Graupel Skies #SkywatchFriday

I knew winter would return.  And it did, to where I live in the Southern Tier of New York.

Despite our unusual, warmer than normal winter, spring can't get a foothold.  Not yet, anyway.  On the first day of spring, we had a dusting of snow.  The next day, winter decided that wasn't enough.

It was Graupel Time.

Graupel, also known as corn snow, is (according to Wikipedia) "precipitation that forms when supercooled water droplets in air are collected and freeze on falling snowflakes, forming 2–5 mm balls".  It's more common here than one might think.

Knowing we would be under snow squall warnings by 1pm on Wednesday, we took our exercise walk early.  Here's a bird's next up against a white snow-is-coming sky. 

After lunch, we took another walk.  The blue sky wasn't going to last long.

Uh oh, the storm is approaching.  Time to head on in.

Here comes the graupel.

A closeup, as the temperature dropped from 47F (8.3C) to 35F (1.7C).

And the sky as graupel turned into regular snow.

We didn't get a lot of snow, as it turned out.  The sun even came out again later in the day.  But yesterday, it was cold and breezy.  Today should be cold, too.

It's no surprise that winter isn't done with us yet.

Joining Yogi and other sky watchers for #SkywatchFriday.

Bird Not of a Feather

Last May, we had a mystery white goose in among our regularly scheduled Canada geese in a local park. Some of my commenters said "snow goose".  We also got a snow goose ID from the owner of a Wild Birds Unlimited store about an hour and a half from here. 

Fast forward to this past Monday, the last full day of winter.

In a different local park...

Best of the pictures we got

...looks like that same goose, again with a flock of Canada geese.

Most of the pictures weren't usable - iPhones aren't the best things to use for this type of photography.

Tuesday we went back to the park after work and the goose was still there with the flock.  Not a bird of a feather but they allow the white goose to stay with them.

Is it the same one?  I wonder.

I wonder how long he or she will stay.

Yesterday the geese weren't there and today the weather probably won't be favorable for a walk.  So, as of now, this remains a mystery.

Snow on Crocus to Welcome Spring #WordlessWednesday

Yesterday was the first day of spring where I live.

It's not that common to have crocuses on March 19.

But it is (or was, as our weather has been so unusual) common to have some snow on the ground.

Introducing - first day of spring crocus and snow. 

The picture isn't that great; it was gloomy yesterday morning.  I was working and I asked spouse to take a picture.  Our purple crocus are all the crocus that are left-our white and yellow ones are already gone.  Daffodil greens are up, and a neighbor's forsythia tree is opening its blooms.  Unbelievable.

And now we are back to winter.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday

Merger Pains

A story of change....

As of February 1, a hospital system (lets call it Hospital System B) took over one of the two hospital systems (lets call it Hospital System A) in this area.

Hospital system A first opened in 1925.  It was a Catholic health care ministry. There were crucifixes in the hospital rooms.  There was be a daily prayer announcement around 7am each morning.

In 1999 they joined another system, and in 2017 took on their name.  Many people in our area, me included, felt the care deteriorated after 2017.  Their billing system certainly deteriorated, which is a story for another day.   (This is not a put down of the doctors and employees.  I believe the problems originated at a higher level.)

The parent of System A was a big outfit, operating in some 22 states as of 2017.  I believe System A was their only hospital in New York State. I had a lot of experience with doctors in System A. Sadly, a number of them retired during or after COVID, something that is happening nationwide.

Last year, when it was announced that System A would be acquired by System B, many local people rejoiced.  System B has a good reputation.  Of course, there would be growing pains.  And layoffs.

Fast forward to early March, when I received a letter reminding me I needed to make an appointment for my annual mammogram.

I always scheduled it online so I tried to do it.  But appointment systems were changing over to System B's, and it was hard to find the link.  I finally did find it, and made the appointment.

Last week, I got a call asking me to preregister.  This wasn't a surprise; System A preferred that you preregister so your appointment was verified and they had your current information. Apparently, System B was going to do the same thing.  Fine.  But imagine my surprise when the preregistration rep mentioned where my appointment was.  It wasn't for where I had scheduled.  I checked the verification I received from them.  I had registered for the location I wanted.

But no one told the computer.

If the rep hadn't mentioned the location, I would have gone to the wrong office, several miles away, and would have had to remake the appointment.  I had never run into this with System A. (The rep immediately offered, incidentally, to see if they could get me in at the location I wanted).

