Watch Your Back Tomorrow

The history of April Fool's Day - or All Fool's Day - is uncertain and is the subject of no small measure of dispute.  Some attribute it to a chapter contained in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales where a vain cock is tricked by a sly fox with the date March 32 (April 1).  Another theory is that its origins can be traced 1582 in France with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar under Charles IX.   Heretofore, most Europeans celebrated the new year from March 25 - April 1 and the new calendar moved it to January 1.

News traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change after several years had passed.  Still others, who were more rebellious, refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration - April 1.

These people were labeled 'fools' by the elites of the time and were the object of ridicule.  They were sent on fool errands including invitations to nonexistent parties along with other practical jokes. The butts of these pranks became known as a poisson d'avril (translation: April fish) as it is young and naive fish that are easily caught.  A common prank was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone's garments as a joke.

This harassment evolved over time and the custom of prank-playing persisted on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French.  Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on a decidedly international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own peculiar fashion.

In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.  Hundreds of infuriated citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to voice their righteous indignation over this corporate outrage. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold as well. McCurry claimed:  It will now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial. 

Keep your wits about yourself.

Learn more about the best April Fool Pranks here.

 

Roadkill

 There nothing left of the road-killed whitetail now but skin and bones.  Nevertheless, there are plenty of trail camera photos yet to share so be sure to stop-by from time to time and check them out.

This is a juvenile bald eagle.  The large, distinctive hook beak is one of the characteristics to aid in identification of this bird in the field.  Juveniles gain the characteristic bald eagle white head and tail at 4-5 years of age.

This is a rough-legged hawk.  The raptor takes its name from the feathers that extend down the legs to the base of the toes - an adaptation to the cold environment this bird prefers.  This hawk is only seen here on the peninsula during the winter months with the southern-most extent of its winter range being the Texas panhandle.  Summer breeding range is the northernmost extent of Canada's coniferous forest zone and escarpment bordering the arctic tundra. 

Wile E. Coyote.  This canine has been tugging and dragging the deer carcass from here to there.

Adult bald eagle stretching her wings.  At up to a 7-foot wingspan this is a Big Bird.

And there is this.  A raven selfie.  And I am really digging the hair do..... 

The Garden Chronicles

Good advice.....

Roadkill

The road killed whitetail has been reduced to skin and bones.  And not getting much attention by the local critters.

Here's another handful of photos captured by the trail camera on the 15th and 16th of March.

 

This is a juvenile bald eagle.  Not to be confused  with a rough-legged hawk this bird is not only larger than its arctic cousin - a field mark to aid in ID is the large, curved, yellow bill

 

 

Crow taking flight

 

 

 

Adult bald eagle.  Juvenile eagles do not develop the distinctive white head until 4 to 5 years of age

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                Adult and juvenile facing-it-off and getting into a fracas

Classic bald eagle pose

Stay tuned for more photos to follow...

Good Bye Winter

I'm likely setting myself-up for a hefty dose of Schadenfreude by taunting winter.  But I'm going to do it anyway.

Sayonara.  Adios. Sayōnara. Auf Wiedersehen.  Good Bye.  I'm putting the snow shovels and snowblower away for the duration of the spring and summer.

In the mean time there are these short silent video vignettes from February and March that are blog-worthy.  

Wile E. Coyote....

And a snow squall selfie... 

Gentlemen, start your rototillers!  Gardening season is about to begin.....

Roadkill

Here's another handful of trail camera photos chronicling who eats roadkill around here.

These were taken after dark (using no flash infrared B&W mode) and daylight.

Photos begin with March 9 and end March 12...

A couple of nocturnal raccoon visitors

The resident crows get into a food fight

 

A bald eagle approaches, lands and checks things out.  Judging from the size I suspect it is an adult female

 

And Wile E. Coyote pays a call looking looking for a midnight snack.  The carcass to frozen to the ground and cannot be shifted

So he scent marks it

Stay-tuned for more photos.....

