Winter Solstice

It was a cold, misty, overcast Solstice morning in our neck of the woods. I was finally able to get a Yule fire going and welcome the Solstice. However, we could not see the full, "blue" moon, nor the lunar eclipse. I don't think I'll be around for the next Solstice full moon, lunar eclipse in 456 years. I suppose I am just grateful to complete another trip around the sun and hope for a couple of more. Besides you can always catch a replay on youtube like below.

Solstice Wreath

My Solstice wreath is made from things that have grown on my place over the past year. The ring is made from grapevine prunings of the new vines that grew this year. Then small cedar, spruce, fir and holly boughs are added, along with dogwood tree berries and crab apple boughs. Finally a few pine cones. At the solstice it will be offered to the fire for the seasons to come. The circle continues.

Crescent Moon and Venus

Tomorrow Venus will be at it's brightest of the year. But, since, the weather is predicted to be snowy and cloudy, I thought I should try to catch such a rare sight along with the crescent moon a day early (the photo is not to scale, but accurately reflect images of Venus and moon). The view was a lot better live than in the photo. I once heard the waning crescent moon described by a child as a "toenail" moon. I don't think it could be said any more descriptively or poetically.

Xmas Tree

Humans throughout our existence have developed all types of traditions for celebrating the winter season . One of the more enduring is to include evergreen decorations to symbolize that life continues even in the coldest, darkest times. The most recent of which is the Xmas tree used in modern times.
We cannot have a live tree indoors due to my wife's allergies, so I cut a scrappy old cedar tree and decorated it out on the patio as I have done in the past.
I harvested him about 600 feet directly behind where it sits. You can see some of his brothers and sisters in the background. I saved the boughs that were trimmed to add to my Solstice wreath which is a work in progress.
In the mornings I can sit at the bistro and look out at my pretty live tree. It will really look pretty when it snows and the birds from the feeder sit in it.
Deck the Patio. Fa! La! La! La!

"White" Friday

When I got up Thanksgiving Day the temperature was in the mid 60's. It rained all day and set a new record rainfall of 2.19 inches for Thanksgiving Day. This breaks the old record of 1.91 set in 1895. The temperature fell all day and when I got up this morning it was 25 degrees with about a half inch of snow on the ground. Mr Crow seems rather distraught about not being able to enjoy black Friday, but we needed the rain and the snow is pretty - carpe diem.

Full Beaver Moon

The Beaver Moon (it won't actually be full until tomorrow) was coming up as the sun was going down giving the sky this pinkish cast. As always the rising moon was a beautiful sight. We had a fire out on the deck and enjoyed the scenery. The Old Farmer's Almanac explains the moon's name in video below. Also I didn't realize that despite the sky's pinkish cast, that under some definitions this is a blue moon.

Thanksgiving Jailbreak

I caught these turkeys trying to sneak across the backyard this morning. I guess they were trying to get out of the territory before Thanksgiving. Sounds like a good plan if you are a turkey. Fortunately my wife already has a bird in the freezer for next Thursday.

November Sunrise

It was a beautiful mid November sunrise. You love to capture moments like this.

Indian Summer

November 11 is St Martin's Day which is the beginning of Indian Summer. After a hard freeze on Saturday and Sunday, it is supposed to be sunny and mid seventies today. So I guess the weather is about synched with the calendar this year on Indian summer. I don't know if this is what the wooly worm predicted.
I also cut the last rose of summer (it was very fragrant) before I dug up the rose bushes and moved them to another location yesterday. I suppose we need to enjoy the next few warm days before the cold realy gets here.

Will Rogers Day

Today is Will Rogers Day. He was a the truly great and witty Americans who ranks right up there with Mark Twain for his timeless humor. Here are some Will Rogers quotes that are just as on target today as they were over three quarters of a century ago.

Bobbing for apples

My nephew had fun bobbing for apples on the deck this past weekend. He has to grab the stem since he doesn't have any front teeth. Afterwards, we had a fire and he roasted marshmallows. A great fall weekend for all of us.

Full Hunter’s Moon

Here's a photo just before dark of the "Hunter's Moon". The haze is actually smoke from wildfires that have been smoldering. Rain is predicted which hopefully will put out the fires and end the drought. The photo is quite pretty, despite the dire conditions which created it.
From The Old Farmer's Almanac: "The Full Hunter’s Moon, which occurs this year on October 22, is always the first full Moon following autumn’s Harvest Moon.
In pioneer days, after the vegetables were stored for the winter, it was time to go farther afield looking for wild game. Deer were fattening up, and Native Americans and farmers sought a store of good venison for the cold winter days to come."

