Stump the German

[L Verge]

(05-25-2015 10:26 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Once again Ms. Verge is too smart to not figure my tricks out...

The "Holsteiner Schwarzbunte", or Holstein cow, whose origins began ca.100 BC in the county of Holstein (the capital of which is Kiel, where I live), is the world's highest-production dairy cattle. Pauline's Aunt (Gertrude Wayne) indeed held a world record for butter and milk production. Pauline herself only produced seven and a half gallons of milk a day.

Wisconsin senator Isaac Stephenson presented Pauline Wayne to Mrs. Taft in 1910, and till 1913, Miss Wayne freely grazed the White House lawn. She was the last presidential cow to live at the White House. When Taft left office, Pauline retired to Senator Stephenson's Wisconsin farm again, who delightedly thought she would add dignity to his herd.

Here Pauline poses in front of the Navy Building, which is known today as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building:

And the question originated in encountering lots of Pauline's relatives yesterday on my 40-miles Whit Sunday bicycle tour:

And consistent with the Whitsun (Sunday and Monday are public holidays in Germany) is the prize - Laurie, you win a peony for your garden:

Now what has a peony to do with Whitsun? The German name of the flower is "Pfingstrose", literally "Whitsun rose". And what despite links the peony to Lincoln? It's the state flower of Indiana - although only since 1957 (succeeding the zinnia, which was the state flower from 1931 to 1957).

I also read the peony is a popular decoration at cemeteries for Memorial Day...

Thank you for the peony, Eva. I love those flowers, and mine have just about reached their peak. The breezes here today will give them a beating. And, they were, indeed, what we always took to the cemetery on Memorial Day when I was a child - along with some iris and sweet william to add color. Good memories.

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Is Whitsun still observed as a religious holiday in Germany, or has it been converted to a "bank holiday" like England's?