Friday Music

This 1964 song was recorded by the Dave Clark Five and reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This marked an expansion of the British Invasion as the first group other than the Beatles to chart a big hit both here and abroad. 

This is a fun cover featuring Joan Jett, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Billy Joel and others at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in 2008. 

I posted this a year and a half ago and because the energy level and star power make this so much fun it gets a reprise.  Besides you can never get too much Joan Jett.

Glad All Over…..

Limp Shooter

This cartoon should get a little extra attention as Putin has banned it in Russia.... 

 

Roadkill

I have lost trail cameras to theft, flood and old age.  This week I suffered the loss of a camera as a consequence of bird attack. It was pecked-to-death. 

 

 

Likely a raven committed the assault. 

 

In any event the camera was replaced and a couple of new ones ordered.

 

This motion-activated trail cam had been set to monitor a road-killed whitetail on Sunday March 6. This was to be a Citizen Science Project of my own making.  I wanted to monitor who eats roadkill.

 

It's been an interesting journey over the past couple of weeks.  As of Tuesday all that was left of the deceased was skin and bones. 

 

This first batch of photos is from March 8th.

 

 

Coming in for a landing

 

 Crow with a mouthful

 

Thus quoth the raven

 

The large yellow beak is a field mark that differentiates this bird from a rough-legged hawk.  It is a juvenile bald eagle and size matters too as you'll see in a future post.

 

Stand-off

 

 Juvenile bald eagle and crow

 

Stay-tuned for more photos to come.....

A Trail Camera First

Meet Lynx rufus - the Bobcat.  Named for the short and stubby "bobbed" tail.  It's the first time ever I've gotten a trail camera image of this elusive nocturnal/diurnal cat.

Smaller than a cougar or Canada lynx this cat has horizontal barring of its stiff fur on the upper legs, a white underside and as I mentioned (above) a stub of a tail.  All of which can be seen in the video clip.

It is a carnivore and frequently ambushes its prey of small mammals.  It's favorite meal happens to be cottontail rabbit.

This is mating season for the cat with males working a large territory seeking a female.  Females are homebodies who make use of a den for raising kittens.  Typically three are born in April or May with the youngsters remaining with mom until about seven months of age.  The male does not play a role in rearing a litter.  

Recently I noted a scratched tree a quarter mile distant from this trail camera location and simply shrugged-it-off as another deer rub.  I believe I'll have to go back and locate it again for a closer examination as it might just be a scratching post for this animal. 

This sort of made my week.

Death of Ideas

Nope.  No conspiracy here.  None of the bizarre bigoted rantings of Marjorie Taylor Greene, or Paul Gosar, or Lauren Boebert, or Madison Cawthorn.  Or all of the other scary shit some people are gorging-upon in their echo chamber.

Killing good ideas can harm your future....

Dinner

 

 

Praise the braise

 

Half Rock Cornish Game Hen

 

Homemade dressing

 

Mit EVO und Meersalz gesalbter Spargel

 

It’s what’s for dinner….

 

Astronomical Arrival of Spring

Happy vernal equinox.   

The astronomical arrival of spring is a consequence of the earth’s tilt on its axis as it orbits around the sun.  Equinox from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) means the the earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally.  On this date the sun rises exactly due east and set exactly due west with sunlight striking both hemispheres of the earth equally.   Night and day are approximately equal in length. 

As you observe the movement of the sun across the sky each day you will note that it is shifting toward the north.  Birds and butterflies begin their northward migration as a response to this change in daylight following the path of the sun.

 

It would be premature to pack-away your winter outerwear, return the snow shovels to the shed or plant a garden.  Nevertheless, this is a harbinger of the arrival of astronomical spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere.  

 

The official start time will be today, March 20 at about 10.33 AM CST (give or take). 

Astronomers base season cycles upon the position of the earth in relation to the sun.  The beginning of Astronomical Spring or the Vernal Equinox marks the time when the sun passes directly above the equator.  Meteorological spring is based-upon annual temperature cycles.  Your weatherman will tell your that meteorological spring begins March 1 and goes thru the end of May.