At the test, I was pleasantly surprised when the nurse asked me some questions about family history. She explained it was to ascertain my risk, and if I was considered high risk, they would contact me to discuss and present options for further testing.  They also asked if I had undergone certain genetic testing.  Hmmm.

I happen to have ancestry that puts me at a higher than normal risk of certain genetic mutations.  No one has ever offered that testing.  I found out that Medicare only has limited coverage for such testing.

That questionnaire was a pleasant surprise, though.

Interestingly, the day after the procedure, I received an email questionnaire from System B, something System A had never done, and I decided I would mention this issue.  There was a box to check if I wanted this information shared with staff.  I did.

Now I'll be curious to see if there are further growing pains, as the two systems mesh into one.  And, of course, I wonder if anything will come from my complaint.  I hope I was the only person this happened to.

Not All By Himself #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday, and it's time for music.

Let's introduce the Music Moves me bloggers:  We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be removed, or may  be labeled "No Music".)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.

Every other week, we have a theme.  On alternate weeks, like this week, we can blog on any music theme we want.

Today, it's time once again to recognize and pay tribute to a music artist who has entered Rock and Roll Heaven.  Today's inductee is Eric Carmen, the former lead vocalist and guitarist of the Raspberries, who was also successful as a song writer and solo artist. 

Carmen's death was announced March11.  He died at the age of 74. No cause of death was released.

Carmen showed musical talent by the age of two.  At age six, he took violin lessons from an aunt who played violin for the Cleveland [Ohio] Orchestra.  By 11, he was playing piano.  Although his musical training was classical, he fell in love with rock music and started self-teaching himself guitar at age 15.  He was playing in bands as a sophomore in high school.

My favorite Raspberries song - from 1972, Go All The Way.  For a change of pace, it's the woman in the relationship who is asking, not the man.

From a 2007 reunion tour, Ecstasy.  The drumming on this song reminds me so much of Keith Moon of The Who.

Now the songs get softer. Eric the solo artist - from 1976, All by Myself.

 

Eric writing for others: 1984's Almost Paradise, from the movie Footloose, co written by Carmen, sung by Ann Wilson of Heart and Mike Reno of Loverboy.

Another movie hit - 1987's Hungry Eyes, from Dirty Dancing. 

Eric Carmen also wrote several songs recorded by country singer Louise Mandrell.  Here Eric sings a duet with Mandrell of As Long as We've Got Each Other.

I will end with the last Raspberries song that charted, a song ironically entitled Overnight Sensation, from 1974.

And that is a sad wrap, as we continue to lose some of our older rock and roll greats with each passing month.

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

Oh, one more thing....

Before I go, a note:  I am participating in the month long April Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  Some of my April posts may be going live on Sundays.  So, if you don't see me on Monday, look for me the day before.  Thank you for your continued readership.

Church Shadow and St Patrick Fountain #ShadowshotSunday

Happy St. Patrick's Day to my readers!

I was in the car with my spouse the other day in Johnson City, New York, stopped at a light.  We were stopped at a light and I saw these shadows on the side of a church.  Bush shadows, a shadow of a streetlight on the ground, and even reflections of clouds on the windows. I took this picture as the light was changing.

(taken March 12, 2013)

In March of 2013, we visited Savannah, Georgia.  Another Johnson - here, the fountain in Johnson Square, with the water colored green.

Joining up with Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for #ShadowshotSunday.

Chipmunk vs Feeder Round 1

Yesterday, I sat outside and read, but I was so distracted by an Eastern chipmunk's antics that I decided to take some pictures.  My spouse has been battling this chipmunk, which is determined to feast on the seeds we intend for our local birds.

The chipmunk makes his approach.

Our feeder has been protected by a store bought baffle but it didn't seem to be working so spouse tried to make his own.  

Let's see how that is going to work out.  The homemade baffle is that shinymetal thing on the pole.  The feeder is at the top right of the photo.

Mr. or Ms. chipmunk eats some seeds scattered by the birds.  I'll call him a male.

He thinks.  These creatures are smart and persistent.

What if I jump up and hit the baffle, Mr. Chipmunk wonders.  Some birds are such sloppy eaters that they shovel seeds onto the baffle.  Yes, his logic works.  A shower of seeds await him when he hits the underside of the battle.  But finally, he runs out of seed showers.

