FIVE SECOND STORIES

Equinox afternoon-after Old Man Winter showed us his remaining virility, he cut us a break by returning some sunny, although chilly, weather. Rightfully so, in my opinion, after a particularly grueling February.

Later in the week-squirrelies at the Diner-Nutkin and a mature BigTail, being quite peaceful together at the buffet

 The young one from last season

Nutkin catching some rays-this one is a mystery as we have not seen any other of her kind at our place. With its size, I have figured a female or a runt male from last season.

Buddy, blissed-out by the hearth, keeping his Mum's blanky warm for her until she returns. Such a good boy!

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3/25-cold, blustery with snow squalls-sheesh!

3/30-enormous system associated with a massive cold front with snow and ice to the North and major t-storms along the leading edge. 9 tornadoes were reported in MI with a 95 mph straight-line burst in Jackson Co. 

Major ice storm up North and Ontario:

The Mackinaw Bridge was closed for 30 hours, first due to severe icing then waiting for the shards of ice to depart.

The worst seemed to go North and South of us and other than 5 minutes of wind and sheeting rain, we had little accumulation. 

Happy April! Mr. Robin enjoyed himself at the bath-it's egg making time so he wanted to look smart for his wifey.

 

4/2-Storms Pt. 2. It rained hard most of the day. A wet, bedraggled Mr. Bun sought refuge under the pool overhang.

 

Rainfall Wednesday and overnight amounted to 3"! I'd rather have it in smaller portions but happy all our trees and plants received a good, deep drink as they all fire up to do some growing. No warmth yet-won't even see 60° for the next 10 days! This morning is sunny and v windy. The usual pond in the back 40 that we get in such situations.

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The Secret of Kells-2009 animated feature about the making of the Book of Kells, an extraordinary illuminated manuscript from the 9th Century. This film is just as extraordinary with wonderfully rendered imagery often incorporate ancient Celtic designs that move and morph. Highly recommended.

"There's nothing in this life but mist and we will be alive for a short time". 

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Getty

I made pizza for supper and C finished up some elderly arugula by putting it on her pie. We wondered if this was a Californian thing or if it came over from the old country? Welp, arugula was first mentioned back in Roman times so it is probably safe to say that this topping originated in Italy.

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Fun Facts:

Welcome strangers!

When the astronauts who were stranded for months on the ISS splashed down near the FL coast, they were soon greeted by a pod of dolphins. NASA stated that this is not an unusual event-this behavior has been seen before with splashdowns. Dolphins are known to be highly curious and social-perhaps this is their oceanic version of The Welcome Wagon which, btw, was founded in 1928. 

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Bad employer

Bach 1715

In November 1717, the composer JS Bach was thrown into jail because of a dispute with his employer, a Duke. Bach was unhappy being passed over for promotion several times and had procured another position with a Prince. This upset the Duke who decided to punish by sending him to a "justice room" rather than a jail cell. Bach spent nearly a month there and proceeded to compose a number of works. His continued intransigence enraged the Duke who thought Bach could be bullied and finally released Bach. While in detention, Bach had worked on the first book of what was to become A Well-Tempered Clavier.

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From documentarian Errol Morris-solving one of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories-The Umbrella Man. A cautionary tale:

   

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 Curious winter weather phenom, a "Sun Candle":

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FUBARland

The Roach photo op at an empty Kennedy Center:

Getty Images

The Stone Roses I Wanna Be Adored 1989

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 Liberation Day tariffs

Matt Curnoc

From The Guardian: King penguins on Heard Island. Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on the uninhabited Heard and McDonald islands near Antarctica, along with other remote external Australian territories the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island.

That's right! Gonna put some hurt into the lives of those ungrateful penguins! So glad the Roach's idiots did some research on their targets. Not. Too much work! Just tariff everyone! Make them feel the wrath of King Roach!