 

No matter how you slice it the days will grow longer, the temperatures warmer and mud season is in full swing.

Tactics

Things in Putin World continue to deteriorate. 

Last week there were arrests in the Fifth Directorate. 

 

This week there is continued turmoil in the upper ranks of Putin’s government.

Now it's official - Kommersant confirmed Gavrilov resigned (his detention is yet to be confirmed). Putin humiliated the director of the SVR, placed two FSB generals under house arrest and had Zolotov, the National Guard, to fire his deputy -- in the first three weeks of the war. 

Three independent sources report that the deputy chief of Russia's Rosgvardia (a unit of RU's interior army which has had tremendous losses in Ukraine), General Roman Gavrilov has been detained by FSB.  Gavrilov had also previously worked in FSO, Putin's security service.

Arresting generals is not a sign of either stability or strength.

And in further news spring arrives tomorrow - both here and in Ukraine.

Yes, spring. 

And as the frost goes out of the ground the vaunted Soviet mechanized conscript mob will be confined to paved roads.

The killers of civilian non-combatants and children will become targets of opportunity. 

I’m just a retired financial guy but none of this strikes me as rocket science. 

WTF was the Dick Head thinking?

 

What's in the March Night Sky?

Technically the dawn sky for you early risers.

A planetary conjunction occurs when two or more planets appear close to each other in the sky. The apparent proximity of planets is an optical illusion as the fact of the matter is they are very far away from each other.  It is their alignment that tricks our eyes.

The planets visible from earth are now clustered on the eastern night sky in the hours before sunrise.

Venus is the brightest object (other than the moon) in the southeast sky.  The Red Planet Mars is in the same part of the sky as Venus but is not as bright.  After March 15, Saturn can be found shining dimly, close to the sunrise, near the horizon as the dawn light is rising.  As the mornings pass in March, Saturn moves toward Venus and Mars in the sky.  On March 24 it forms an interesting flat isosceles triangle with those other two planets. 

On March 28, the thin crescent moon joins the show.  By the final morning of March, Saturn will have moved so that it lies in between Venus and Mars. 

All three planets will be visible to the naked eye but a pair of binoculars will vastly enhance your viewing experience.

Dog Poo

 Further evidence this Russian War Criminal is a POS There is this...

Friday Music

In 1960, Ben E. King repurposed an older gospel hymn by Charles Albert Tindley loosely based-upon Psalm 46 -  will not we fear, though the Earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.   King composed this for the Drifters who subsequently took a pass. 

Later in the year King had some studio time left over and the producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (think Supremes and others), inquired if he had any more songs.  King played it on the piano for them. They liked it and called the studio musicians back in to record it.  File this under really smart move.

Remarkably, there have been more than hundreds upon hundreds of recorded covers of the song including the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me. In 2015 King's original version was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  Later that year – and only five weeks before his death - the 2015 line up of the Drifters recorded it as a tribute to him. 

Enjoy another really nicely-done acoustic cover….

A Wee Bit O'Blarney

Did St. Patrick really chase the snakes out of Ireland?  Or is that story just a bunch of blarney?   

According to the tale way back in the fifth century the legendary priest raised his staff and banished the reptiles into the seas surrounding the Emerald Isle.  Save for those in captivity it is true that Ireland has no snakes.  But this current condition has less to do with religious tradition and more to do with geologic history and events dating many millennia ago.  Following the retreat of the last glaciers some 15,000 years ago Ireland was devoid of snakes.  Surrounded by icy waters to this very day snakes cannot swim or find their way there and as a consequence Ireland remains snake-free.    

That’s too bad because if my recreational DNA test is to be believed I am becoming more Irish with every passing year.  And I have a particular fondness for snakes. The bigger the better.   

Like this dandy five foot long Western Fox Snake.  I also like a good saint when I see one and St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish.    

Patrick was born of aristocratic blood in Britain probably around the year 390.  The legend says that he was not particularly religious.  At age 16 he was kidnapped into slavery was forced into life as a sheepherder in Ireland.  It is held that it was during this time that he found God and became a believer.    