Turkey Buzzard

There is hardly anything more graceful than a buzzard catching the morning thermals and spiraling ever upward. Nor, is there hardly anything as disgusting as a turkey vulture ripping apart a half decayed carcass.
There certainly seems to be an abundance of buzzards right now. I guess this is partially because of what seems to be increased road kill, partially due to deer season and partially due to the beginning of their migration.
I guess we have to overlook their disgusting diet and appearance on the ground because of their necessary garbage clean niche in the environment. At any rate, I do enjoy watching them ride the thermals.

Lifetime Influences

We have lost two people today who helped influence the way I see the world. Barbara Billingsley (photo above) and Benoit Mandelbrot (photo below). If you recognize these names it is obvious that they influenced me in totally different ways.
Barbara Billingsley was "leave it to Beaver's" mom, June Cleaver, who was the prototype mom of the '50's. And Benoit Mandelbrot was the mathematician who introduced us to fractals and a whole new way of looking at the world. I am grateful for what they taught me and will miss them.

Persimmon Seed Forecast

According to folklore you can predict the winter weather by cutting open persimmon seeds and see what kind of "eating utensil" is depicted inside.

Meaning of the “Eating Utensils”
* Knife – Signifies icy cold winter weather coming with wind that will cut through like a knife.
* Fork – Signifies a mild winter with light feathery snow in the outlook.
* Spoon – Signifies a lot of wet heavy snow to be shoveled.

My seeds mostly had spoons (last 2 rows), but the top row were rather flat spoons and could be described as fat knives. I only had one fork which is in the second row. The seeds seem consistent with AccuWeather's winter predictions (see below). I guess we will take what comes and see how accurate we were in the spring.

10-10-10

Today is the 10th of October 2010, or appropriately abbreviated as 10-10-10. As a old country boy, I have always associated the number 10-10-10 with a common purpose fertilizer. I didn't realize that in binary code it represented the answer to life, the universe, and everything until I visited the "How-to Geek blog. Live and learn, I guess. There are more interesting 10-10-10 articles at Mental Floss.

Hot and Cold

Two weeks ago it was 100 degrees. This morning it is 36 degrees with light frost. Katy Perry's song sums it up pretty well.

Mr Fox

Mr Fox stop to sniff out some persimmons in the yard on his way through the territory. I rarely see foxes in the yard during daylight. I guess the heat and drought has changed his foraging patterns.

Fall Pumpkins

These are some Long Island Cheese pumpkins that we grew and decorated along with some Indian corn. This is the first time we have grown this type of pumpkin and they did very well until the stink bugs got most of them. The ones we salvaged make nice decorations and are said to be good for cooking.

Harvest Moon

I caught the Harvest Moon as it rose through the clouds last night. The hazy sky did not allow a very clear photo, but really brought out the pretty fall colors. It is the beginning of what I hope is a very colorful fall.

Autumnal Equinox

From the Old Farmer's Almanac: "Fall begins. The autumnal equinox is defined as the point at which the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south. The celestial equator is the circle in the celestial sphere halfway between the celestial poles. It can be thought of as the plane of Earth's equator projected out onto the sphere. Another definition of fall is nights of below-freezing temperatures combined with days of temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The word equinox means "equal night"; night and day are the same length of time. The spring equinox is in late March. In addition to the equal hours of daylight and darkness, the equinoxes are times when the Sun's apparent motion undergoes the most rapid change. Around the time of the equinoxes, variations in the position on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets can be noticed from one day to the next by alert observers."
It is also Mabon. The harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter. Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest.

Labor Day

From the Old Farmer's Almanac: "Always the first Monday in September, Labor Day was the idea of Peter J. Maguire, a labor union leader who in 1882 proposed a celebration honoring the American worker. At his suggestion, 10,000 workers held a parade in Union Square, New York, and followed it with political speeches, fireworks, and a picnic. The date chosen was simply "convenient," according to Maguire, because it was midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. Although the day’s focus on organized labor has diminished over the years, the legal holiday still marks the end of summer and the traditional time for children to return to school." This year it also happens to fall on my Brother's 60th Birthday. So Happy Labor Day and Happy Birthday Bro'.

