Happy New Year!

'Auld Lang Syne' ('Times Long Gone')
By Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?

Chorus
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stoup
And surely I'll be mine
And we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl't in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.

It's going to be a tough year

How we got here.

Liminal Time

During liminal times boundaries and limits become vague. An infinite number of new possibilities occur. Liminal times occur around the equinoxes and solstices. The time between the winter solstice and the New Year is a prime liminal time. This is when many people make resolutions for change and express new possibilities for the coming year. Of course the problem becomes the follow through.
On a personal level, we are considering some major changes for the New Year. We need a smaller footprint with less maintenance, so we are considering our first move in more than 30 years. So far we are approaching this very deliberately since it will be a major change for us.

Happy Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice. The Solstices and Equinoxes mark the seasons of the year.They highlight the longest day, longest night and the days of equal night and day. Most ancient peoples planned festivals and ceremonies at or around the Solstices and Equinoxes to celebrate the changing seasons.
In the modern era, we have abandoned our biological roots and tried to insulate ourselves from the natural world. We have artificially constructed calendars around religious, political and economic considerations without regard to the actual lunar or solar cycles. In some instances we have usurped ancient holidays under other guises. In fact, today, many people consider observance of solstices and equinoxes in lieu of their usurped holiday to be heretical. Regardless of how you view our world, none can deny its annual journey around the sun nor the seasons that ensue from the 23.5 degree axial tilt. Thus I celebrate another trip around the sun.
Happy Winter Solstice!

Blogging or Barking?

Often its hard to tell the difference.

Winter Trees

Evergreens are always pretty in the winter when everything is so dull and gray, but my favorite deciduous tree in the winter is a sycamore. Their speckled bark makes them stand out in contrast to all the drab. Below is photo of my last sycamore tree all the other mature ones that I had have died. I heard a quote from an Indiana Jones movie the other day which I think may apply. "We're[I'm] at the age where life stops giving us[me] things and starts taking them away."
--Jim Broadbent, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Crafty Holidays

Here are a couple of pomanders that we made for the holidays. I have one hanging by the heat register in the "man cave". They really make the house smell seasonal.
Below are ornaments hanging on the holiday tree on the deck. The top one is a fortune-nut which my daughter thought was really neat and took some to her coworkers. The Bottom one is a pinecone birdfeeder that has peanut butter and birdseeds. The birds think these are neat.

Holiday Tree

Because of allergies in the family, we are not allowed to have a live tree in the house. I am not very fond of artificial trees even though some are quite pretty. So I decided this year I was going to have a live tree out on the deck. The cedar tree that I had my eye on turned out to be double trunked and wouldn't work, so I took this one in lieu. While I'm pleased with holiday appearance of the tree, the side benefit is that the birds love it (see bluebird below). I have added some pine cones with peanut butter and birdseed as ornaments. Now I can look out my patio door and not only see my "live" holiday tree, but also watch the birds fly in and out. Only two weeks until the Winter Solstice.

Solstice Wreath

One of the things that I always make for the winter solstice ceremony is a wreath from things that grew in my little corner of the world over the past seasons. The base is made from grapevine prunings which are garnished with cedar, spruce, holly, honeysuckle,and berries. Also, at the bottom are a couple of bird nests that I found after the windstorm in August. The wreath is burned on the solstice fire as an offering for all that the earth gave us this year. It should dry out and burn pretty good in a couple of weeks.

22 November 1963

If you were alive then you remember this.

Sharp Shinned Hawk

This is not a great picture, but this guy landed on fence of the dogpen right outside the family room window. Since I hurriedly took the photo through doublepane glass at dusk, I am surprised it turned out as good as it did.
The trouble with these beautiful birds is that they kill other beautiful birds (Songbirds). We have so many bluebirds, cardinals, finches, etc that I have seen this guy lurking around all summer. He almost landed on my shoulder the other morning when I was out walking in camo coveralls.