As the story goes he began hearing voices and the voices instructed him to flee.  Which he did.  Patrick eventually found his way back to Britain and his family.  Alas, the voices returned commanding him to return to Ireland.  He was ordained a priest, went back to Ireland and spent the balance of a rather difficult life converting the pagan Celts to Christianity.  He died on March 17, 461 and was promptly forgotten.     

Nevertheless, over many years faithful conviction and belief in the story of Patrick grew.  And he grew ever larger after his death than he did in real life.  Hundreds of years after the fact he was honored as Ireland’s patron saint.    

So on March 17th we gather to pay homage to this saint who - ostensibly - banished the snakes from Ireland.  It is said that on this one day of the year everyone is Irish.   

Since I have real Irish blood coursing through my veins I intend to raise a glass of Guinness and toast my ancestors and Saint Patrick.  I will ignore the part about the sketchy British and Western European connection.    

Speaking of Guinness - according to the Guinness people somewhere around 5.5 million pints of Guinness stout are consumed world-wide each and every day.  On St. Patrick’s Day this will grow to 13 million pints. 

Drink responsibly people.  

Sláinte!

 

S. Paddy's Day Roundup

It's a great week to be Irish.

Round-up your mates for a refreshing Guinness....

What's in the March Night Sky?

March’s full moon is frequently called the Full Worm Moon.  The story goes this is because of the earthworms that wriggle out of the ground as the earth begins to thaw in March.  As a consequence some Native American Tribes referred to it as the Worm Moon and the return of robins to feast on the emerging worms.

The fact of the matter is that Northern tribes would not have embraced this name for the March moon as there were no earthworms. A Southern tribe maybe – but certainly not a Northern tribe.

Historically, earthworms did not exist in the northern reaches of continental North America. The ice sheets of the last glaciation wiped them out. All of the earthworms and night crawlers we see nowadays were introduced by European colonists – brought here in plant root balls and soil used as ship ballast. That’s right – earthworms are invasive species.  But I digress.

Northern American tribes such as the Shawnee tribe know this as the Sap Moon - a reminder for the tribes that they can begin tapping maple trees for the making of syrup.

In general, March’s full moon is known as a herald for the beginning of spring and new agricultural cycles. The European settlers referred to this as the Lenten Moon and as a way to measure the progress of their crops. They called it the Storm Moon if the weather was inclement – an indicator their crops might fail. Under ideal growing conditions they called it the Rugged Moon – a sign of a successful harvest that year.

One of its other names is the Chaste Moon, symbolizing the purity of early spring. The Pueblo tribe named it the Moon When the Leaves Break Forth, The Cree called it the Goose Moon, while in Shoshone culture it was known as the Warming Moon. The Ojibwe called the the Crows Come Back Moon, after the crows and other birds that appear as winter draws to a close.  It is also called the Crust Moon, because of the snow that becomes crusty when it thaws in the sun and freezes in the moonlight.

In my latitude the moon will be at its fullest on Friday morning at 2:18 AM. 

 

Putin's Stalingrad

Putin has badly miscalculated.  He has underestimated Ukrainian resolve to resist annexation. 

Evidence of his anger and frustration is his escalation of the civilian slaughter to industrial levels.  The leveling of Aleppo foreshadowed this. 

Russia does not begin to have a large enough military and resources to occupy/pacify Ukraine.  This is a country with a population of over 40 million, and Putin has already committed the vast bulk of his military.

It’s becoming extremely costly for the Russians to keep up this kind of siege. 

Every single day there is the grinding loss of large numbers of armored vehicles, men and materiel. Morale in the Russian army is dropping. 

Like the Nazi overreach of WWII this may ironically become Putin’s ‘Siege of Stalingrad’.

 

Tough Luck Leprechaun

 

It's a special week for the Irish.

And a Tall Irish Tale advances the notion that if you are lucky enough to find a leprechaun and capture him you can exchange his freedom for his treasure.  

