we lived in the country I happened to notice that they were harvesting corn in the field across the road and went over to watch. So shoot me. I was curious. Two years later I am still known around here as "The weirdo who likes to watch corn harvesters."

Of course, if you just leave out the "gizmo in the grain bin" theory and ask your neighbors what "bumper crop" really means, I'll bet they won't know the answer either, because the "bumper" part really doesn't have anything to do with farming.

"Bumper" in this sense is just a superlative, meaning "unusually large or impressive." What makes "bumper crop" seem mysterious is that this "jumbo" sense of "bumper" is now very rare anywhere except in the phrase "bumper crop." But back in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was common to hear shopkeepers talk of "bumper business" in the holiday season or even "bumper traffic" on city streets. "Bumper" as a noun was even used as theatrical slang for a sold-out house at a performance.

The logic of this "large" sense of "bumper" is a little hazy, but a clue may be found in its earliest use. A "bumper" in the 17th century was a large glass of beer or wine that was filled to the brim, i.e., with the liquid literally bumping against the rim of the glass. Such abundance was obviously considered a good thing, as "bumper crops" of just about anything have been ever since.

Growth and deterioration are exponential.

But the exponent of growth is 2, while that of deterioriation is 10.

(Image: Sam Brown.)

Here's an Idea...

Arm Congress.

Photo: Amanda Brown/The Star-Ledger

I'm not lingering on in the glory of the last post. I'm only digging out from underneath some heavy deadlines. Plan to post on Sunday or Monday.

This is a recently published book by a friend of mine, Stacia Spragg-Braude. She is a photographer and this book documents the lives of a Navajo family. It is a coffee table style book with elegant photographs.





I was unaware that I had been listed in the adknowledgments. "...to Dennis Plummer for putting me back in touch with Fidel Castro and the je ne sais quoi gypsy in the bar."

Morning Mystery

I stopped by my landlord's house on the way out to work this morning. She had a CD for me that had come in the mail. I had not ordered a CD. I did not know the artist. There was no note with the invoice; it only stated that it had been paid for in full.

Now I can't wait to get to work to play the music and explore the artist and possibilities of who might have sent it. That's a good way to wake up.

Zami

My landlord's new kitten discovers his tail.

Sears/Willis Tower

Today the Sears Tower becomes "Willis Tower". Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance-brokerage firm bought the naming rights as part of a lease agreement.

So now it's official. Chicago has a big willy.

Poetry in Motion

It was another morning of nearby balloons. This seemed appropriate as today is my brother's (Dustin's) birthday; the last morning balloons were this close was last month on my birthday.

This one came really close. Just across the ditch in my backyard.








At a certain point, the hot air redistributes itself. This causes another burst of color.



The final settling.

Dinner

Enjoying the bounty of my weekend: roasted summer squash, stuffed with maple-glazed almonds, goat's butter and ancho chili powder; roasted beets; collard greens, wilted in red wine vinegar and roasted green chilies; a cooled salad of red lettuce, beet greens, arugula and tomatoes; cucumber and white vinegar-soaked green onions. Mmmm....

98 Degrees

How I spent my weekend:

Going to the Market

Still riding on inspiration from “Coming Home to Eat”, I arose early today to go to one of the local farmers’ markets. Getting up by ten is a typical Saturday morning for me, so I thought it a small miracle to be out watering my plants at 7:10. Still, that was ten minutes after the market had opened and so it was already bustling with festivity long before I finally arrived at 8:30.

I did not know how much socializing I have been missing! Within 20 minutes into the hour-and-a-half that I spent there, I ran into 11 people whom I know. I spent the morning browsing with three of them.

Roving musicians were singing their mournful and lively rancheras y corridos among artisan displays of arts and crafts. We sampled salt cedar honey and, for a dollar donation to the market, compared and judged fresh salads prepared by four local restaurants. We were cajoled into sampling pie from a big, bustling lady who loudly threatened to ‘git the pie poleece’ after us if’n we didn’t just turn ourselves around and taste the best pie we ever did eat!

I also chatted with my state senator and his wife and I learned that he had set aside $50,000 in 2008 for my agency to spend on adding classrooms. It has been sitting in the city offices for us to use without my ever having been notified.

So, 90 minutes later, I was on my way home loaded with fresh produce, full of salad and chocolate croissant, singing songs in my head, smiling from good conversation with friends and $50,000 richer (for the shelter at least). Not bad for a Saturday morning. Perhaps I’ll get up early more often!


Eggs from the hens at home.

I'm in the middle of reading "Coming Home to Eat". It is an excellent book about one man's year of eating only local food. The story is inspiring to me and has made me very conscious of what I am eating, about how much energy was spent on getting it to my table and the wild side effects that have been created by not eating locally and in season.

Guess who came to my door today? A guy from a company called "No Boundaries Gourmet Foods". Seriously poor timing for the sales rep.

Some friends and I made this discovery while doing some yard work over the weekend. The mother finch returned and is caring for this newborn as we await the birth (or do you say the crack?) of the other three.

Some New Art

From the Nuart Gallery in Santa Fe. These two pieces are by artist Randall Reid. They now reside in my home.