I’ve been posting videos of animals eating watermelon for about a year now, and I’ve come to the conclusion that just about every animal in the world loves watermelon. Except snakes. I can’t find a video of a snake eating watermelon. That’s probably a good thing, because snakes are weird and creepy and I wouldn’t want to see one eating my favorite food.

The chipmunk in the video below certainly isn’t weird and creepy. He’s downright adorable, and he’s chowing down on a discarded watermelon rind like there’s no tomorrow. It’s funny to watch his little chipmunk cheeks swell up as he continues to eat the watermelon. I tried eating watermelon like that once and my mother yelled at me to stop playing with my food. If I were as cute and adorable as this chipmunk, I might have gotten away with it.

I chose to feature this recipe for the same reason I choose any watermelon recipe: It looked simple and delicious. The National Watermelon Promotion Board website notes that this recipe is “great for a Princess Party or on Valentine’s Day,” but I’m guessing you can make it any time of the year and still have a blast.

To be honest, I’m not even certain what a princess party is, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never been to one. I’m also sure that, as the father of a two-year-old girl, there’s a princess party or two in my not-too-distant future. I’d better keep this recipe on file.

Watermelon Marshmallow Puffs  with Chocolate Dust

INGREDIENTS

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 squares of seedless watermelon (approximately 4 inches square by 1 inch thick)
2 cups marshmallow fluff

INSTRUCTIONS

Pulse the chips in a food processor until ground to the texture of coarsely ground coffee. Arrange the watermelon squares on a serving platter. Spoon the marshmallow fluff on each watermelon square creating puffs. Sprinkle the ground chocolate over the marshmallow. Serve immediately.

Last week, I posted a “Second Slice” entry that asked an important question: Why don’t people carve watermelons at Halloween? After paying a visit to my local grocery store here in Pennsylvania this weekend to purchase a watermelon for this week’s “Featured Watermelon Carving” (a rabbit), I discovered perhaps the most compelling reason for the absence of watermelon jack-o-lanterns – they don’t sell watermelons during Halloween.

It’s true! It seems that once pumpkins make their debut in early October, the watermelons disappear. Gone was the bin full of watermelons that once sat proudly near the entrance of my local grocery store, and gone was the display of watermelons at the back of the produce section. Gone, gone, gone.

Oh sure, there were pumpkins as far as the eye could see. Big pumpkins, small pumpkins, medium-sized pumpkins. There were even a bunch of really tiny pumpkins no bigger than a peach which, I’m assuming, were for babies to carve.

But no watermelons.

So it looks like my monthly featured watermelon carving will have to wait until those bins of watermelon return in the spring. For now, however, I’m happy to report that sliced and wedged watermelon is still available in my grocery store (and many others).

To satisfy my urge to carve something, I bought a big pumpkin and, later that evening, I carved it into a rather frightful jack-o-lantern. I would have carved it into the bunny rabbit I was planning for this month’s watermelon carving, but I’ll save that idea for an Easter-themed creation next spring.

In the meantime, you’ll be happy to know that mini watermelons are usually on sale throughout the year and there are even a few carvings that use these pint-sized versions (this snowman might make an appearance here on the blog next month). And if you really need a whole full-sized watermelon, the shrink-wrapped wedges sold throughout the year usually start out as a whole watermelon, so feel free to ask your store’s produce manager if they’ve got any in the back.

I love watermelon so much, I’ve actually considered giving away wedges of watermelon to the kids who stop by our house on Halloween. After all, people give away oranges and apples to trick-or-treaters – or at least they used to – and watermelon makes just as a nice snack. Besides, fresh watermelon has been referred to as “nature’s candy,” so it should fit right in as a Halloween treat, right?

That’s what I thought, at least.

My wife wisely talked me out of the plan, and steered me toward a more sensible option: watermelon-flavored candy. I immediately liked the idea, so I took to the Internet in search of watermelon-flavored treats. Here’s what I came up with:

Watermelon jelly candy slices – These chewy candies are shaped like watermelon and taste like watermelon. As a bonus, they’re seedless!

Watermelon saltwater taffy – Until only a few years ago, I thought saltwater taffy was made with salt water. Turns out, it’s not … and that’s good. These treats include “seeds” and taste like watermelon.

Watermelon hard candies – As a trick-or-treater, I was never a fan of hard candies, so I’ve decided against adding these to my Halloween candy arsenal.

