Monday, March 10, 2008

WHAT?????????



This is preposterous!!!

According to The News....there's probably gonna be a shortage of pussy willows this upcoming Dyngus Day!!!

A winter-related shortage of pussy willows may take the sweet sting out of this year’s Dyngus Day fun.

Icy, snowy weather over the last month has delayed the budding process, meaning that there probably won’t be enough locally grown switches for the flirting ritual that highlights the traditional Polish celebration.

You know, the one where girls swat boys with pussy willows to win them over, and boys respond by dousing them with water.

Without the willowy whips “there might not be as many romantic outcomes,” fretted Marty Biniasz, founder of Dyngus Day Buffalo.

It doesn’t help that the Easter Monday celebration falls on March 24, the earliest date in 95 years. The availability of local pussy willows for Dyngus activities usually depends on the plants’ “normal springtime develop-

ment,” said Sharon Webber, a horticulturist with Cornell Cooperative Extension.

“Unlike many plants, growers cannot force willows to bud,” Webber said. The fuzzy buds, called catkins, “need to develop naturally on trees and shrubs,” stimulated by rising early spring temperatures.

The next time Dyngus Day arrives so early will be 2228 — 220 years from now.

Enduring damage from the Oct. 12, 2006, snowstorm, which destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of trees that were still in full leaf, may be another contributing factor, she said.

“Plants are still in a recovery mode and may not be producing yield at prestorm levels,” Webber said.

Area florists may have to import pussy willows from warmer climes to meet the demand.

Maureen Bartley, who owns Maureen’s Wholesale Flower Market on Washington Street, already has ordered 300 large pussy willow bows from North Carolina for the Dyngus celebration at Central Terminal. They are due to arrive by truck this week.

Bartley also expects to import 600 to 1,000 large stems, but is not quite ready to scout the South for more.

“One week of warm weather can change everything. I’ll wait and see,” she said.

Regardless, Biniasz and other organizers who tout Buffalo as the “Dyngus Day Capital of the World” are forging ahead with this year’s celebrations — pussy willows or no pussy willows.

The fun will begin with the second annual Dyngus Day parade through the city’s historic Polonia district, starting at 5 p.m. outside the Broadway Market.

Foul weather will not impede the march, vowed “Airborne” Eddy Dobosiewicz, parade chairman and comedian.

“Why do you think it’s called the North Pole?” he said. “Poles are a hardy bunch. A little wind chill won’t stand in the way.”

Shuttle buses will carry revelers to more than 40 locations free of charge. Among the destinations, in addition to Central Terminal, will be Adam Mickiewicz Library, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and numerous family-owned taverns.


Here's the link to the article....just to keep things all legal and stuff. It'll only be there for a couple days...then you'll have to pay to read it. I hate that

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