Monarch Butterflies

I think the monarch migration has begun. I caught this one out by the water barrel. It was not tagged so I let it go on it's merry way. Hopefully, it will be one of many that pass through on their migration.

Full Sturgeon Moon

I got out early when the moon was still high and very bright to catch this photo of the full Sturgeon Moon. From the Farmers Almanac: "Full Sturgeon Moon – August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon."

Lucky Friday 13th?

If you can put much stock in these sort of things, we had mixed indicators of our fortune today. Friday the 13th is suppose to be a day of bad luck. On the other hand, seeing a rainbow is suppose to be good luck and it may even have a pot of gold at the end of it. I caught this photo of a rainbow after a storm with over an inch of rain. Notice how the storm blew my corn and sunflowers down (bad luck?), but we really needed the rain (good luck?). Hopefully, the omens will cancel each other out and we can get through the day no worse than we started.

Frenzied "Flutterby"

When I watered flowers early this morning I got my sneakers wet, so I put then on the sidewalk to dry in the sun. I noticed that an Eastern Swallowtail butterfly landed on them and rested there.
Later when my wife and I went out to drink coffee on the porch, I grabbed the shoes and put them inside. As we sat there we noticed this very frenzied butterfly darting back and forth were my shoes had been. A couple of times it came and circled over my head for several seconds. We finally realized it was looking for my shoes.
I put them back out on the sidewalk and it landed on them and stayed there until I got the camera and took some pictures and we finished our coffee.
I'm not sure what attraction the shoes had, but the incident made a pleasant morning distraction.

Naked Ladies

When the weather gets hot you can expect the "naked ladies" to bloom. The Belladonna Lily comes up in the spring with green foliage which dies back and then when it gets good and hot in late July and early August they pop back up on long stems and bloom.

Full Buck Moon

I took this photo of the full Buck Moon early this morning. It's name is explained in the article below:

A Full Buck Moon

by Sandi Duncan | Monday, July 6th, 2009 | From: Astronomy
A Full Buck Moon

The Full Buck Moon – Full moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year.

Since July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur, the full moon of this moon is called the full Buck Moon.

Sometimes this moon was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month’s Moon was the Full Hay Moon.

Crew Change

Ever now and then you catch a riverboat seemingly stopped in the middle of the Ohio River. Although it is not actually stopped, it is maintaining its position by idling against the current. The exploded view of the picture shows the crew preparing the jon boat to make a trip to shore and switch crews. The process takes about 30 minutes and then the tow and its barges are on it's way downriver.

Heart Cath

The above image was taken during my fifth heart cath on Thursday. Normally the procedure lasts 30-45 minutes. This one was a three and half hour marathon. Since you are semi-conscious during the procedure, I wasn't sure I was going to make it; but obviously, since I am posting this, I did.
I am always intrigue by the images and xrays that show the wires holding my sternum together. These are the dark twisty loops in the image. They very much remind me of "bailing wire". Before duct tape and super glue, bailing wire was the fix all tool. I remember seeing twisted wire loops like the ones in my chest on all types of repairs that my grandad made from broken hoe handles to pipe stems.

Carl Sagan: Consider Again That Pale Blue Dot

Lunar Landing

It's been 41 years since Neil Armstrong spoke that famous line ... "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." More than half the world's current population hadn't even been born then. It's a shame we haven't taken a few more steps for mankind since then.

Hummingbirds

I caught the antics of these ruby throated hummingbirds after an early morning, July, rain shower. I think I counted 5 in a couple of frames but there are 3 or 4 in most frames. We have another feeder out front that is just as busy. They are so fast that they almost seem to be in another dimension.

Duct Taped Plant

Here is a photo I took with the cellphone while waiting in a doctor's office. When you see plants taped together with duct tape, you just wonder what kind of patient care you might get. As an after report I would like to say that the plant received much better care than I did.

Eastern Swallowtail Butterflies

There seems to be an abundance of butterflies this year. Right now the Eastern Swallowtail seems to be everywhere. They particularly like the petunias and the mimosa trees and they add to the beauty of both.

Snowballs in July

A snowball in July isn't considered a very safe thing. To test the theory I got out the snowballs that I had frozen On the Winter Solstice and put them on the picnic table when the temperature was at 97 degrees. To my surprise there was still a couple remnants after an hour. I guess they had the full force of winter to last that long.
I was supposed to get the snowballs out on the summer solstice, but it slipped past me. Now if I could just bottle up some of the heat to get out on the Winter Solstice.