Brother Skunk Updated

I did a video (below) of brother skunk on the 19th of September and thought the worst thing I had to worry about was dancing around him when I went to get the paper. About a week ago I was going to plant some trees and blackberry bushes that I had purchased. When I went to get a bag of topsoil out of the shed behind the garage, I noticed something had burrowed underneath the garage. I reached for the bag of topsoil, and brother skunk crawled out. The time for dancing was over and a quick sprint was in order. Thankfully, I was not sprayed.




I set a trap out for several nights and this morning when I checked, this is what I saw. My dilemma changed from dancing around brother skunk to what to do with a caged brother skunk.



I called the dog warden and he said he didn't dispose of skunks. He said that I could call a professional firm, but it would probably cost $150-$200. He advised me to dispose of him myself. He gave the following instructions. First get an old blanket and throw it over the cage. Allow some time for the skunk to get use to it. Then, gently lift the cage into the back of a truck and take the skunk out to a remote area and release it. I asked what was the possibility of being sprayed. He said that if I was gentle and lucky, that I should be alright.
I successfully followed his instructions and brother skunk now has a new very remote home. I hope he has a long happy life - at his new home.

Fall Groundhog

It looks like Groundhog has his winter coat on and is getting ready for winter. Notice that he is munching in the shade on these warm fall days. Maybe he will do same in about 4 months, so he can't see his shadow.

Columbus Day?

Who discovered America? There is considerable evidence that Columbus was actually a lost, "Johnny come lately". It has become documented with much archeological evidence that the Vikings visited North America in their early explorations. And the legend about the Mandan Indians and Prince Madoc of Wales is repeated in several sources and partially inspired President Jefferson to commission the Lewis and Clark Expedition. There is even the more recent Solutrean hypothesis that speculates an European migration across the frozen North Atlantic during the end of the last ice age.
But I guess Columbus is kind of like Santa Claus in that we have so much invested in the myth that we can't abandom it. After all there are numerous cities, a country and I even had a great uncle "Lum" named after him, so can one little national holiday be all that bad?

Hog Wallow

This photo on Flikr was captioned the same as my blog "hog wallow". The A-10 is nicknamed the "warthog" and no doubt a pair of these machines can own a piece of real estate better than any hogs wallowing around. It is probably the most functional armed aircraft ever built. It is built around a 30 mm gatling gun and can carry its own weight in payload.

Rolling on the River

When I'm near the river, I always check for riverboats pushing those barges up and down the Ohio. Sometimes I catch a boat like the "R. L. Carter" going down river with empty barges. You can see some that I have uploaded and thousands of others at "littleriverbooks.com".
In the video CCR helps a riverboat and its tow downriver.

The Last Rose of Summer

Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
From Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit,
This bleak world alone?


Thomas Moore, Irish poet, 1805

Winter Forecast

There are always a lot of predictions about the weather for the coming winter season. One of my annual rituals is to check the persimmon seeds. The above photo show 12 seeds that I cut open. Seven of these are spoons, one is a fork and the other four are not clearly distinguishable. The farmers almanac explains what the different shapes mean.

My prediction is that we will have bad luck this winter because when I cut the 13th seed I sliced my thumb open with the utility knife. I normally hold the seeds with needle nose pliers and cut them open, but this year I was in a hurry and just held them between my thumb and index finger. Another fact about persimmon seeds are that they are very slippery. It's another case of I know better but just didn't do better. You would think at my age I would learn.

If you don't trust the Farmer's Almanac forecast here is another forecast from a local "barnyard scientist" about 10 miles down the road.

Tobacco

When I was growing up, tobacco hanging in the barn was a common sight this time of the year. It was a scene repeated on every farm across the state. It was part of the livelihood and culture of the whole society. They even included cigarettes in "C" rations, back when military service was compulsory for us young males. All the economic and societal pressures were constantly reinforced by TV commercials like the one below. I smoked more than 2 packs a day for well over 40 years, but haven't smoked in over 4 years now.




[I'd give anything for a cigarette right now].

Autumn Equinox

The autumnal equinox is a very special time of the year. Autumn, Fall or Mabon signals the transition from summer to the cooler seasons. It is resplendent with all the earthy red, yellow, gold and brown colors of the changing leaves. It is a time to harvest and celebrate the bounty the earth has provided throughout the warm season. Equinox means equal daylight and darkness. After today the nights will be longer than the days until the Vernal Equinox.