After several rounds of hit the baffle, he finally figures out how to get up to the feeder.

Chipmunk 1 spouse 0.

But no worries, sports fans.  The battle was rejoined today with a second baffle a foot or 18 inches above the first one.  It is far from elegant but so far it seems to be working.

But, as the newly awakened from winter slumber chipmunk knows, the season has just begun.

Let the chipmunk or squirrel vs. bird feeder battles begin.

Flowers and Skies #SkywatchFriday #GardenBloggersBloomDay

Today is Friday, March 15.  It is the Ides of March, and time for two memes:  the 15th of each month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, and the every Friday Skywatch Friday, hosted by Yogi.

Where do I begin?  How about with the sky, and then to the flowers?  Nothing to beware of, either way.

Like so many others in the United States, our winter has been mild, and we have things blooming that shouldn't be blooming.

Like this tree on a local walking trail.

We have skies that aren't the usual skies of mid-March.

For the flowers, the winter has been kind to my zone 6b (it is going to take a while for me to get used to this reclassification) garden.  For today here are my flowers, both inside and out.

Purple crocus.

White crocus.

Yellow crocus.

Perennial vinca.

A couple of tiny flowers.  First, a viola that survived the winter in a pot which was dug into by squirrels is putting forth one tiny flower.  It opened yesterday.

 

And a wildflower, speedwell.  Does that count?  I'm counting it.  It's in my flower garden.

Last but not least, the impatiens I rooted and kept alive indoors.

Bonus - my yew (I think) bushes are flowering.  From what I understand, this is a male flower.  Yews have male and female plants.

Sadly, winter will return early next week, but did I ever enjoy the sneak preview Nature gave us over the last couple or three days.

So that wraps up the Ides of March and Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, and Skywatch Friday.

I hope you enjoyed them.

Pi Day 2024

Today is Pi Day, 3.14 as we write the date in the United States.

Pi Day, March 14, is a day to celebrate mathematics. In the American method of day numbering, today is 3-14:  March 14.  Or, the first three digits of the mathematical value "Pi".  3.14. 

It also would have been Albert Einstein's birthday. (March 14, 1879).  145 years ago today.

Pi Day honors the number representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its radius.  Pi is an infinite number: it goes on indefinitely, but, not only that, it is a non repeating decimal.  And it is always a constant - each and every circle, no matter its size, has that same ratio.

That ratio had been calculated by ancient mathematicians with good accuracy.  With our supercomputers, we've computed Pi out to over 62.8 trillion digits (it may be more now).  Try memorizing that.  Some people have. I've read that the record for memorizing the value of Pi is around 70,000. digits. 

In the United States, Pi Day has become an unofficial celebration of all things circular, especially pies and pizzas.  Pizza parlors and bakeries run specials.

Today, we are not going to bake any pies, but I'm thinking of some pies of my spouse's youth.

My late mother in law used to make two types of pies for Easter - what she called a "grass" pie, and a "pizza rustica".  These are both savory pies. When she was younger, she hand made these.  In her older age she bought from bakeries where she used to live near New York City.  She traditionally served them for Easter.

The grass pie, may I reassure you, is not made from grass.  In Italy, it is known as  "torta pasqualina". The green is usually swiss chard.

 Easter is coming early this year and, as rarely happens, doesn't coincide with Passover, so I can actually eat these savory pies at the Easter table.  So I'm trying to talk my spouse into making at least one of these pies.  They are work intensive but I'm hoping he will do it. 

 Of course, he probably remembers the first time we (joint effort) tried to make a Pizza Rustica.

We'll see what happens.

Spring a Week Early #WordlessWednesday

 After a couple of days of winter weather, including a snow squall warning, spring returned to the Southern Tier of New York yesterday.

Yesterday, after work, I sat outside.  All the birds were out celebrating:  downy woodpeckers, mourning doves, white breasted nuthatches, American crows, tufted titmice, house finches and black-capped chickadees.  I heard a red bellied woodpecker.  A male Northern cardinal sat placidly on a fence next to a common grackle before the grackle took off.  The song of male red winged blackbirds filled the air. 

We have some crocuses blooming.  Here's two of them.

Not taken yesterday

My spouse also saw his first chipmunk of the year.

