SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC: FAIRPORT CONVENTION "WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES"

 

From the 1969 album "Unhalfbricking". Written by Sandy Denny when she was 19, this piece is a good example of the fusion of English folk with rock that Fairport was working on. Richard Thompson's guitar work is quite restrained and delicate. Many feel this is just too sad of a song, but while I agree it is melancholic, the song speaks to truths about our existence. We've all asked the question about the passage of time especially as one ages. Certainly, as Denny indicates in the final verse, love helps ease the uncertainty and loneliness of our life's journey.

AGD Beukho

Across the evening sky,
all the birds are leaving,
But how can they know,
it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire,
I will still be dreaming,
I have no thought of time.

For who knows,
where the time goes?
Who knows,
where the time goes?

Sad, deserted shore,
your fickle friends are leaving,
Ah, but then you know,
it's time for them to go,
But I will still be here,
I have no thought of leaving,
I do not count the time.

For who knows,
where the time goes?
Who knows,
where the time goes?

And I am not alone,
while my love is near me,
I know it will be so,
until it's time to go,
So come the storms of winter,
and then the birds in spring again,
I have no fear of time.

For who knows,
how my love grows?
And who knows,
where the time goes?

THE PRAGUE ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK

 

Old Town Hall, Prague

From Wiki: 

The Prague astronomical clock or Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock mounted to the south wall Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

Getty Images

Steve Collis

The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still in operation. It was created by clock maker Mikuláš of Kadaň and Prague's Charles University professor of mathematics and astronomy Jan Šindel.

The clock mechanism has three main components – the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; 

statues of various Catholic saints stand on either side of the clock; "The Walk of the Apostles", an hourly  show of moving Apostle figures and other sculptures, notably a figure of a skeleton that represents Death striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

For more details on how the clock works: https://www.bigboytravel.com/czechrepublic/prague/how-to-read-the-astronomical-clock/ 

HOT TO TROT OR HE WHO HESITATES IS LOST

 

When I was working at an insurance company, one of the more enjoyable aspects of the job was where our building was sited. It was built into a side of a slope with the rear overlooking a bend in a creek in a wildlife protected area and our offices had nice big windows. Our wild residents included coyote, fox, Canadian Geese who nested near the creek, weasels and a variety of water birds. Of course, we had a great number of deer in small groups, usually Moms and their young. During the Winter, they would band together with numbers reaching up to 20. We would see them in the mornings, walking their usual paths with steam rising from their backs as their body warmth and the sun burned off the overnight frost/snow.

One November during the rutting season, we had front row seats for a deerski brief encounter.  A female had trotted over the creek and up a rise directly in front of my office probably 50 yards away and stopped. Following her, on the other side of the creek was a 12 point buck and he was taking his time. My boss, who was a experienced hunter and I watched for a bit before he suggested we go up to the upper level for a better view. This was the underwriting wing and we stood by the window watching the event unfold...very, very slowly. Our colleagues, always curious about what we were up to, joined us. Soon, half the floor including the company VP were watching. The buck had taken 5 minutes to take 4 steps! According to my boss, who had witnessed mating before, this was typical behavior. Someone suggested that popcorn should be made. A betting pool quickly formed as to whether or not Bucky was going to get lucky. The doe stood there quietly, looking over her shoulder every so often to see how her proposed lover was doing. It took Bucky another 10 minutes to take a few more steps. Speculation was rife: some wondered if it was his first time. A couple of women wryly chuckled how that brought back memories. Finally, the Department Head quietly suggested that perhaps we should  give them some privacy (hint hint time get back to work, folks). My boss and I went back downstairs and when we returned to our office windows, the would-be lovers had vanished. The event was the highlight of our week although some vocalized their disappointment at missing a chance to witness some wild LUV.

FIVE SECOND STORIES

As we approach the cold months, if you think Michigan sucks, then consider life in Svalbard. Also known as Spitzbergen, this Norwegian archipelago is located in the Arctic Sea, north of the Arctic circle about 650 miles from the North Pole. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen, the northernmost settlement in the world with a population greater than one thousand. In 2020, there were over 1700 residents.

Whaling was the first industry followed by coal mining which has diminished in recent years. Now, tourism and a number of scientific establishments are the main sources of work. Noteworthy is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity where duplicates of seeds are conserved in case of human-made and natural disasters. 

