April, Did You Do It? (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins, and Nature Friday

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she's entrusting it to me.

Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!

One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.

What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!

Ms. G's cats have boxes.

Boxes, and a toy.  There's also a piece of brown paper, not shown at this angle.

Ms. G needed two boxes for her purposes and had me put them by the pantry closet.

When we can back, some cat had claimed one of the boxes, even with all the others nearby.

Note the toy, put in there to claim ownership.

Wonder who it could be -- any ideas, April?

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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!      

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

1. I feel like ______________________________ whenever I think about _______________.

2. January is a good month to _____________________.

3. _________ is nonnegotiable in my life.

4. I could give up _________ as long as _________.

1. I feel like   going back in time and giving myself a swift kick   whenever I think about   how much easier some things could have been if i'd taken the right college courses and gotten a good degree.

2. January is a good month to   stay in bed and keep warm if you are in the Northern Hemisphere.

3. Prayer, scripture study, and church   is are nonnegotiable in my life.

4. I could give up   me and my Sweetie having two cars and only share one   as long as   the one we had was newish and in great condition.

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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard.  Simply post a picture of the natural world, and link up!   

The Japanese magnolias/tulip trees are starting to flower.

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Today is:

Big Garden Birdwatch -- UK (sponsored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; through Sunday)   https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch

Bounty Day -- Pitcairn Island (celebrates the burning of the HMS Bounty in 1790

Cold, Cold, Cold Day -- coldest temp ever recorded in the US, -79.8°F (-62.11°C), this day in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska

Day of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Lenaia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Dionysian festival to arouse the sleeping vegetation and bring spring; date approximate)

Measure Your Feet Day -- one can only ask..."Why!?!"

National Pie Day -- US, sponsored by the American Pie Council

National Handwriting Day -- US, on the birth anniversary of John Hancock, to encourage the dying art of legible handwriting; sponsored by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association 

National Rhubarb Pie Day

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti -- TR and WB, India (birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose)

Porri Month begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (the name means Middle of Winter, and personifies him as Old Man Winter; often the harshest month, so greet him kindly, to soften his heart and hasten spring)

     Bondadagur (Husband's Day) -- first day of Porri (various traditions honoring the man of the house; these days, women often give the men flowers)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; plow drivers, see how far you can make those rural mailboxes go!

St. John the Almoner's Day (Patron of Knights Hospitaller; known for his generosity to the poor, "If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.")

Vasant Panchami / Saraswati Puja  -- Hindu (celebrating Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge)

Women in Medicine Day -- Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman awarded the degree of Medical Doctor in 1849

Anniversaries Today:

The founding of Georgetown University, the first US Catholic college, 1789

Birthdays Today:

Tito Ortiz, 1975

Tiffani Thiessen, 1974

Mariska Hargitay, 1964

Gail O'Grady, 1963

Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1957

Antonio Villaraigosa, 1953

Pat Haden, 1953

Richard Dean Anderson, 1950

Rutger Hauer, 1944

Gil Gerard, 1943

Chita Rivera, 1933

Jeanne Moreau, 1928

Ernie Kovacs, 1919

John M. Browning, 1855

Edouard Manet, 1832

Stendhal(Marie-Henri Beyle), 1783

John Hancock, 1737

Joseph Hewes, 1730

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The A-Team"(TV), 1983

"Roots"(TV miniseries), 1977

"Barney Miller"(TV), 1975

"King Family Show"(TV), 1965

"After the Fall"(Miller's Play), 1964

"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"(Film), 1948

Today in History:

Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga (Hindu Iron Age of the Gods), BC3102

In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops, 971

The first printing of Ramban's Sha'ar ha-Gemul, 1490

The first printing of the Pentateuch, 1492

The second version of Book of Common Prayer becomes mandatory in England, 1552

What is probably the most deadly earthquake in history kills 830,000 in Shensi Province, China, 1556

Queen Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London, 1571

Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales, 1656

Joseph Pease, a Quaker, is admitted to Parliament on his affirmation, 1833

Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female physician in the US, 1849

The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1855

Alesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Alesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless an one person dead, 1904

Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US senator, 1907

Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of the Polish government in exile, 1940

Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time, 1943

The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean, 1960

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, 1986

Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10, 2003

Six Venezuelan cable television channels are taken off the air by the Venezuelan government after refusing to transmit government messages, 2010

Chinese researchers report they have cloned two monkeys, using the same technology as Dolly the Sheep, 2018

The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp is marked by an international forum in Jerusalem, Israel, 2020

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a speech to Parliament, says Japan is on the verge of not being able to function as a society because of the low birth rate and high life expectancy, 2023

The Doomsday Clock remains set 90 seconds to midnight by the by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, siting threat of a new nuclear arms race, the Ukraine war and climate change, 2024

After All This the Fish Better Bite (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy's Poetry Day, and Brian's Thankful Thursday

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If Ms. G could do just one thing for the rest of her life, it would probably be to fish as frequently as possible.