Watermelon lollipops – These are pretty cool, but like the hard candies, lollipops were never my favorite. Still, it’s hard to say no to food served on a stick.

Watermelon gum balls – These treats score points because they’re shaped like tiny whole watermelons, but gum was always a middle-of-the-road option for me as a kid. I wouldn’t turn it down, mind you, but it was never my first candy choice.

Watermelon gummy bears – Now we’re talking! I was always a sucker for gummy candies of any shape or flavor, and these watermelon-flavored bears sound pretty great.

Watermelon “cream bites” – These licorice candies are filled with a “delicious watermelon cream.” Interesting. I’ll definitely be adding this one to my smorgasbord of options – and hoping there’s plenty left over for me!

I’m going to start this entry by stating that I’m not a pumpkin hater. On the contrary, I love pumpkins. I love pumpkin pie, I love roasted pumpkin seeds, I love “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” I especially love carving pumpkins each October. But I love watermelon even more, which is why I have to ask the important question: Why don’t people carve watermelons at Halloween?

More to the point – why has watermelon been given the snub at Halloween? The answer might lie in the history of pumpkin carving. According to Wikipedia, the practice of carving Jack-o’-lanterns (which aren’t always made from pumpkins) dates back to early 1800s Ireland. Interestingly, the Irish carved turnips and swedes (a rutabaga, not people from Sweden), lit them up with a lump of burning coal and placed them on their doorsteps to welcome deceased loved ones and ward off evil spirits. (I hate to think what would happen if your deceased loved one was also an evil spirit.)

It wasn’t until the practice was adopted in North America sometime in the mid-1800s that pumpkins were used, mainly because they were more readily available than turnips and also easier to carve. That last part (about pumpkins being readily available and easier to carve) might be the key to solving this mystery.

Pumpkins are traditionally harvested in September and October, just in time for Halloween. I’m not sure if that timing was chosen because of Halloween or if it’s just how Mother Nature intended it, but that fact alone is probably a big reason why pumpkins (and not watermelons, which are more widely available in the summer) are used for the fall celebration.

“Easier to carve” is another clue. While watermelon isn’t all that difficult to carve – in fact, its rind is actually easier to slice through than the harder-shelled pumpkin – the pumpkin is much more hollow than a watermelon, giving it a slight edge in the “easy to carve” category. The aforementioned hard shell of the pumpkin probably also helps it maintain its carved shape longer than a watermelon would.

I should also point out that pumpkins, with their relatively flat base, are able to sit upright when carved, while many watermelons tend to have a mind of their own when placed on a flat surface. Anyone who’s had a watermelon roll off their kitchen counter to meet its untimely demise on the floor knows that all too well.

For the final word on this topic, I turned to Hugh McMahon, a professional pumpkin carver I interviewed previously on the blog. Hugh has carved pumpkins and watermelons into hundreds (if not thousands) of amazing things and could definitely shed some light on why people prefer pumpkins over watermelon – at least for carving.

“Pumpkins are less messy, which makes them a little easier to work with than watermelons,” said McMahon. He also pointed to the pumpkin’s position as a fall harvest symbol as a reason for its stranglehold on Halloween, but didn’t rule out the use of watermelon in the fall and winter months. McMahon has carved watermelons for tropical themed fall events, including a series of watermelons for Bette Midler’s annual “Hulaween” party fundraiser.

“Occasionally, I break the rules for fun,” added McMahon.

I propose that we all break the rules a little bit this year and save a pumpkin by carving a watermelon or two. Watermelon is a lot tastier than pumpkin pulp and a lot easier to carve than a turnip, that’s for sure.

My wife talked me into reading “The Hunger Games” books with her. I guess she figured that since I liked food, I’d naturally like a book called “The Hunger Games” (even though neither food nor hunger is a central part of the story). Anyhow, one of the characters is named Peeta, so any time I read the books, I always got hungry for something on a pita. I know it’s kind of strange, but that’s how my brain and stomach work.

In my quest to satisfy my pita bread craving, I came across this recipe on the National Watermelon Promotion Board website. I made it the other day, and it’s great – the perfect accompaniment to any book you might be reading!