Siblings Gone But Not Forgotten

July is a month that brings back memories of my siblings who have died. Frank who was closest to me in age was born on this date (8 July). He died of lung cancer nearly 7 years ago. He would have been 63 today.
Mae was born on my birthday when I was four. Her and Jack were tragically killed in a fire 47 years ago.

Their memories are part of what I am.

Carl Sagan: A Universe Not Made For Us

I read "Pale Blue Dot" in 1995, shortly after it was published, and enjoyed it as I have all of Sagan's other books. This video reminds me of his intellect and ability to succinctly and plainly state what the rest of us only try to articulate.

Garden Raid

I was the 4th one in the garden this morning after the raccoons, Mrs Rabbit and Mama Skunk with her two almost grown babies. I still manage to get enough fixings for dinner and maybe a little for the neighbors. I guess all critters gotta eat.

Late June Morning

In the west the full "strawberry" moon is shining brightly, while in the east the sun is making a fiery entrance. Another '90 degree plus day is in the forecast, but what a beautiful late June morning sky to start the day.

Summer Solstice

I celebrated the sun coming up on this longest day of the year with a bonfire and some music. The temperature is supposed to be in the mid '90's today which will be a fitting start to summer. The only sad note is that all the days get shorter now until the winter solstice. After a few dozen 90 degree days that may not seem to be such a bad thing.

Happy Farter's Day

Happy Farter's Day from Mr Skunk. The 2010 model of Mr Skunk seems to have a lot of white on him. We had been smelling him in the evening, but had not actually see him since last year. However, this morning I caught him sniffing around for grubs. I'd like to think this would be our last encounter of the year, but I doubt it. I guess I can only hope any future encounters are as uneventful. Taking video of a skunk is kind of like taking video of a tornado. You need to make sure you are at a safe distance and nothing comes flying at you.

If We Had no Moon

Early Tomatoes

My early tomatoes have reach the half way mark (about 6 feet) of their climb to reach the gutter (12 ft). The first ripe tomato is in the lower right hand corner (and below). Most gardeners around here will be lucky to have ripe tomatoes a month from today.

Panoramas

I have been playing around with Microsoft ICE software to create panoramas. The above are very scaled down versions of the results. The software is free for now and does a good job. Some of the newer digital cameras are building in this feature.

Full Flower Moon

The full flower moon was shining brightly early this morning. It lit up all the growing flora and fauna for the dawn of another warm day in late spring.

The Best Motivational Video Ever !

Late Iris

These are my late blooming Irises. You can see that they are just starting to proliferate with many buds ready to burst out. I love their earthy colors and their location.

Sun God?

No it's not a sun god. Just me standing in the early morning shadow of the windmill. It looked kind of divine at the moment.

First Roses

These are my first roses of the season just in time for Mother's Day. They are sooo.. fragrant that their smell fills the room. I'm looking forward to many more before the summer is over.

Vietnam 35 Years Ago

Vietnam 35 Years Ago. Let's don't forget and don't keep repeating our mistakes. The photos at this website emphasizes some of the "horror".

The Ohio is cresting just below flood stage. However, as can seen by how far out in the water the utility pole is, it really is up. And, like always when the river rises there is much debris going downstream.

5 inches of Rain

The snowball bushes are dragging the ground after over 5 inches of rain in two days. We were about 8 inches behind for the year, but I don't like to catch up all at once. However, we were lucky compared to the rains and flooding in Tennessee.

Mayday

The first of May brings forth imagery of many memories. I remember the Russian Mayday parades with tanks and missles and the Gary Powers U-2 incident which occurred on Mayday. It also brings up memories of Beltane bonfires that I have made and mostly images of Maypole dances. My wife remembers dancing around the Maypole when she was young, but she said that unlike the video above, most of the time it ended in tangled messes.
Mayday informally signals the beginning of summer and usually the weather cooperates.

Arbor Day

This Arbor Day I am really focused on the black locust trees. I have never seen them bloom so profusely. This a volunteer that came up in the yard several years ago and it has never bloomed liked this. As you drive around, you see some locust groves that are snow white. You also see just how many locust trees there are about because they are about the only thing with white blooms right now except the snowball bushes.