MUSIC FOR EARLY SPRING IN FUBARLAND

 

Gillian Welch Winter's Come and Gone-1998

Oh little red bird
Come to my window sill
Been so lonesome
Shaking that morning chill
Oh little red bird
Open your mouth and say
Been so lonesome
Just about flown away

 

So long now I've been out
In the rain and snow
But winter's come and gone
A little bird told me so

 

Oh little blue bird
Pearly feather breast
Five cold nickels' all I got left
Oh little blue bird
What am I gonna do
Five cold nickels
Ain't gonna see me through

 

So long now I've been out
In the rain and snow
But winter's come and gone
A little bird told me so 

Oh little black bird
On my wire line
Dark as trouble
In this heart of mine
Poor little black bird
Sings a worried song
Dark as trouble
'Til winter's come and gone

 

So long now I've been out
In the rain and snow
But winter's come and gone
A little bird told me so

 

So long now I've been out
In the rain and snow
But winter's come and gone
A little bird told me so

 

MAGA regret 

Alison Krauss and Union Station Looks Like the End of the Road 2025 (lyrics on vid)
 

Democracy's lament

 T Bone Burnett It's Not Too Late 1992

The wind turns like a dagger
The rain falls like a hammer
The sky has grown dark
But it's not too late

 

The weather crashes down
What's lost cannot be found
The night is closing
But it's not too late

 

It's not too late
It's not too late
It's not too late
It's not too late
The atmosphere is lethal
But I will fear no evil

 

The ocean rolls like thunder
The tempest pulls us under
The dogs are howling
But it's not too late

 

As broken structures rust
False idols turn to dust
All lies in ashes
And it's not too late

 

It's not too late
It's not too late
It's not too late
It's not too late
The atmosphere is lethal
But I will fear no evil

 

In the dark before the dawn
The echo of the siren's song
Dies away like a ghost
As the day breaks

 

It's not too late
It's not too late
It's not too late
It's not too late
The atmosphere is lethal
But I will fear no evil

 

HAPPY SPRING EQUINOX!

 

In typical Michigan fashion, our old boy seems to enjoy putting on a late season show as if to say "yeah, I still got it". It snowed all morning and early afternoon but it was to warm for anything to stick. After the warm weather we have had, tis a bummer.

HOME AT LAST

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded on the ISS for 9 months, have returned back safely along with American Nicholas Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov. Welcome back!

For some reason, whenever I read about their plight, this ran in my head:

FIVE SECOND STORIES

3/11-sunny, breezy and cold. The snow is gone but a front swung down and it's brisky out. Mr. Redbird has been spending much time at the feeder fueling up. I watched how he steadfastly kept his place as others whipped back and forth for a bite. He and a male purple finch hung out for some time.

3/13 The red-winged blackbirds have returned! 

Worm moon rising

 

Lunar eclipse 1.40 am. No redness yet.

Totality at 3.19 am, Rochester MI

Jamie Germano

 

3/14-temps reached 75°-warm enough to crack open several windows in the house. The maples have started their red buds. In the front bed, the crocus are in full bloom and are attracting pollinators! (click to enlarge)

I'm noticing that the geese are pairing up 

3/15-4am thunderstorm that began with hail that woke us but not much thunder and lightning. A bit of rain later but only amounting to getting stuff wet. The day turned sunny and warmed to the lo-70s:

 At lot of feeder action-here Mrs. Redbird took her turn

It was one of those afternoons where the Diner complex was hopping and pretty much all our regulars of fur and feather stopped by.

Hangin' with Mr. B

 

An old squirrel pal stopped by. I saw him nosing around the raised bed at the end of the deck and when I stepped out to toss some peanuts, he rose up to greet me. I reminded him of the rules: peanuts are given at the Diner, not the deck. Later, Bud had gone out and the squirrel who was on the East raised bed spotted him and bounded up.

Curiously, Buddy just sat and kept an eye on him as he came up and walked behind him on his way to the Diner. This mutual behavior made me think that they remembered each other and I believe this is our old pal Freddie. Good on him for surviving another Winter-he must be 3-4 years old. Research indicates they live 5-7 years in Michigan.

Later, he was joined by 3 other squirrels and a nutkin:

3/16-heavy rain overnight with the two day total of .75" which was very much needed. It turned colder in the afternoon and drizzle turned into snow flurries with a lot of wind.

3/17-Happy St. Paddy's day! 23° when I got up with heavy frost on the roofs. Brrrrrr. But those warm days have inspired plants to poke their heads up-the crocus now have daffs and tiger lilies joining them.
 

Typical Michigan: go from 70's to snow in 2 days! 

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Fun vids 

Side Projects by Simon Whistler:

50 Greatest Historical Events That Never Happened-not entirely historical events, some are urban legends.

 

 4 Famous Historical Hoaxes

5 Bizarre Military Operations

Speaking of bizarre military operations, here is a story of fighters dressed as Crusader-era Knights went into battle during WW1.

https://www.military.com/history/crusader-era-knights-who-volunteered-fight-world-war-i.html

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Doggerland-from National Geographic:

At the end of the last ice age, Britain formed the northwest corner of an icy continent. Warming climate exposed a vast continental shelf for humans to inhabit. Further warming and rising seas gradually flooded low-lying lands. Some 8,200 years ago, a catastrophic release of water from a North American glacial lake and a tsunami from a submarine landslide off Norway inundated whatever remained of Doggerland.

