Well…
August is: National Immunization Awareness Month, as well as Children’s Eye Health & Safety Month.
August’s birthstone is: Peridot; which of course brings up the whole debate regarding the correct pronunciation of “Peridot.” Some people are certain that it’s “pear-a-dot;” whereas some of your gemology experts will heatedly argue that it’s “pear-a-doe.” Here’s the deal. Having lived in Arizona for quite a few years, I know that Peridots were originally mined in a teeny, tiny, little town located approximately 100 miles east of Chandler, Arizona. Three guesses what this town’s name is… If you guessed “Peridot” then you would be correct. Now, being that this town is located in Arizona versus, I don’t know…, Louisiana, I’ll give you three guesses as to how the town’s name is pronounced. If you also guessed “pear-a-dot” then you should quickly make your way to Vegas because you’re a winner and are on a roll! *chuckle*
Moving on… (Yet, seeming to stay in the Arizonan theme), Fruits and Vegetables for August include:
Cactus Pear, Prickly Pear/Nopales (Cactus), Peaches, Celery and Fennel
Last, but not least, are the August flowers: (I’m not saying they bloom in August; only that they are meant to represent the month of August). These flowers are: Gladiolus and Poppy.
And, as an aside, while you can pick Poppies in Arizona, you can NOT pick them in California due to their being the state flower. A fact that I was completely unaware of until I picked a huge bouquet of them for my house. Got them home; several days later a friend came for dinner, and upon seeing the poppies, shared this bit of heretofore unknown, (to me), information. Whoops!
Did I mention I was visiting a State Park when I picked them? Double whoops!
