FIVE SECOND STORIES

In the Neighborhood:

Weather has been a mix of warm sunny days and chilly overcast. Little rain. The dandelions are in full bloom. Meanwhile, the Diner has been busy. Nutkin having a drink:

MamaC has returned-here she is hanging out on her apartment porch:

His Lordship in one of his outposts-here, a castle keep-to monitor TBK over at Benny's:

A Tiger in my backyard coming back from patrol:

4/22-23 First mowing of the yard. 

4/22 High 70's and our first supper on the deck:

 

Along the edge of the pool are the three peonies that I transplanted last Fall. They survived the Winter and have had a good growing spurt. They are fenced in to protect from hungry hungry critters.

Benny's maple with reddish/brown immature leaves: 

Bud in this castle keep again. Nice camo he has with his brown and grey coloring that goes with the color of the planters. Smart lad. 

4/23-our first 80° day with a high of 81°. Our last 80° day was on 10/6/25. Such a gorgeous day, I was tossing peanuts to my wild pals-here Big Blue and LG are partaking:

 Rocky looking for peanuts:

He/she headed back to the apartments as MamaC keeps watch:

Another day, I see Rocky may have taken up residence a couple of doors down from MamaC. Hmm, I wonder if the apartments are turning into a maternity ward? Stay tuned!

#cutebuddypix

This is why we call him Longfellow: 

So cute with his white chin: 

4/25-temps have cooled with a brisky wind. M/M Redbird have a meal together:
 

Lil' Woody joins Mr. Redbird. Big Woody has not been seen in a couple of weeks. I don't know why-he may have been fueling up to move on to his permanent home this season, or may have been pushed out of a potential nesting spot by the Starlings or he did not care to be in competition at the feeder with the Red Wings. Too bad-he's an attractive fellow.

C cleaned out the Department frig again so the Buffet featured all sorts of exotic dishes:
 

Mr. White-Crowned Sparrow has returned from his Southern Winter home:

The lilacs are blooming:
 

Mrs. Krabappel's blooms are about ready to burst:

 

A sunny yet cool afternoon: 

Hodgepodge for $400: 

I was YT surfing when I came across a vid about a town in WI that showed this flag flying in front of storefronts that I was unfamiliar with:

This is St Piran's Flag (Cornish: Baner Peran), the official flag of Cornwall. Adopted as the Cornish standard in the 19th century, it is attributed to the 6th-century patron saint of Cornish tin miners, Saint Piran, symbolizing white tin against a black ore background. 

On the cusp of a revolution for automobiles? I came across a clip talking about a new EV from China with Sodum Ion batteries. That's right...salt! Meet the Changan Nevo A06:

Launching in mid-2026, this is the first mass-production passenger car featuring a sodium-ion battery, utilizing CATL’s "Naxtra" cells. These batteries offer superior cold-weather performance (retaining 90% capacity at -40°C), faster charging, and lower costs using abundant, sustainable materials. They are ideal for affordable, urban electric vehicles. The downside is Sodium-ion (Na-ion) cars suffer from lower energy density, resulting in a 20–40% shorter driving range compared to lithium-ion, necessitating heavier and larger battery packs for the same capacity. These batteries also generally offer slower charging speeds and a shorter cycle life than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) alternatives. Having said this, sodium-ion is much less expensive to make, by-passing the complexity of extracting and processing lithium into battery-grade material.

First images from the new Vera C. Rubin observatory in Chile:

Two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right) in the Virgo cluster, as well as several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Photograph: NSF-DOE Vera C Rubin observatory/AFP/Getty
 
In one of the last posts, I featured the Drought Map which showed major issues in the deep South. As a result, GA, TN and FL have been experiencing wildfires. To my memory, this is quite unusual especially in April. This could be the beginning of a long, extreme weather event filled Summer. We've already had a lot of major tornadoes in the Mid-West. 

Gotta love the YT algorithm's categorization system: under "Ancient History and More", a LIVE storm chase vid was featured.

MADads: 'Tis Spring and with it comes allergies for those unfortunate souls. On YT, the ads for such meds are as thick as the dandelions. One important part of the spiel is the emphasis on getting relief without any drowsiness. No doubt brought to you by the pharm/corporate coalition for the enhancement of productivity. No more sick days every Spring because of these wheezy pansies. Suck it up! Take your meds and report for work! We at least give you weekends off-Yes! 2 days off IN A ROW! It's our carrot for donkeys.

I've also noticed an offshoot of the campaign aimed at parents of schoolchildren. Again: Do you want Jr to keep up with his classmates? He needs to stay competitive and productive especially if he is involved in sports! This sets the tone for the next Gen worker-in-training. 

The new mystery LaCroix sparkling water: "Sunshine". They're being clever-no description, just "natural flavors". Wanna know? Well, spend the money and find out. According to LaCroix, LaCroix Sunshine is a bright and sparkling blend of citrus and tropical zest, capturing the refreshing essence of a sun-kissed day in every sip. That was helpful.

Conclusive evidence: Vikings were the first Europeans to reach the New World.

In 1960, Norwegian husband-wife team of explorer Helge Ingstad and archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad discovered what they felt was a Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows on the Northern tip of Newfoundland. Nailing down the date of settlement was nebulous until 2021, when Margot Kuitems and her team from the University of Groningen published the results of their research that revealed the date. 

In 993 CE, there was a Solar storm event that hit the Earth. Known as the Solar Spike, it produced a notable spike in Carbon 14 in tree growth, which can be seen as a thicker ring. The Kuitems team analyzed 3 pieces of wood from the settlement. They found that the wood showed evidence that it had been chopped by a tool made of European iron, something Indigenous populations in the area did not possess. They found the 993 Spike rings on all 3 pieces of wood, then counted the number of rings outward. The wood dated to year 1021, conclusively placing the Vikings in the New World at least 470 years before the Columbus voyages!

However, the Vikings did not stay long. Current thinking based on excavation at L'anse is that this was a forward base for further exploration inland. It only was used for maybe a decade, abandoned and the population returned to Greenland. 

So, what Columbus represents is the beginning of continual European settlement in the Americas. 

The Devil's Horns sunrise:

Qatar, 2020

 

This occurs when there is a solar eclipse at sunrise.

Site unknown-2025

Fun Vids:

The Etrucians: 

Fun fact: Elite Etruscan women actively participated in banquets, dining and drinking wine alongside men while reclining on shared couches. Unlike their Greek counterparts, Etruscan women enjoyed high status, education, and independence, allowing them to mingle freely, eat, and drink in public.This practice, depicted in tomb paintings like the Tomb of the Leopards, distinguished them from Greek and Roman women, who were generally excluded from such social, male-dominated gatherings. In fact, later Greek writers would describe Etruscans as decadent. This civilization was considered to reach its zenith around 500 BCE.