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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Making the Most of It

We live in south Louisiana, which is mostly a swamp.

There are some who think that someday it will all be underwater anyway, but meanwhile, it's a swamp.  Like most swamps, it's mostly hot.  Our two seasons are wet and hurricane, with the major difference being that hurricane is hotter.

In the deeps of winter, though, we do get a few days of freezing cold.  No, it's not what the rest of the country thinks of as freezing.  It's what the flora and fauna and people here think of as freezing though. 

On those days when "winter weather" is expected, meaning there might be the remotest possibility of a bit of frozen rain or even snow, everything shuts down and the area goes nuts.

Some nuts, outdoors in the cold -- #2 Son, Little Girl, Young Jacob, and Festus.

The schools closed yesterday, and my nuts went outdoors to play in the "snow."  It was actually frozen rain, but it gathered in some spots, and they had a blast throwing it at each other.

Not snow, just frozen rain, but it looked the part.

We don't have a ton of winter gear -- we seldom need it.  So they put together what they could -- old, unmated sox make great ersatz mittens -- and made the most of what they had, playing outdoors for a while, then coming in to get on the computer and drink cocoa and warm up, then going back out.



Today is:

Afrma Fancy Rat and Mouse Annual Show -- Riverside, CA (don't laugh, rats and mice make great pets!)

Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show -- West Springfield, MA, US (8 1/2 acres of hobby train fun; through tomorrow)

A Room of One's Own Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, for all of those who just want a space to call their own; on the birth anniversary of Virginia Woolf

Around the World in 72 Days -- this date in 1890, Nellie Bly broke the fictional Phileas Fogg's record and went around the world in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds

Big Garden Birdwatch -- UK (sponsored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; through tomorrow)

Big Rock Day -- discovery of the Cullinan diamond (3,106 carets) this day in 1905

#Brookfield Ice Harvest -- Brookfield, VT, US (demonstrating traditional ice harvesting using original equipment near the Brookfield Floating Bridge, one of only two such bridges still extant; through tomorrow)

Conversion of St. Paul -- Christian
     Observe the Weather Day -- a beautiful St. Paul's Conversion day means a prosperous year, precipitation means an expensive year, clouds mean much loss of livestock, and wind means war looms in the year ahead

Dydd Santes Dwynwen -- Wales (For St. Dwynwen, Patron of lovers, especially Welsh lovers, and sick animals; the Welsh Valentines Day)

Eagle Day at the Lake -- Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, KS, US (learning about bald eagles in the environmental learning center, as well as eagle viewing over the lake and children's activities)

Feriae Sementivae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a Feast of Spring, asking protection for seeds sown in the fall, and those to be sown in spring)

Festival of Constructive Energy -- another internet generated day with no explanations

Gasparilla Pirate Fest -- Tampa, FL (reenactment of the invasion of Tampa by pirates)

G. F. Betico Croes Day -- Aruba

Greater Springfield Garage Sale -- Springfield, MO, US (if you want to find it used, you can probably find it here; through tomorrow)

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire -- Gainesville, FL, US (jousting, birds of prey, medieval arts, food, entertainment; through tomorrow, and again next weekend)

IceFest -- Ligonier, PA, US (ice sculpture contest and lots of family fun; through tomorrow)

IV Nurse Day -- US (sponsored by the Infusion Nurses Society)

January 25 Revolution Day -- Egypt

Ka Moloka'I Makahiki -- Molokai, Hawaii (traditional ceremonial end of the harvest festival, a time of peace; still celebrated with ceremonies and sporting events)

Kidfilm Festival -- Dallas, TX (international children's film festival; through tomorrow)

Kumquat Festival -- Dade City, FL, US (because kumquats are not just funny, they are delicious!)

Macintosh Computer Day -- debuted this day in 1984

National Irish Coffee Day

National Seed Swap Day -- find or set one up in your area, so you can expand your garden, and help others expand theirs

National Voters' Day -- India

Old Disting -- Norse Calendar (date approximate; a market day held at the same time as a sacrifice to the female powers.)

Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival -- Orange City, FL, US (learn about the manatee and have fun doing it; through tomorrow)

Poverty and Homelessness Action Week begins -- UK (information on how you can help is here)

Robert Burns' Night -- Scotland; Newfoundland (celebrated with a Burns' Supper and reciting poetry)
     Dinner Party Day -- for Bobby Burns, of course

SOS Radio Week -- UK (The Royal National Lifeboat Institutionhttp://rnli.org/Pages/default.aspx keeps the seas safer, and Radio Amateurs help them raise fundsww.sosradioweek.org.uk)

St. Ananias of Damascus' Day (Saint who baptized St. Paul)

Swamp Buggy Races -- Naples, Florida (the world famous swamp buggy races; through tomorrow)

Wakakusa Yamayaki -- Nara, Japan (Grass Burning on Mt. Wakakusayama, and fireworks; an annual New Year tradition)

Winter-een-mas -- a holiday for gamers, begun by Tim Buckley; through the 31st

Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities -- Eatonville, FL, US (celebrating Hurston's work, hometown, and cultural contributions, and the contributions of all Africa-descended people; through Feb. 2)


Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, 1533 (secret wedding)
Moscow University is established, to coincide with St. Tatiana's Day, 1755


Birthdays Today:

Alicia Keys, 1981
Ana Ortiz, 1971
China Kantner, 1971
Dinah Manoff, 1958
Leigh Taylr-Young, 1945
Etta James, 1938
Corazon Aquino, 1933
Dean Jones, 1931
Edwin Newman, 1919
Florence Mills, 1896
Virginia Woolf, 1882
William Somerset Maugham, 1874
Robert Burns, 1759
Robert Boyle, 1627 (O.S. date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Rent"(Musical), 1996
"M*A*S*H*"(Film), 1970
"One Hundred and One Dalmatians"(Cartoon film), 1961
"Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Solo Strings"(Strauss composition), 1946
"The Guiding Light"(Radio), 1937
"R.U.R./Rossum's Universal Robots"(Play), 1921 (the word "robot" enters the world lexicon)
"Wedding March"(Mendelssohn, Op. 61), 1858
"La Cenerentola"(Rossini Opera), 1817


Today in History:

Founding of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1554
Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1573
The Treaty of Utrecht marks the beginning of the Dutch Republic, 1579
Eliakam Spooner of Vermont patents the first seeding machine in the US, 1799
The first US engineering college opens, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Troy, NY, 1825
Sojourner Truth addresses the First Black Women's Rights Convention, in Akron, Ohio, 1851
Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is first played, at the wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia, 1858
The soda fountain is patented by Gustavus Dows, 1870
Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company, 1881
Bilu, a Russian Zionist organization, forms, 1882
Nellie Bly beats Phileas Fogg's time around world by 8 days (72 days), 1890
The first US transcontinental telephone call is made when Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in SF, 1915
The League of Nations is founded, 1919
The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games, 1924
At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented, 1949
The first scheduled transcontinental flight in the US takes place, an American Airlines flight from California to New York, 1959
The Clementine space probe launches, 1994
Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile, 1995
During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country, 1998
Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star, 2006

5 comments:

  1. They shut the schools down for that? Bwahahahahahaha. Oh well a good play day is a good thing.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

    ReplyDelete
  2. It only snowed once in the California town where I grew up and I still remember the pain in my hands from playing in the snow. My solution was the old sock trick.

    ReplyDelete
  3. No Polar Vortex for you. That's great! And i've never thrown rain at anyone. Must try it sometime.. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am hoping to go through LA when I go trucking with Bill. He has been there. I never have.

    ReplyDelete

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