Here are a couple of "corn husk" dolls that I made for the autumn equinox. Consistent with Iroquois legend and practice the dolls have no face.

Brother Skunk

Brother Skunk and I have been dancing around each other all week when I go get the paper. Now that the days are getting shorter, it is not quite sunrise when I walk out to the the mailbox and Brother Skunk is still out foraging. Since there was no paper today, I grabbed my video camera and caught Brother Skunk still out and about. The video is not very good because of the low light, but you can see him scampering around.



Skunks are generally nocturnal and begin foraging at sunset. Skunks are omnivorous and help keep the rodent population in check. They often travel five to ten miles within their territory at night looking for field mice and other small rodents as well as lizards, frogs, birds, eggs, garbage, acorns, and fallen fruit. They also dig for insects, especially beetles, larvae, and earthworms. Their diet includes black widow spiders and scorpions. Being carrion eaters, they help keep roadways and neighborhoods clean. An estimated 70 percent of a skunk's diet consists of insects considered harmful to humans.

Some of the best advice that I ever received was "... never wrestle a skunk. You come out smelling bad even when you win." Fortunately, Brother Skunk hasn't made me smell bad - yet, but I'm not inclined to wrestle with him either!

Getting ready for fall

The Autumnal Equinox is in a little over a week away. As noted the bullbats and other birds are starting to move, and Mr Squirrel is down at the walnut trees getting ready for the coming seasons. I guess we need to get in the fall mood also.

Bullbats

This evening I noticed Bullbats were migrating. I have always referred to "common nighthawks" as bullbats. You can see them migrating around the first of September when dove season opens. They winter in South America. Their migration is like Labor Day signaling the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The weather still says its summer, but as the days grow shorter you know that fall is getting close.

Wild Turkeys

Going from the watering hole in the front yard to the backyard you can find wild turkeys grazing on the hillside. These are few of the some two dozen in the rafter that roosts in the woods across the road. Supposedly Ben Franklin wanted to make wild turkeys our national bird. Like the bald eagle, they have really made a comeback and are probably more plentiful now than ever.

Watering Hole

My whiskey barrel, pitcher pump is the local watering hole and bird bath for all the birds in the neighborhood. I sit on my front porch and watch the bluebirds, goldfinches, robins, sparrows, etc., come in for a drink. Here is a dove getting a drink after filling up with grout from the driveway. Occasionally, a squirrel will climb up and get a drink. I have to clean and refill the barrel about twice a week. The little honey locust growing next to the barrel I started from a seed that I picked up at my vascular surgeons's office a couple of years ago.

The Druid in me

I suppose its the druid in me that has planted over 150 trees on my 5 little acres of paradise over the past 30 years. There was only one old apple tree when I first moved here. Now there are lots of mature shade trees plus nuts, fruits and ornamentals of all sorts. Thirty some trees are decorated with birthhouses of different colors and seven are animated with tree faces as shown.

Butterflies

The butterflies are so pretty fluttering from flower to flower in the garden. There seems to be an abundance of them this year. I have read that is a sign of a healthy environment. I don't know how localized that may entail, but I would say that my yard and garden are in good shape this year.

Round Hay Bales

These large round hay bales are picturesque in the fields. On hazy or foggy early mornings they conjour up images of wooly mammoths grazing on the hillside. I also remember an earlier period when Allis Chalmers made a round baler. My dad sold these and other farm equipment. On a couple of occassions he was called to get a farmer out of the baler. The best I recall one survived and one didn't. Here is a video of the old baler in action.

Lughnasadh/Lammas

I am amazed at hot green it is on the 1st of August. Usually we have started our dry spell and things start looking kind of dried out and drabby by now. I suspect we will still have a fairly dry spell between now and the first of fall, but at least we are starting the normally dry period in good shape

Jordan's School Flowers

Jordan sold flowers for school which we dutifully bought. And, since we wanted to share her enthusiam and environmental concerns, we dutifully planted the flowers. Much to our surprise but consistent with Jordan's enthusiam, the flowers are very beautiful and environmentally pleasing. Doing your duty often has pleasing payoffs.