Greek Pita Flatbread with Watermelon

INGREDIENTS

4 wedges seeded watermelon (bite-size pieces)
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
2 whole pita breads, halved, or whole grain flatbreads
1/4 cup prepared spreadable herb cheese
4 large lettuce leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Place sliced watermelon on paper towels to remove excess liquid. Mix chicken, cilantro, yogurt, garlic salt and cayenne. Spread inside surfaces of pita bread halves with herbed cheese and fill each with about 1/4 cup chicken mixture. Arrange watermelon and lettuce in pita bread.

My whole life I’ve been told, “You are what you eat!” When I was a kid, I thought it meant that I’d grow up to be a cheeseburger or a chocolate cupcake. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but it didn’t stop me from eating cheeseburgers and chocolate cupcakes, so I guess I didn’t worry too much about it.

Of course, now I know what it means: that the food you put in your body plays a key role in determining how you look and feel, which is why it’s important to include plenty of healthy options in your diet (like watermelon!).

If you literally became what you ate, the diet of the guy in the photo on the right would be pretty obvious. The photo is called “straaange days…” and was created by a Flickr user named urline.

I guess if you had to choose a food to look like, a watermelon isn’t a bad choice. The gentleman in this picture seems to have made his peace with his new appearance. Maybe he met a lady who also likes watermelon, and they hang out and eat watermelon together. Maybe they tell watermelon jokes and laugh until their watermelon sides hurt. And maybe – just maybe – they go to Gallagher shows and watch him smash watermelons with his sledgehammer. Actually, they probably wouldn’t do that. That’s just silly.

To grow a watermelon, you need three key ingredients (besides soil and watermelon seeds, of course): sunlight, water, and bees. The first two necessities should come as no surprise, but the last one might sound a little unusual.

You see, bees buzz from blossom to blossom, picking up pollen and spreading it around throughout the day. They do this in one of two ways: Either by carrying the pollen to another flower themselves or by transferring the pollen to other bees in the hive, who then transport the pollen during their daily routine.

And it’s not just watermelon that bees bring to life. They actually play a role in a third of the foods that we eat! More than 100 agricultural crops in the U.S. are pollinated by bees, including honeybees (the busiest of the bee population), bumblebees, and solitary bees.

Some foods can’t exist without the hard work of bees. Watermelon is one of these category four “essential” crops, along with cantaloupe, cocoa, and vanilla. Other crops, like cucumbers, apples, mangos, avocados, pears and almonds are category three foods, meaning that bees play a “great” role in their pollination.

To be fair, I should point out that our buzzing buddies aren’t alone in their pollination duties. They get a little help from flies, beetles and butterflies, but bees certainly perform the lion’s share of the task.

So the next time you’re enjoying some watermelon in the backyard and you see a bee going about its everyday tasks, pause for a moment to offer thanks. I’m not sure how to communicate gratitude to a bee, but a simple smile and nod should do.

The pooch in the picture above is a little guy named Flint. He’s a Pomeranian whose owner has taken all sorts of photos of him in various settings including, in this case, pushing a little wagon loaded with a watermelon. I’m not sure where he’s headed, but he looks pretty happy with his snack, doesn’t he?

I was going to try captioning this photo myself, but I thought it might be better if I let you – my witty readers – do it for me. So give it your best shot by leaving a comment below. I’ll choose my favorite caption, with the winner receiving some of the watermelon soap I featured earlier this week. Good luck!

I consider myself a relatively clean guy. I shower daily (sometimes twice!). I wash my hands before meals and whenever I touch something icky. I’ve even taken to using hand sanitizer in the car after I pump gas (a practice I picked up from my wife).

But I’ve never combined hygiene with my love of watermelon, unless you count my ritual of washing watermelons in the sink, wiping them with a sanitizing wipe and then wiping them one last time with a damp paper towel to clean off the sanitizing wipe stuff. I’m not sure why I’m so particular about cleaning my watermelons. I’m not nearly as cautious with other fruits.

This month’s prize definitely combines watermelon with cleanliness, because it’s watermelon soap! In addition to looking like watermelon (that’s it above), this stuff also smells like watermelon. I have no idea if it tastes like watermelon, but you know I’d give it a lick to find out.

The soap is 100 percent natural and 100 percent vegan and it’s made by an Etsy seller whose other soaps include whipped coffee and mango. I’ll choose one comment at random from all the comments left on the blog this month to receive this squeaky-clean prize. Good luck!