Could it be spring for real this time?  Well, no - it's back to winter next week.  But I'm enjoying this while I can.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Lost in Translation

I admire people who can speak and write in more than one language.  It's a skill I have never mastered, although I am told that my maternal grandfather spoke six languages, and several of my paternal cousins and an uncle are bi-lingual. Additionally, my father was bi-lingual, and my mother spoke two languages fluently and had some knowledge of a third.  My mother in law was also bi-lingual.

I took Spanish in junior high (now called middle school) and one year in high school but it never stuck. 

Something that has always fascinated me are instructions for a product manufactured in another country.  Often enough, the English instructions have obviously been translated from another language, and enough times, something was lost in translation.

Here's one recent example.

I wanted to purchase a couple of collapsible bottles to take on trips.  Amazon was having a lightning deal on a two pack of collapsible silicone water bottles.  Perfect!  But I didn't read many of the reviews, and I should have.  A lot of them complained about the smell.

I ordered them and they came the next day.  I took them out of the packaging, opened one up, and was almost knocked over by the smell.

It was....not pleasant.

The manufacturer was obviously aware of this, because the above smell removal instructions were enclosed.  I wasn't able to get a good picture but it reads as follows:

"Due to our bottle is made of platinum silicone, its normal That there may exsit slight natural silicone smell. We suggest below method to improve if you don't like it:

1. Boil the bottle in hot water for 5 minutes, dry it and then smell removes.

2.  Fill the bottle with 2 gram or more red or green tea and at least 80% of 90degrees C or higher hot water.

3.  Close the cap and seal the bottle for 2 hours, discard tea and water try it naturally.  Then smell is basically removed."

Leaving the translation issues to one side, I can either boil the bottle (I was a bit leary to do that, although the website description says it will take temperatures up to 200C (392F) ) or use the tea method.  I had green tea in the house.  Red tea, I assume, is roobios, and I do not have it in the house.

We in the United States aren't metric, unlike almost all of the world.  So, at the risk of losing all of my readers, some math:  a cup of water is 240 grams, which is also 240 milliliters. (Why can't our system be logical like this?). I am supposed to put two milliliters of liquid, which is about .40 teaspoon, into this bottle.  A 20 oz bottle can hold about 120 teaspoons.  I'm terrible in math, but I have a feeling I'll need a lot more green tea than .40 of a teaspoon to remove the odor.

So what am I doing now?  I went online and saw a recommendation for filling the bottle with half white vinegar and half water for "a while".  Some reviewers used this method with varying results.

If that doesn't work maybe I'll try filling it with hot green tea.

It's interesting, too, that the instructions suggest green tea and the product is made in China. But I also feel like something was lost in translations.

The instructions made some kind of sense after several readings and translations of metric to our outdated system.  I think.

Wish me luck.

#1 Songs For the Week Storytime #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday.  And it's time to enjoy some music!

Let's introduce the Music Moves me bloggers:  We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be removed, or may  be labeled "No Music".)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.

Today, it's time for musical creative writing.  Our guest host for this week, John at The Sound of One Hand Typing, suggested this theme:  write a (clean) love story and use the names of two or three (or more!) songs from the Top 40 on Valentines Day of some year. Here’s an example John did for another challenge to help get you going.

I'm going to do a slightly different take on this theme.  Since today is March 11, how about I do something with number one hits on this date in 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988?  I will use any list, including United States, UK, rock, R&B, country, or whatever else sounds good, for the #1's.

First, my little love story. 

"Don't".  I gave my husband a look when he suggested a busy day of adventure on our vacation.

"Sitting on the dock of the bay is all I want to do today", I explained.  "Why can't we just relax and watch the tide roll in?"  But there was that look in his eyes.  The "love is blue" look.  He really wanted to do something special with me.  Awww, how can I resist those eyes?

So I agreed.  After all, love is higher than a mountain.  Some even say love is thicker than water. 

My husband's face immediately brightened.  "Never gonna give you up!", he laughed, as we made our way down the street, and into a new music adventure.

And now, the songs.  Interesting that they all have love as the subject, in some way.

For 1958, I chose Elvis and "Don't", a song I heard for the first time in researching this post..

For the #1 song of March 11, 1968 I came up with two great great songs, and so I am going to use both of them.  (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay from Otis Redding was the #1 R&B song.