Some say that leprechauns are usually able to grant the person three wishes.

Original Sin

Reported this morning in the Wall Street Journal there is this:

Hungry and undisciplined Russian troops shooting unarmed villagers, breaking into supermarkets and shops, and raiding homes in search of food and valuables as their own supply lines have failed.

Don't take my word for it.  You can find security camera footage of Soviet troops looting grocery stores on the web. 

 

This is interesting to me on several levels.

First, the vaunted Russian military is nothing more than an undisciplined conscript mob.  This fact is not lost on the professional western military.  Of course they do have the unqualified admiration and support of Fox and Russian State Media personality Tucker Carlson.

Second, half of my friends (give or take) are Trump supporters.  With only two three solitary exceptions - yes, only two three - of the remainder, not a single one of those souls has spoken a word of condemnation of the actions of Putin's army of murderous thugs and the obscene invasion of a sovereign nation.  

Crickets.  

Perhaps they too believe that Putin's actions are, in Trump's own words, genius.  Their silence on the subject speaks volumes.  And it is troubling. 

And their tacit acceptance of this vulgar assault is their Original Sin.

Boxing Match

During the fall months male deer engage in some dramatic fights with one another to win females. Bucks use their antlers for matches against other males to win the territory with the best does for mating.  

When bucks don't have antlers to fight with, they stand straight up on their hind legs and battle with their hooves.  What they're trying to do is establish dominance or hierarchy in the herd.  

Females will engage in the same behavior.  They'll stand up on their hind legs and slash out at each other with both front feet. Their sharp hooves are wicked weapons, and the does do not bluff or fight mock battles. Injuries can, and do, occur.

It's cool to have scored a rare digital photo of this behavior.   

Spring Forward

Well, it's the second Sunday of March and if you think like me this semiannual switch between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time is madness.  Today I lost an hour of sleep and in November after I set my clock back an hour I’ll still get out of bed in the dark to feed my dog.  At the end of the day I’ll feed my dog in the dark.  This resetting of the clocks messes with my circadian rhythms.

Daylight Saving Time is associated with the Western world as most countries outside Europe and North America don't observe the ritual. 

Courtesy of CNN research the notion of Daylight Saving Time has a curious pedigree.

1784 - The idea of daylight saving is first conceived by Benjamin Franklin.

1914-1918 - Britain goes on DLS during World War I.

March 19, 1918 - The Standard Time Act establishes time zones and daylight saving.  Daylight Saving Time is repealed in 1919, but continues to be recognized in certain areas of the United States.

1945-1966 - There is no federal law regarding Daylight Saving Time.

1966 - The Uniform Time Act of 1966 establishes the system of uniform Daylight Saving Time throughout the United States. The dates are the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. States can exempt themselves from participation.

1974-1975 - Congress extends DLS in order to save energy during the energy crisis.

1986-2006 - Daylight Saving Time begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October.

August 8, 2005 - President George W. Bush signs the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law. Part of the act will extend Daylight Saving Time starting in 2007, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

As for making Daylight Savings Time permanent there is evidence that the frequency of heart attack and stroke increases around the ritual resetting of clocks twice a year.  Benefits of Daylight Savings Time enhance public safety, make better economic sense and may improve our mental health.  Proponents of Daylight Saving Time argue that most people appreciate an increase in daylight hours after coming home from work. 

 

Since 2015, at least 350 bills and resolutions have been introduced in virtually every state, but none of significance passed until 2018 when Florida became the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe DST, pending repeal of federal law to permit such action.  The vast majority of Americans want to put an end to changing the clocks twice a year, moving in and out of Daylight Saving Time (DST).

 

In the U.S., exceptions to DST are Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

Speaking for myself - I like the notion of more daylight at the end of the day, better health and a happier more prosperous United States.   

Make it permanent.  Lock the clock.

 

Another Supply Chain Issue

 

 

Recently I've reminded you readers that:  If You're Out of Schlitz You're Out of Beer.

Seen recently on a road trip...