Thus the new-to-her boat, which yesterday needed the cover properly adjusted so the coming rain wouldn't get in it the way the rains last week did, plus the motor had not been run in about a year according to her, so she wanted to be certain it was in good condition.

She kept telling me to be careful and not get my shoes wet, but keeping them dry is not going to happen when you have to hook up a hose to a special gadget so you can run a boat motor on land to check it, and after i climbed up twice to get her a wrench and then get her some cleaning rags, and the water was running all over, she actually did get it started and it ran well.

Then came the time to get the cover on, as the bit of water which seeped in last week caused a small rust spot around something or other and she was not pleased; this meant getting it initially in place, then trying to put all the bungee cords in place, realizing it needed adjusting from the inside, me climbing back up in there and adjusting, climbing out, more cords, more climbing in to add another pole to lift the cover so water wouldn't pool in it, and more cord adjusting.

After that it was time to go in and get the spare bungee cords and really get the cover strapped down, and when it was finally in place she noted it looked silly, but it should work even if it was too close to the tree, so then she got out her pole clipper and trimmed the tree.

While Ms. G was still up in there, before it was all secured.

This was just the first hour-and-a-half of the five hours we worked yesterday, she had a burr in her saddle and wanted to get things done while her back wasn't hurting to badly, so we did; she's going to need a fishing trip vacation soon to make all this worth it and she'd better get some fish when she does go is all i can say.

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Fish.      

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

It's Carnival Time.

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

At the hop with you is the place to be,

bopping to the music for all to see,

we dance like we mean it, a ribbon to chase,

and the judges just named us in first place!

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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home - Forever hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

Today i am thankful it wasn't a problem for me to climb up into Ms. G's boat twice while the cover was on and help readjust said cover.

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It's Answer Your Cat's Questions Day!  Wellcat Holidays suggests you meditate on what your cat's question might be, then answer it.

(Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.)         

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Today is:

Celebration of Life Day

Clashing Clothes Day -- "officially" (although i'm not sure who declared it) on the 4th Thursday of January, but some people seem to celebrate it every day

Come in From the Cold Day -- somebody at an ecard company decided today would be a good day to do that 

Day of Unity and Liberty of Ukraine -- Ukraine

Dia de la Fundacion del Estado Pluinacional de Bolivia -- Bolivia

Get to Know Your Customers Day -- on the 4th Thursday of each quarter

National Blonde Brownie Day -- i thought these were just called "blondies."

Polka Dot Day -- looking up why they are called "polka dots" gives lots of stories, but no concrete evidence; they were probably named after the dance craze that became fashionable around the same time the pattern appeared

St. Vincent of Zaragoza's Day (Spanish martyr and Patron of vine dressers, vinegar makers, vintners; Lisbon, Portugal; Portugal; Vicenza, Italy; Vilamalla, Catalonia, Spain)

Women's Healthy Weight Day -- on the Thursday of Healthy Weight Week, encouraging women to strive for a healthy weight and lifestyle  

Birthdays Today:

Christopher Masterson, 1980

Balthazar Getty, 1975

Olivia D'Abo, 1967

Steven Adler, 1965

Diane Lane, 1965

Michael Kelland Hutchence, 1960

Linda Blair, 1959

Steve Perry, 1949

John Hurt, 1940

Joseph Wambaugh, 1937

Seymour Cassel, 1937

Sam Cooke, 1935

Bill Bixby, 1934

Piper Laurie, 1932

Ann Sothern, 1909

Robert E. Howard, 1906

George Balanchine, 1904

Rosa Melba Ponselle, 1897

D.W. Griffith, 1875

Grigori Rasputin, 1869

August Strindberg, 1849

Richard Upjohn, 1802

Nat Turner, 1800

Lord Byron, 1788

Andre Ampère, 1775

Sir Francis Bacon, 1561

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Emergency!"(TV), 1972

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"(TV), 1968

"The Crucible"(Miller play), 1953

"Our Town"(Wilder play), 1938

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"(Opera; Shostakovich Op.29), 1934

Today in History:

The first contingent of Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican, 1506

Postal service between NYC and Boston is inaugurated, 1673

The Native American Iroquois tribes renew their allegiance to the British against the French, 1690

Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain, 1771

A severe earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands, 1837

The Zulus attack the British Army camp in Isandhlwana, South Africa, 1879

The Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" is erected in Central Park, 1881

After 63 years, England stops the sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series and begins King Edward VII series, 1901

First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury, 1927

KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California, 1947

Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space, 1968

The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service, 1970

The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued, 1971

The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial, 1984

Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm, 1990

Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 2002

Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president, 2006

Water vapour is detected on the dwarf planet Ceres, 2014

Winter storm conditions strand 500 motorists for 24 hours on the New Jersey turnpike in Pennsylvania, 2016

Netflix becomes the largest digital media and entertainment company in the world worth $100 billion, 2018

Australian surfer Laura Enever sets the world record riding the largest-ever wave by a woman at 43.6ft (13.3m) on Oahu's North Shore, Hawaii, 2023

The world's first mass vaccine program against Malaria begins in Yaoundé, Cameroon, after successful trials of RTS,S vaccine, 2024