Love is Blue from Paul Mauriat came up on a different list.  I always love a good instrumental, so I'm using it.

For March 11, 1978, Andy Gibb and "Love is (Thicker than Water)".

 The March 11, 1988 Never Gonna Give You Up selection gave rise to a practice called "Rick rolling".  But no matter; I love this song.  It's gotten more than one billion views on You Tube.

And that's a story well told wrap.

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

Blogging From A to Z Reveal 2024 #AtoZChallenge #AtoZReveal

It's March 10, and time to reveal my theme in the annual Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

I always start out as a "no, I've done it enough."  Then, a little voice says to me, "You know you want to do it."

Well, OK, little voice.  I'm going to do it.

Before I reveal my theme, a bit about my blog and what I've done for past challenges. 

I started to blog in 2009, and started to blog daily in 2011.  I blog about music on Mondays, a Wordless Wednesday on Wednesday, Skywatch Friday on Fridays, Shadowshot Sunday on Sundays, and, on the 15th of the month, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I will keep up this schedule as much as possible in April.

I've taken the A to Z Challenge every year since 2015.  Last year, it allowed me to extend a blogging streak (I've blogged daily, starting from May of 2011) because I pre wrote blog posts.  It allowed me to coast during part of April, when I was not feeling well due to COVID.

If you aren't familiar with the Challenge, we blog something starting with A on Monday, April 1. On April 2, we start with B, and so forth, until we end Tuesday, April 30 with Z.  We have Sundays off.  26 days, 26 letters, and some letters are a real challenge. (X, I'm looking at you!)

Most all my previous themes have been related to travel.  As my regular readers know, I am a confirmed photo hoarder.  As of today, I have 50.3 GB of photos on my phone.

Wherever I go, I take pictures.  Pictures of things.  Quirky things.  Historic things.  Plants.  Flowers.  Sunsets.  Graves of famous people.  I weave some of these into my daily posts and will this April, too.

Here are my past themes, and you can see a pattern here:

2015:  America the Beautiful

2016:  Days of our Lives (no not the soap opera)

2017 - Traveling Through Time and Space

2018 -  Florida Outside the Theme Parks (this may have been my favorite one)

2019 -  Finding America Through Photos

2020 - America the Beautiful (I never realized I repeated my 2015 theme!)

2021:  New York State

2022:  From Florida to Vermont with Stops Inbetween 

2023:  Exploring South Carolina and the Eastern United States.

For 2024, I looked back at 2023.  I visited gardens, historic houses, and local libraries that presented me with the unexpected.   Not only that, but I have photos on similar themes from previous years. How best could I use these photos?   

With that in mind, I announce my 2024 theme (drum roll): Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.

I reserve the right to deviate from the theme, but I hope not to do that too often.  I may even repeat a post from years past that will hopefully be new to you.  For "C" I have a yearly theme and on Wednesday, April 3, you'll see why.

I look forward to reconnecting with previous bloggers, and meeting some new ones. We'd love to have you.

If you’d like to sign up for the Theme Reveal, after you’ve written your post, go here and fill out the form. A general signup sheet will go live on the Blogging from A to Z home page two weeks from today, so if you have no theme, or if you hadn’t planned on announcing it just yet, you’ll have another opportunity to join us on April 1.

See you there, starting April 1 with the letter "A".

Earliest Crocus #ShadowshotSunday

I'm posting my #ShadowshotSunday on Saturday, as I'll be posting something else tomorrow.

Shadow of a gate at a local park.

Meanwhile, my crocus are coming out.  This is, I believe, the earliest blooms ever for me.  These pictures were taken yesterday, when we almost reached 60F.  Today, we are under a flood watch and will have heavy rain changing to snow at some point.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even worse.

Spring, please come back.  In the meantime, some white crocuses.

Yellow.

Also, we have two purple ones but they aren't open yet (and won't be in this gloomy weather).

Have a great weekend. 

Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for #ShadowshotSunday.  Why not come out of the shadows and join us with a shadow picture of your own?

January Puddles #SkywatchFriday

Now that it's almost spring, I should post these January puddle and sky/reflection photos before it's too late.  

Where I live in the Southern Tier of New York, one doesn't expect to see puddles in late January.  

Green grass is a welcome treat.  No snow, either.  Just reflections.

You don't expect to see these flashes of blue in the sky, either.

Or a line of puddles with blue sky reflections.
 