The result of the demise of Doggerland was a human migration SSE into Southern England. This event is explained nicely in this vid from Paul Whitewick:

Huge Lake Superior waves during Winter storm

First ever meteorite crash caught on film with sound in Canada

FUBARland

Donny's AutoMart

A few days ago in an early morning rant, Roach proclaimed that he was the most important person in American History, one step above George Washington. For some reason, I immediately thought: he'll be wanting his face added to Mt. Rushmore. Turns out, he's been musing about this since 2020. An AI generated image:

I attempted to create one myself on a free generator Canva only to be stymied because they won't allow political content. Canva is an Australian company but it reveals the extent businesses WORLDWIDE are covering their butts just in case Dear Leader gets upset and vengeful. 

Such concerns do not worry the Swiss. An anti-Trump parade took place during the annual Fastnacht carnival in Basel, Switzerland. Known for political satire and theatrical costumes, participants throw confetti and poke fun at global events.

Javier Camacho

 

 

 

CROCUS!!

They opened this morning-the day is in the lo-60's!

 

HAPPY MARCH!

3/1-February is over! It was an exhausting month between the relentless snow and cold, being ill throughout and coping with the never-ending shitshow of the current vile regime. Now, March has always been my least favorite month-the bi-polar nature of the weather and the drab overall browness of the landscape. We've had days in the past week reaching 50° but today is barely in the 20's and there has been a lot of wind. But, the sun is warm and soon the crocus will be up.

Since late Fall, there has been a new squirrel in our neighborhood. Its tail is a bit scraggly so I wonder if this is the offspring of the BentTail clan. I haven't sexed it yet but it is fairly fearless-it will tolerate my presence when I go out to fill the feeder although very nervous, tail switching and vocal.

One of the new nutkins who appeared in late Fall-this may be a female

The snow is pretty much gone except in shady spots and parking lot piles.

For the first time in weeks I heard Mr. Jay. They have been around all season until that stretch of heavy snow cover. Now with the snow gone, he is back. On hearing his call, I immediately grabbed a handful of peanuts and flung them off the deck to the Diner. Curiously, I did not hear his usual double call from him when he sees the peanuts-one part thanks and one part "hey, honey-peanuts available at the Diner" call to his mate. But since we're getting close to egg making time, they have been busy. Males generally gather nest materials while females take care of construction. Perhaps Mr. Jay needed to fuel up as I believe he solely snarfled up the peanuts. I was hanging out with Bud on the couch surfing when I saw him come over to a birch branch closest to the house. He looked into the room and peered directly at me.

I took the hint: the buffet needed refilling.

C cleaned out the department frig and added to the buffet

Sunny but cool 

DHS keeping an eye on the apartments

Then came in and curled up for a well-deserved nap

3/8-A dusting of snow overnight left the rooftops, drives and street painted white. Meanwhile, the first crocus shoots have poked through the mulch. With temps next week in the 50s and 60s, I believe we shall hit a long-standing benchmark of crocus blooming by St. Paddy's day.

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Curious marketing for a frozen pierogi:

Oh-My-Gawd, you finally bought me! I've been waiting sooo long!

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FUBARland

US military firsts among the 26,000 images flagged for deletion in Trump DEI purge.  Among them is this:

Yep, the famous B-29, named for the pilot's Mom, that flew the first atomic attack in history to Hiroshima. All because of Mom's name containing the banned word "gay".

What a bunch of maroons. You tell 'em, Bugs!

Winston Churchill, 1918

 

From Wiki: The Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions  that began after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, to help the White Russian forces in the Russian Civil War against the Bolsheviks. After the Whites collapsed, the Allies withdrew their forces from Russia by 1925.

This effort was adamantly supported by Winston Churchill and looking back at the failure of the Allies, he said:

“I think the day will come when it will be recognized without doubt, not only on one side of the House, but throughout the civilized world, that the strangling of Bolshevism at its birth would have been an untold blessing to the human race.”

When I came across this, I thought: here we are again. We have with Trump and Maga, an entity that needs to be snuffed out in its infancy to save our democracy and quickly end the suffering that has been inflicted in this past month.

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At 2:51, this tornado begins to form a large white skirt akin to an image of a whirling dervish

 Go to 1:57