1/13-cold and snowy.
That evening, there was an occultation of Mars by the Wolf Moon. Occultation refers to a celestial event where the Moon's orbit takes it between the line sight of Earth and Mars. The planet will disappear behind the Moon and later appear on the other side.
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| Chirag Upreti |
I was unable to watch it because of the snowy weather.
When I was young, my Dad and I would view such events after I had gotten a small Sears telescope as a birthday gift. I remember we got up one summer morning, early for both work and school, to watch an occultation-probably Mars or Venus. I was in my early teens. We also stayed up late one Winter night to watch a lunar eclipse.
1/14-quite cold-+15° with snow showers. We probably have 6-7" on the ground. My snowblower is in the shop so I hand shoveled, which was not difficult-due to the cold temps, the snow was light and fluffy.
While I was shoveling, off to the West, it had become partly cloudy with peeks of sunshine and blue sky. To the Northwest, it was dark grey-a snow squall was coming in. It was if I were in a giant snow globe, with fat flakes of snow coming down at an left to right angle, swirling in a light breeze. For a brief time, the sun made the flakes sparkle against the dark grey sky until the squall clouds had finally moved over me and obscured the sun. Extraordinary.
The skies cleared late in the afternoon.
Mr. Redbird at the feeder, for a time illuminated by a band of sunlight.
My 89 year old neighbor Benny fell and broke his hip while visiting a casino in Battle Creek. According to a neighbor, he fell either mounting or dismounting a treadmill. My first reaction was "huh? Treadmill at a casino? Oh, so after getting a good buzz on from the cheap drinks, losing at the slots, oinking out on the buffets-you go to the exercise facility to work some of this off?" Ah, what I learned later is that of course, the casino is attached to a hotel which has the exercise spot. He is recovering but he will be away for a while so his Diner will be temporarily closed. I'm expecting his customers to visit so I am amping up the buffet.
1/18-in the upper 30's today with nice skies.
One of the BentTail clan was at the Diner
I think this is one of the younguns-not Freddie
Meanwhile, in front of the fire on the couch
I made a mushroom rigatoni with vodka sauce for supper. Simple recipe but I found it blandish. Well, this is because the main flavor profiles in a non-vegan dish come from a good amount of romano cheese and sometimes pancetta or sausage. C enjoyed it and I think next time, I'll add a nice smoked ham to mine and some vegan sausage to hers.
C mentioned a tasty French dessert although traditionally Flemish: Lemon Sorbet Colonel or lemon sorbet with a shot of vodka poured on top.
Late in the day, glowy clouds
1/19-our resident turkey posse visited the Diner.
I hadn't put any corn out yet so while they were pecking around, I went quietly into the garage and got a nice container full for them. I walked slowly towards them and one of the largest ones took note. I guess he is the alpha as he reared as tall as he could, spread his tail a bit and took a couple of steps towards me, his beady eyes locked on while I approached. The rest of the posse were jittery, a couple quickly walking away. I spoke to them as I shook the container of corn. They watched and I flung the corn towards the giving stone figuring they might run but come back. Naw, they recognized what it was and immediately gathered around to eat.
El Jefe
Two more were across the street at my neighbors feeder. It appears the posse now has eight in their group.
Later in the day, the temps began to drop as the skies cleared off
By late afternoon, it was +15°. I noticed the birds around the feeder were lethargic, without their usual flitting around. They were conserving warmth and energy.
We decided to put out a energy pak: peanuts in shell coated with peanut butter. C placed it in the branches of Mr. Xmas tree
1/20-it got down to +5° this morning. The peanut butter treat had been snarfled up. I put out more corn and the turkey bros. ate it all during a lake effect squall.
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Starting tonight through 1/21-the arctic blast arrives with Tuesday being the worse with +3/-7 being the high and low for the day. At least we are missing the snow storms in the Deep South and the East Coast. We worry about Bud-he still goes out for patrol and bathroom breaks, ignoring the litter box we have for him upstairs.
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As a kid, I was always intrigued by the word Katzenjammer-no doubt picked up from my Mom who was commenting on badly behaved children.
The word refers to a popular and longest running comic strip in history, The Katzenjammer Kids. Created in 1897 and published for 109 years, it stars two twin boys, Hans and Fritz, who misbehave and rebel against any sort of authority.
Katzenjammer is a German word literally meaning "cat's wail" (caterwaul) and hence "discordant sound", sometimes used to indicate a general state of depression or bewilderment. It can also refer to a severe headache often the result of a hangover. So, the lads are their family's headache which many parents can relate to especially when their beloved offspring become little monsters.
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Birthday noted: Larry, the resident cat at 10 Downing St. (PM's residence) turned 18 on 1/13. Well done, lad!
Passing noted:
David Lynch 1/20/46-1/15/25-creator of fabulously surreal, noirish and dark films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Inland Empire, Mulholland Drive and the TV series and film Twin Peaks; the calm yet quirky The Straight Story and a controversial version of Dune. Tis sad we won't ever see anything new from this vastly unique and creative filmmaker.
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My watergirl's routine after work in the cold months is to take a long hot bath before yoga and supper. Her bath salts scent half the house and stays on her when she moves through the house. It's always quite subtle and pleasant.
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Curious Indian style cover of The Eagles' "Hotel California"
The Furthest Limits of Human Beings:
Vid from Paul Whitewick, who explores his native Britain's ancient past. Here, he looks at how the British Isles were mapped over the ages. The segment on the Greek explorer Pytheas was particularly interesting, recounting his meetings with tribes who lived along the English coast. They were often painted, were friendly to strangers and eager to enter into a trading relationship as they were with others. What struck me was their tribalism and it was curious to compare them with our Indigenous peoples. Also the fact that this took place in the 300s BCE!
Another Whitewick vid concerning Glastonbury Tor, which I had never heard of.
It is located West of Stonehenge, South of Bristol.
Avebury, the largest Neolithic stone circle in the world. But it is much more than that-in the area are many structures and monuments including Stonehenge.
While I was watching this, it struck me that viewed as a center for religious and cultural festivals, it is very much something our species does and has done up to present. Perhaps a modern example are the Burning Man festivals held in the Nevada desert.
On a much smaller scale and celebrated in certain parts of the world is 1/25: Burn's Night where the Scottish poet and lyricist, Robert Burns (1759-1796) is feted with song, food and drink.
On a much larger scale, Hindus in India have begun a 44 day celebration called Maha Kumbh Mela or the Festival of Sacred Pitcher which marks the victory of the gods over demons. An estimated 400 million people will travel to a designated town on the banks of the sacred Ganges River to take a dip in the waters. This act will wash away their sins and give salvation in the cycle of life and death. This festival happens every 6 and 12 years, correlated with the partial and full revolution of Jupiter around the sun. This year is part of the 12 year celebration.
Meanwhile on 1/21, a planetary alignment can be seen. About 45 minutes after sunset, look South. In the Southeast, will be Mars and Jupiter; to the Southwest, will be Venus and Saturn.
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Generally, the Why Files deals with fringe theories about everything from UFOs to alien species who were here thousands of years ago (and developed early hominids for use as slaves) to all sorts of paranormal stuff. This vid is different-it looks at how various creatures (including small human groups today) on earth have evolved to cope with higher amounts of radiation from a million years ago to the wolves at Chernobyl. It then enters the near cult realm of what I refer to as Saganism: we are all made of star stuff and some ideas about just why we are here. An interesting and thought provoking vid and I am not alone: the creator of the Why Files has logged over 1.5 million views since posted on 1/19/25!
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