Another puddle, with reflections of power lines.

The weather has been so Topsy-turvey.

But now it's time for the sun to say goodnight.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.  Yogi calls Skywatch "A gentle corner of the internet where never a discouraging word is heard.".  If you like photographing the sky, or anything reflecting the sky, why not join us?  We all need a gentle corner of the internet where never a discouraging word is heard.

The Ever Repeating Post

 Today, it's time to repeat a semi annual tradition on my blog.  My regular readers have seen (and read) this before.

Yup.

It's almost that time, here in the United States, to spring ahead.

Almost time for many to suffer a couple of days of disorientation.  (I'm one of them.) 

Time again for people to beg, "Someone make it stop!  Why don't they make it stop?"

Yes, it is time to spring ahead an hour to Daylight Saving Time. (Side note, it is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time).

I do a variation of this post twice a year.

Oh, does Daylight Saving Time bring back memories.

I remember too well how, on January 6, 1974, we had Emergency Daylight Saving Time implemented. It was supposed to be for 16 months, due to the energy crisis.  I don't have fond memories of stumbling to my 8am college class in the dark.  It was so unpopular that the 16 month idea was abandoned.

Also, there were the several car trips we took through Indiana in the 1970's and early 1980's, when we weaved back and forth between Eastern time on Daylight Saving Time, Eastern time on Standard time, and ditto for the part of the state in the Central time zone.  (This was before the day when one's phone would automatically show the correct time.)

Sleep experts tell us year round standard time would be the best solution.

Right now, in the United States, it is legal for a state to not implement Daylight Saving Time (which is why Hawaii, and Arizona outside the Navajo Nation can do it), but that is the only deviation that is permitted.  Yet, a number of states have passed legislation mandating daylight saving time, ready for the day it might be allowed.

Although most Americans (some 60%, from what I've read) oppose the spring ahead/fall back practice, no one can seem to agree on exactly how it should end. Should we have year round daylight saving time or year round standard time? Or, should we go back a half hour so no one is happy?

Federal legislation would be needed if we want to go to year round daylight saving time.  (We don't need federal legislation for year round standard time, as stated above). Should we have state referendums?  Should we throw darts at a dartboard or spin a wheel?  Should we sacrifice a clock and examine its innards?

It's like we are stuck in some horrible quicksand, unable to move, unable to legislate anything.  Hmmm, come to think of it, that's a familiar occurrence in our country right now.

So around and around we go. As the saying goes, where it stops, nobody knows. We've been doing it for years.

Get ready. 

Sunday, March 10, at 2am, we do the time change again.  We'll complain for a couple of days and then forget about it.

That is, until we go back to Standard Time Sunday, November 3.

Hidden Snowdrops #WordlessWednesday

A year or two we found a patch of snowdrops in our local park.

These early spring flowers are not native to my United States but naturalize easy.  I wondered how they got there.

Back in the fall, the park flooded.  Some trees had fallen (apparently helped by beavers) and there was a lot of natural debris where the patch was.

Would the snowdrops come back?

Check out the center of the photo-it was as close as I could get with the debris

Monday, we had our answer.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Crocheting the Temperatures - March Report

I'm making progress with my 2023 temperature afghan. 

I first blogged about crocheting a temperature blanket on  November 17, 2022.  On January 25, 2023, I told my readers I was underway.  

For accountability purposes, I told you, my readers, that I would report every month on my progress.  Here's my report for February.

To recap: A temperature blanket uses colors to record highs and low temperatures (more on that later) over a certain period of time.  They can be used to record temperatures for a year, perhaps a calendar year, or the first year of a baby's life (to be presented as a birthday gift).   Some knit these, some quilt these.  Some make scarfs or sweaters.  The variations are endless.

So, in other words, Nature determines the colors and patterns of your work.

I recorded the high and low temperatures for every day in 2023 and my plan was to crochet one row for each day's high using its assigned color yarn as follows: 

0 F (-17.8 C) and lower:  Pale Plum.  It would be most unusual where I live to have a high less than zero F, and, in fact, 2023 did not offer such a high.  But we did have a low of -5F (-20.5 C) one night so I decided to include a strip of low temperature color and high temperature color for that day.