Morning Glory

Morning glory is a common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae. As the name implies, morning glory flowers, which are funnel-shaped, open in the morning, allowing them to be pollinated by hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other daytime insects and birds. The flower typically lasts for a single morning and dies in the afternoon. New flowers bloom each day. The Aztecs used the seeds which contain LSA (a relative of LSD), a hallucigen, to pray to the sun god.

Fresh from the Garden

Been busy lately, but not too busy to collect a few veggies from the garden before a morning shower in July. It's hard to beat veggies right out the garden. You pick them when they are ripe, not based on shelf life.

Mimosa

I know a lot of people don't rate mimosas very high on their list of trees, but in full bloom the fragrance is hard to beat. Also if it is properly maintained, it is a very pretty tree. In the background is my oldest mimosa tree (about 25 years old) that I pass on my way to the mailbox early in the mornings. In the still morning air the fragrance just hangs over the whole area and you have to just stand there awhile and soak up enough to last through the day and ultimately through another season. The other good thing about mimosas is that they bloom for weeks. I know the fallen blossoms get messy, but that is part of the process.

TV Commercials

One of my biggest pet peeves are TV commercials. It's not only the fact that there are so many of them, but it's mainly the nature of them. First, more than half of all commercials are pharmeceuticals or lawyers. About half the lawyer commercials are about the harm pharmeceuticals have caused, the other half are about how bad the lawyer commercials are. From there it seems that all commercials have to be "off-color" or have some mean spirited "attitude". I guess the real sad indictment is that these reflect our society.
Every now and then there is a refreshing commercial that promotes more of what I feel our country and Madison Avenue should be about. This "Jif commercial" is more of the type we need.

Summer Soltice Bonfire

The summer solstice bonfire was composed of mainly a 20 year old ash tree that had become diseased and the old shed off the garage. The shingles on the shed(10ftx48ft) are very visible and made a very hot fire.The rising sun also appears to be very hot as it will reach it's highest point today.

Cicadas

The cicadas from "Brood XIV" are here and they are noisy and disturbing. Here are some on one of my weeping willow tree. They are all over the place and are so loud that you can hear them even when you are mowing. It is a constant roar that will drive you crazy after a while. Thank goodness they only come around every 17 years. Of course there are other broods that hatch out in between, but I have never noticed any as bothersome as this brood.

Memorial Day

I drive by this marker regularly and am both perplexed and curious. Perplexed about why you would even put up a sign if you don't know who is buried there (but apparently this has least 116 precedents) and at the same time curious about who they might be. I guess Memorial Day "Decoration Day" is as good as a time as any to remember whoever they are.

Beltane

My Beltane fire at sunrise included three 25 year old Chinese Chestnut trees, the old back porch, fallen limbs from the winter and spring and sundry other combustible scraps. It was a big, but orderly fire. Now we I have to start a new pile for the Summer Solstice.

Lilacs

You don't need air fresheners when the liliacs are blooming. I can't get enough of them, but they are a little overwhelming to my wife, so only cut them for the basement.

No postings lately because I tore down the back porch and am putting up a deck. Also, trying to get some gardening done. I finally got "taters" in the ground and some early corn out - photos later.

For What It's Worth

In the 1960's most of us young males got drafted into military service. Although a few evaded the draft, you could never be sure of any of our motives. Some of us blindly followed the leaders of our country - some relunctantly and some convincingly. We were all wounded in the process. If you look closely, you can see the scars.
Then there are the "chickenhawks". These are the hypocrits who failed to serve in their youth, but have now led our country into a bigger quagmire than even the most vocal critics of Vietnam could imagine. The "chickenhawks" in particular include George Bush who was AWOL from his National Guard unit and Dick Cheney who got more deferments that I knew was possible.
Neil Young was part of Buffalo Springfield back in the '60s who sang songs of protest to the Vietnam war. Now his music leads a movement to rid our government of the "chickenhawks".

