What To See In The November Night Sky

The Northern Taurid meteor shower is active during the months of October 20 thru December 10 every year.  The show should reach its climax tomorrow evening in our hemisphere.

As the earth passes through the debris of Comet 2P/Encke the Taurids are better known for their brightness rather than their volume.  Peak viewing should be the evenings of November 11 and 12.

The best opportunity to view should be before and after midnight.  Look for the shower to appear near the Pleiades stars cluster located in the constellation Taurus.  If you can stay up late the best viewing is after the moon sets in the early morning hours. 

The Northern Taurids shower typically brings about five meteors per hour (give or take) at its peak.  What they lack in volume they make-up for in size.  The larger debris particles often produce fireballs of various colors that are capable of burning-thru the moonlight in the earlier hours.

Local Maritime History

A couple of months ago we were attending the soft opening of the historic granary on the west side (old town of Sawyer) of Sturgeon Bay.  Looking to stretch our legs I suggested to my bother-in-law that we walk over to where the tugs are moored between the Michigan and Oregon Street bridges.  I pointed-out a harbor tug, the Jimmy L, tied-up in its berth and shared some maritime history that he was previously unaware-of.   

This large tug was built in 1939 by Defoe Shipbuilding as the WYTM-92 Naugatuck for the U.S. Coast Guard.

USCGC Naugatuck (WYT-92)

The Naugatuck spent 40 years with the Coast Guard as an ice-breaking harbor tug and was decommissioned in 1979. The following year, she was acquired by the Calumet Marine Towing Company and renamed Timmy B. 

In 1994, the Timmy B. was purchased by Selvick Marine Towing and renamed Jimmy L. Selvick Marine Towing became Sarter Marine Towing in 2019.  She is currently chartered to Great Lakes Towing.

On this day we recognize the 49th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  This boat was the first USCG Cutter on the scene the day following the wreck of the Mighty Fitz. 

 

Who knew?

 

Eighty-five years of continuous service is an impressive accomplishment.

 

Sure is a wealth of maritime history here in Sturgeon Bay and northeast Wisconsin 

Not Too Hot. Not Too Cold. Just Right...

For as long as I can remember I've always liked oatmeal.  A single-serve packet of flavored instant oatmeal is a camper's best friend.  Of course there are oatmeal cookies.  And oatmeal bars.  Finally, my favorite baked oatmeal.  But on a daily basis a bowl of steaming oatmeal or porridge.  Before the COVID shit show we vacationed in Ireland and lo and behold I fell in love with the best oatmeal on the planet.  Made from Irish porridge oats.  My oatmeal world was changed forever.

With the weather growing colder and the days shorter I recently restocked the pantry with an order fulfilled by my chosen importer of delicious Irish foodstuffs.  A case of porridge oats and three kinds of jams - gooseberry, black currant and fig.  If you're gonna eat this stuff anyway, I figured it best to stock-up before you-know-who slaps a tariff on these items to protect the critical US gooseberry, black currant and fig preserves sector of the economy. 

Today I rose to a sunny and clear 28F morning and after the coffee was ready I fixed myself a bowl of Irish porridge oats - with locally sourced dried cherries.

Not too hot, not too cold but just right...

Great way to start your day..... 

Contractions

 

 

Some of you may recall that I taught school a million years ago with my last assignment eighth grade language arts.  

Yes, a have a thing about spelling and grammar.

This brought a smile to my lips...

You Are What You Eat

Growing-up in the 1960s this meal was a staple (and family favorite) in our household.

Mom would repurpose boiled taters leftover from a previous night's dinner, cut them-up and throw them in a fry pan with reserve bacon drippings from the crock in the fridge, toss a whole ring baloney in a pot of boiling water and empty a can of Campbell's Baked Beans in a saucepan on the stove top to reheat.  She would serve the baloney cut in one-inch chunks with the skin-on.

Yum!

I fixed a similar dinner yesterday with my own spin on it.  

Since there are only two of us, I cut a venison ring baloney in two (returning half to the freezer for deer camp), skinned the remaining half and sliced it on the bias. cutting the slices into four triangles.  I browned them lightly and set them aside on a paper towel.  Following that I put two cups of  homemade baked beans (from the freezer) in a foil-covered Pyrex in the oven at 400F.

I brought a couple of big teaspoons of duck fat up to speed in a clean fry pan and added an envelope of unseasoned Simply Potatoes and covered it.  

Flipped the taters, added another teaspoon of duck fat and put the lid on the pan.  Flip at least one or two more times as the taters brown. 

Before serving add back the fried baloney, stir, cover and hold on low burner for 5-6 minutes.

Serve.

Jill says this was a staple in their household so it's likely this has some sort of German influence.

We both agreed my version is better that what we grew-up with.  Easy comfort food and great chow if you can get it.  

We got leftovers too.

Friday Music

Composed by Dave Clark and Mike Smith this song was recorded and released in 1963 by the Dave Clark Five.  

This was the Tip Of The Spear in the British music invasion.following-on I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles.  For 1964 it was the second-highest selling hit single in the UK trailing the Beatles' Can't Buy Me Love.  It rose to number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Here's a terrific cover featuring John Fogerty and John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Joanie Jett, Paul Schaefer and others.

Glad All Over.....

Guess The Critter

I guess you don't have to guess, I got it figured-out finally.

Meet Mustela vision - the American mink.

 

For awhile I figured this to be a long-tailed weasel.  Not so.  A pal of mine who is a retired wildlife biologist tells me he believes this to be a mink.  I'm glad we got that figured-out because I can't keep them straight most of the time.  Mink, weasels, martens and otters all belong to the same family - Mustelidae.  Difficult to determine with a trail camera the mink is slightly larger than a long-tailed weasel.

The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of mustelid native to North America.  I have found this critter's tracks in the snow over the years and trail camera photos more frequently of late.

A strict carnivore, mink feed on mice, voles, rabbits, muskrats, frogs, fish and crayfish.  They also prey-upon birds and their eggs.  As a strong and agile swimmer much of their food is obtained closer to the shoreline habitat.

With the exception of the mating season this is a solitary critter.  Polygamous, both sexes will mate with multiple partners but it is the females that raise the young.  Breeding around here  begins in March.  Litter sizes range from two to eight  (typically four) and the young become independent at six months of age.

Unlike some weasels this critter does not turn white with winter.  The pelt (fur) of this animals is quite valuable; as a consequence, domestic farming of mink provides the majority of the fur that is brought to market. 

This species' conservation status is of least concern.

For the record; From last year this is a long-tailed weasel in it's wintertime livery...