A major part of life is the climate with 2 distinguishing features: the midnight sun and the polar night. I was watching a vlog made by a resident of Longyearbyen who filmed what the coming of a polar night was like. On October 26, the sun sets for the final time until February 15. For the next two weeks, there is an extended twilight that lasts until 2.30 pm. After this, the days are in darkness and full moon days are a blessing. It's also v cold although global warming has had an impact. The average winter temperature has risen by 7°.

You can imagine what the costs of groceries can be in such an isolated village where nearly everything has to be imported-the vlogger and her partner (with doggie) spend $350/week! 

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Great Horned Owl

I was watching a owl doc from someone who advertised themselves as an owl nerd. I found this to be a strange experience-the nerd spoke in a Joe Friday monotone and while one can admire the "just the facts ma'am" attitude, this one goes overboard. Other docs when examining a list, such as the variety of critters an owl eats, will give a few examples. Oh, not here. Owl nerd reads out all 34 species! 

Fun facts: birds of prey such as our friend here, females tend to be larger, heavier. One theory is that the mating pair will go after different sized prey, therefore they are competing against one another. Efficiency! Another is that the size helps the female protect herself from aggressive males (always a problem) and her nest when she is taking care of her nestlings.

A mating pair of GHOs, sing duets to each other. His voice is deep while hers is much higher. Awww, making music together.

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Modern fable: once upon a time an older couple got a new cat and all got along quite well. The cat was very polite and possessed a soft voice but was persistent. When he wanted something, he made it known that he wanted it as soon as possible.

One evening, the cat was annoyed with them. He was waiting, mewing by his usual door to be let in, clearly in view from the kitchen and they did not respond. When they finally did, he entered in a huff. The wife explained to him, as she put down his supper dish, that she and her husband were getting older and their hearing was not as good with certain frequencies. Still miffed, the cat responded by asking: do you want me to use my ancient voice? The wife, distracted by the microwave alarm, said "why sure, why not?" "Ok" said the cat and let out a big roar that rattled the nearby dishes. The wife was shocked and unsettled to be sure, standing wide-eyed holding her soup bowl. The cat walked off, having fulfilled her wish as was his polite nature and used his ancient voice from then on to get what he wanted. 

The moral of our tale: never underestimate a cat's abilities or pay attention when asked a question.

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A groaner from a silly WG: if our cat went on a diet, he would be Bud Light.

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Travis Keahi

Water at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few coastal salt marshes on the island of Maui, has been bright pink since at least October 30, officials say, after its salt content surged amid an extreme drought.  Normally, runoff from nearby mountains flow into this pond diluting the salinity. Scientists think the color is due to halobacteria, a single-celled organism that thrives in very salty water such as the Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea. 

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My folks moved to Tucson, AZ in the early 1980's when my Dad retired. He enjoyed the outdoors: he golfed regularly, biked and joined a group of older gents who hiked. One thing they liked to do was to hike overland off trail which they termed as "bushwacking". They also hiked down into the Grand Canyon and back in one day. Bear in mind that the two trails down to the Colorado River are 6.8 and 9.3 miles. The Park Service advises that for the average Joe, going down will take 4-5 hours, coming back 7-8 hours. Dad hiked well into his 80's until he stopped and just biked for his main workout. I doubt I ever have been in this kind of shape!

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Some critter likes this poor Japanese willow and has done this for several years. I contacted an old boss of mine who is a woodsman for ideas. Seems too high for rabbit, maybe a really big cat (like Buddy) who is really stretching to strop his claws.

PS My friend contacted me back: it's a buck who made these marks, which was my first thought. Perhaps too late in the year to be removing antler velvet, more likely marking his territory as we get into rutting season. Just weird that they (or the same buck) keeps coming back to this little tree.

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11/11-It was nice out today-partly sunny, mid-40's and most importantly, very light wind. I put the East Garden to bed leaving the echinacea and their seed heads out for the critters.

Mr. Burning Bush still looking radiant despite have lost a fair amount of leaves. He is quite proud of this especially having suffering the slings and arrows from the youngsters who were in their glory a few weeks ago. "You got nothing now, don't ya sonny boy?" he sneers. "Just a bunch of twigs".

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Unknown psychedelic band from the '60's: The Electric Jellyfish

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He owns several grooming stations in the reef.