See Ourselves as Others See Us

"O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!"
Robert Burns - To a Louse

When I first read these words by Robert Burns, I thought he had really nailed it. Why can't people see themselves as others see them? Then as I have thought about this over the years, I realize that the words apply to me rather than to someone else. Why can't I see myself as others see me? If you pursue this type of introspection long and hard enough, you will find some very highly evolved dimensions of deception and self deception that are difficult to admit and accept. You will also get closer to the truth, where it is very lonely.

A great song and great performance. Too bad Michael can't see the man in the mirror any better than the rest of us.

Messing our Nest

One thing that puts me in an instant rage is littering. I suppose our species has always been guilty of littering. In fact, archeologist learn more about previous cultures by sifting through their litter than any other means. Every morning when I walk out to get the paper I pick up a beer or soda can, or a fast food bag, or sometimes even worse. It seems that littering contnually gets worse. Another symptom of too many people on the planet.
I was slightly encourage this mourning when I was driving to Louisville and seen several groups of young kids and teenagers picking up trash as part of Operation Brightside. These young people are doing a great public good and hopefully learning a good lesson about how harmful littering is to our planet.

Vernal Equinox Ritual

One of Spring rituals is to burn all the seed catalogs that I have received over the winter on the Vernal Equinox fire. I have usually perused these all winter and have ordered my seeds, so it's time for a little housekeeping. This year I only had 32. Last year I had over 40. I like the fertility symbology of fueling the fire with "seed" catalogs.



Another of my Spring rituals is to fly a kite. We had a perfect day for kites and the kite that my great niece and I made 7 years ago still flies great.

Planting Potatoes

I have always planted potatoes on or close to Good Friday. However, this year due to the very early Easter and the cool damp weather, I am not going to be even close to getting my potatoes in the ground. I guess I'll plant after the next full moon in April. Until then I will just have to enjoy the photo of last year's crop.

Eostre

Eostre, Ostara, Easter or whatever religious myth of rebirth you believe in, it is a great time of the year. The air is warming, the grass is greening, the first flowers are bloomimg, trees are budding, birds are nesting and new animals are being conceived and born. Such brightness, vigor, enthusiasm and hope abounds. You can see, feel, smell and hear all the seasonal glory.
All these signal the Vernal Equinox meaning there is equal daylight and darkness. This is the official start of Spring. The amount of daylight will continue to increase until the summer solstice. It is the time to plant and prune away all the old to make way for the new. The symbols of eggs and rabbits abound from jellybeans to chocolate bunnies. These represent the fertility of the season. You can't help but feel a renewed vigor, even as the toll of the years weigh on you.

In Memory of Arthur C Clarke

The death of Arthur C Clarke is regrettable news. I have read all his books and 2001 Space Odyssey is one of the all time great movies. But I most remember him for the Clarke Belt which he proposed in science fiction and became science fact with asynchronous orbits for satellites. If you owned one of the old "C" band satellite systems where you had to tune in your own birds with a 3 meter or larger dish, you learned about the Clarke Belt - sometimes the hard way.



Now we all have Cable or Dish Network/Direct TV with a small stationary dish, but they still get their signals from the Clarke Belt.

The same evolution is now happening with the space elevator and hopefully someday it will be science fact.

St Patrick's Day

Since I am partially Irish, I enjoy much of the Irish culture and symbolism. Here is a photo of my version of a "shillelagh". It is made from an Persimmon tree limb and I have decorated it with the Celtic Tree Ogham alphabet. The runes on the handle spell my name. You can almost feel Celtic when you walk around with this cane. And, like a good shillelagh the head is heavy enough to fend off any unfriendly animal or person. St Patrick's day is a good time to reflect on part of my heritage and enjoy the good things that are Irish. Including the music of Celtic Woman.

Beware the Ides of March

Ides of March was not good day for Julius Ceaser, but I'm not sure what it meant for Warrior Princesses. Not a video for the homophobic.

Afterthought or Warning

With the river up, this sign was more of an amusing afterthought than a warning. How high is the water Moma?