Here are the rest:

1-21F   Dark orchid

21-32F  Royal blue

33-43F  Turquoise

44-53F  Spring Green

54-66F  Kelly Green (think of St. Patrick's Day, coming up soon)

67-77F  Bright Yellow

78-88F Carrot orange

89-99F  Pretty in Pink

100F (38C) and above - Fruity Stripe (shades of pink - a variegated yarn) I didn't have to use it. 

On January 30 (my last report), I was working on the row representing May 3 2023.

So, as of today, March 5, I have gotten up to:  (drum roll) May 21, 2023.

January is on the left and the most recent is on the right.  The last row is yellow; if you see some red on the extreme right it was part of what I was trying to rest the afghan against when taking its pictures.

It's going to be fun figuring out how to photograph the afghan next month because it is getting big.

I'm racing against time in a way right now, because I normally don't crochet during the warm months.  I don't want it to languish. 

Let's see how far I get by the end of the month.

Pretty Fly for a Monday #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for music.

Let's introduce the Music Moves me bloggers:  We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be removed, or may  be labeled "No Music".)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, ME.

I was thinking of a couple of songs.  A slang meaning of the word "fly" can mean attractive or sophisticated.  Of course, it can also mean to travel in the air.

So how about some songs with the word fly?

I am required by law to start this set with Gonna Fly Now from Bill Conti, better known as the theme from Rocky. 

Now, that we are in the mood to fly, let's get going.

Let's start with The Offspring and Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) from 1998.

Weird Al Yankovic has done a couple of songs with the word "fly" but I'm inspired to use his parody of Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) called Pretty Fly for a Rabbi, from 1999.

 

Here's the song that started my train of thought running.  Curtis Mayfield and his 1972 hit Superfly.  Back in the day, we owned the vinyl album. And no, we've never watched the movie.

How about a song from 1987?  Pink Floyd and Learning to Fly.

Let's end with a classic - Frank Sinatra and Come Fly with Me.

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

Fencing with Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

Joining up with Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for #ShadowshotSunday.

Good fences make good shadows.

We had some sun this week.  Not that usual for late February into March.

Why not come out of the shadows and join in on the fun, as we march into spring?

Spring in Winter Continues

After a spell of weather which included us setting a record heat for one day of 65F (18.3 C), we went on a walk yesterday to get pictures of crocus.

We had already seen snowdrops the week before.

Our own crocus are not out yet, but the unseasonable weather has them blooming early.  We had seen crocus on one of our walks this week (our crocus aren't out yet, probably because where they are planted is a northern exposure) but it was too far away to photograph.  That was in late February.

On our walk yesterday we saw two spots of yellow crocus, but they were too far away to photograph.

But then we saw this.  I took two other pictures but they were too blurry to use.

I thought we were done, but Nature had one more surprise for us.  My spouse pointed it out to me.

A bee.

There have been other signs of spring.  Our local birds seem, in the middle of February, to start singing again.  We've noticed this same pattern for years.

I heard the first Northern cardinal songs around February 21.

On February 26 we heard our first blackbirds and spouse saw our first common grackles.  I know that they will socialize with each other during the winter.  So none of this was a surprise.

But the crocus blooming the end of February isn't .  This is reminding me a bit of 2016 when we had an early spring.  And then we had a snowstorm.

We never got forsythia blossoms that year.  The cherry blossoms were out and died.  Many magnolia blooms did, also.  Daffodils drooped to the ground, never to return that year.

It was the year of what my spouse called droopodils.

We are in an apple growing area, and we've had two years recently with big failures due to early flowering and late frosts.  I do not deny climate change.  It's all around us.

The year of the droopodil was heartbreaking. I hope it doesn't happen again.

February Sky Lines #SkywatchFriday

It's March, finally.  Oh, that extra day!  Where I live, we had a record high temperature on Tuesday and then, Wednesday night, a powerful cold front came through.  Thursday was uncomfortable. We had periods of snow squalls and some peeks of blue sky in between the lake effect snows. 

Today is supposed to be better.  

Speaking of blue skies...

For this first day of March I'd like to show you four views of the same sky as we walk along a somewhat circular path in our local park.

 I was struck by all the contrails in the picture.

Some interesting clouds underneath the darker patch.  I didn't see the dark patch with my eyes but that is what my iPhone 13 mini camera showed me.

Moving along...

This last view is pointing towards the sun.  What a difference the lighting made in this angle.

Joining Yogi and other skywatching bloggers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.