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 11/12-The Hindu festival of Diwali

Vishal Bhatnigar

This is an ancient celebration dating back as far as the first millennium CE. It lasts five days of which the main festival night falls on the darkest night of the new moon that usually occurs mid-October to mid-November. 

The Festival of Lights celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair. Considering the state of the planet these days, this is something most folks can get behind. These are eternal struggles our species deal with, then and now.

 

 

NEW RELEASE FROM INTER-SPECIES BOOKS!

Inter-species erotica from Wilde & Beardsley. The original in Danish:

English version:

DEATH NOTED: ASTRONAUT FRANK BORMAN

 

The crew of Apollo 8:  (l-r) Frank Borman, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell

Frank Borman, mission commander of Apollo 8, died on Novermber 7 at age 95. 

The Apollo 8 mission, December 21-27, 1968, was notable in NASA's overall project for a moon landing and significant in our species' history. For the first time, a manned spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon; we saw the "dark side of the Moon" (The moon does rotate, but it rotates at the same speed that it rotates around the Earth. The moon completes one full rotation on its axis in the time it takes to orbit the Earth. That means the same side is always turned toward us) and we saw what the Earth looks like from space. This famous photograph, "Earthrise" taken by Bill Anders on December 24, 1968 changed forever our view of our home. A beautiful blue orb, rising above the barren landscape of the moon, shining in the blackness of space. 

Bill Anders

Walter Cronkite noted how anyone seeing this, could not wonder why we live in enmity, instead of embracing our brotherhood, alone together in the universe.

VETERAN'S DAY

The other two men in my family saw combat, an experience  I am just as happy to have missed. My Mom was too, having had a husband and first-born who served and made it back home alive. 

My father, Victor, was with the Marine Corps at Guadalcanal during World War 2. He was pulled from combat because he contracted mosquito-borne tropical diseases-malaria and lymphatic filariasis that stayed with him until he died. These mosquitos saved his life considering the bloody battles to come: Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. I would not be here either.

 

 

 

 

 

My brother, Michael, was with Air Force Special Forces in Vietnam. While on missions deep in the jungles, he was exposed numerous times to the tactical herbicide Agent Orange. The defoliant was used to clear out the jungle canopy to deny cover to the enemy. He suffers from the ill-effects of this chemical to this day. 

There is always a cost.

 

FIVE SECOND STORIES

 A Saturday late afternoon at our house in the Fall:

Our Jack has held up remarkably due to his freshness. In past years,within a couple of days, they would be molding with major face dropping. He is just starting to sag. When I mentioned this to C, she told me what she and her brother used to do: carve Jacks out of apples. Then, by putting them on a radiator, they would turn into shrunken heads-much to their delight. I had never heard of this. The result is pretty creepy, right out of Beetlejuice!

11/6 Jack is now serving as a sentinel by the bunny mound.

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With it getting colder and the failures of the portal and warming huts for Buddy, we've been racking our brains trying to figure out what we can provide for him. The problems seem to point to an aversion to small openings and enclosed situations. C had a brainstorm-put down straw/hay in a snug spot next to the never used a/c unit and the house. We've had some success with this-several times in the early am, she has opened the garage side door (see photo-door is directly around the corner to the right) and viola! there he was. The hay showed an indentation so he had hung out there for awhile. We have a good 15" eave overhang so this corner should stay dry except when there is driving precip coming in from the NW. The warming hut and pallet will go to one of her work friends who provides shelter for the neighborhood strays. 

What is curious, then, is his knee jerk reaction, especially in high stress times, to become a rafter kitty. It has to be connected with impossible conditions at the hoarder house. Poor Buddy. The three of us continue to learn about each other.

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Patterns

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For some species of trees, the transformation from green leaves to color to final dropping can happen quickly, depending of the weather. High winds, rainstorms, cold temps can impact the timeline. Mr. Birch for example, this year the process took 16 days.

October 16

October 22

October 24

October 27

November 1

His leaves are his solar array, renewed every year. During the cold, he rests and the nutrients and moisture in the ground sustains him. In deep cold events, he slumbers until one of those bright and cold January days brings him into a semi-conscious state. He soon realizes the event is short-lived-it is not Spring yet and like us, turns over and goes back to sleep.

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As in past years, I am discovering my learning curve when building a fire. The same will happen with driving on the first snow/ice. Michigan traditions.

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No sightings of these guys this year. I can't find any news that they are ailing so hopefully, it's a case of not being in the right place at the right time.

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Big Woody and the Jays

The competition continues between these two species. Poor Woody, he is often outnumbered 3:1 as a third Jay has joined the fray and being smaller, I am thinking he/she might be one of this year's offspring. Jays tend to mate for life and their offspring are known to hang out with Ma and Pa. I watched one afternoon during a busy time at the Diner, there was considerable back and forth from a perch to the feeder and back. BW tried to go about his business but during these to and fro flights, he had constant encounters with the Jays. Nothing outwardly aggressive, more like the Jays are letting BW know they are there. Typical are high-speed fly-bys, swooping past on the edge of BW's peripheral vision. Hopefully in time, each side will just tolerate the presence of the other for in the end, the goal is fueling up for Winter.

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I was watching a doc about the 15 tallest trees in the world. The first 5 examples all ended with the narrator exclaiming that the location of these trees will remain classified to keep tourists away (a lot of visitors tend to eff up the environment) and to prevent some bastard from cutting it down for cash, notoriety etal. (recent example, while not a tall tree, the 200 year old Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrians Wall was cut down-evidently simply as an act of vandalism). I got depressed and watched something else.

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I remember when violins began to turn up in rock music as the psychedelic era took hold with bands like The Animals, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and It's A Beautiful Day. Hardcore rock n' rollers purists were not happy. They didn't dig Jethro Tull's flute either.

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Turkey Bros out for a foraging stroll. There were nine of them!

They were doing their counterclockwise stroll today. Outside my office window:

Man, they have gotten big! Just in time for...🙀 For the record-we do not eat our friends!

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Drought and El Nino are having a major impact on Panama Canal passage. From CNBC:

Starting Friday, the Panama Canal Authority is implementing additional vessel reductions in an effort to conserve water as a drought exacerbated by a severe El Nino weather system continues to plague water levels in the locks of the key global trade conduit.

According to Panama Canal authorities, the drought requires them to reduce the number of daily transits from 29 to 25 ships and in the proceeding weeks, they will reduce vessels transits even more until it declines to 18 ships a day in February. That represents between 40%-50% of full capacity. Under normal conditions, between 34-36 vessels traversed the canal daily.  

Bottom line: out of stocks and price increases. Something else to blame on Biden.

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Agent Orange redux: Marine and Army gun crews involved with a massive, secret artillery campaign against ISIS 2016-2017 came home with serious physical and mental issues that went beyond PTSD. As usual, the damn Corps was slow to take heed and of course, slower to figure out the problem. Curious that. It's common knowledge about repeated blows to the head in football. Here, the repeated concussion while in close proximity to the gun, effects the entire body. I'm not a doctor or a genius so to me, this is a no-brainer to join the concept to these two circumatance. Bastards.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/us-army-marines-artillery-isis-pentagon.html?searchResultPosition=2 

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I was working in the kitchen this past weekend afternoon when I heard a lawn mower fire up over at Benny's next door. His grandson was running over the lawn using the mower as a gas powered rake. As I moved into the Great Room, I glanced out the slider and I saw a young girl out in the yard running back to the house. Her hands were over both ears, eyes were scrunched and her mouth was open. She was screaming but the noise from the mower drowned her out.

I remember doing this myself as a young boy after encountering a sudden big noise and the shock of it brought out in me the same reaction as the little girl.

Later when the mowing was done, I saw her come back out and talk to her Dad. He gave her a shoulder to shoulder hug and a quick, two beat rub on her back for reassurance and apology.

I wonder if the girl came back out on her own or if when she came back to the house and her Mom had come to see what the screaming was about, told her to go talk to her Dad when he finished?

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Curious fact: everyday the Earth rotates counterclockwise. Its orbit around the sun is counterclockwise as well. This is true of all planets in our solar system. However, the sun rotates clockwise around the center of our galaxy.

WE GOT A TRICK FROM MOTHER NATURE FOR HALLOWEEN!

There had been some snow on and off during the day. Late in the afternoon, it began in earnest.

This morning, 21° out in the Back 40

Around front, the forsythia

Mr. Maple and Ms. Krabappel

Some nice patterns

Minn's marker

Snow and grass

Sun is out!