1. We've been having very warm weather for April - a few days it has been 80 degrees! It's not supposed to be that warm until the end of June.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
1. We've been having very warm weather for April - a few days it has been 80 degrees! It's not supposed to be that warm until the end of June.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
1. Some weeks Thursday creeps up on me and here I am, with nothing to write. Then I have to do what I'm doing today - just fly off the cuff and hope something comes to me.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Thursday Thirteen #855
The Town of Fincastle from Godwin Cemetery |
Thursday, April 04, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
I have been watching the eagles nest at Big Bear Valley for a while now. The two eagles there, named Jackie (female) and Shadow (male), had a clutch of three eggs, which I understand is somewhat rare. They usually only have two eggs per year. These two eagles usually lay eggs from January to March. The pair has successfully raised a couple of offspring, but their eggs do not always hatch.
That is the case this year. The three eggs are now far past the point of viability. The eagles continue to sit on the eggs. I find this sad, but instinct will eventually move them on. Maybe next year. The camera is on the nest 24/7, 365 days a year. It goes down a while in the summer when the nest is not used when the camera crew cleans the lens and makes repairs but otherwise is on all the time. It's a nice view even when the eagles aren't there.
Anyway, here are some facts about this fascinating bird.
1. Grip Strength: An eagle’s grip is up to 10 times stronger than that of a human.
2. Diversity: There are over 60 species of eagles, mostly found in Asia and Africa.
3. Nesting Heights: Some eagles, like the Golden Eagle, build their nests atop high cliffs.
4. Symbolism: Eagles are symbols of freedom and peace, often depicted on state flags. The bald eagle is one of the national symbols of the United States and The Philippine eagle is the national bird of the Philippines and is an endangered species.
5. Eagle Eyesight: An eagle’s eyesight is up to 8 times stronger than a human’s.
6. Bald Eagles: The term “bald” in Bald Eagle comes from an old English word meaning "white-headed."
7. Hooked Beak: Their beaks are perfectly designed for hunting and tearing through flesh.
8. Lifespan: Eagles can live 20-30 years in the wild, and even longer in captivity.
9. Eagle Beaks: With age, an eagle’s beak can warp and bend, making it hard to feed.
10. Conservation: January 10th is recognized as Save the Eagles Day.
11. Fish-eagles are often found in coastal areas and are known for their fishing prowess.
12. Buzzard-eagles are smaller and often mistaken for hawks.
13. Large eagles can lift prey weighing up to around 5 lbs. I've seen the eagles in Big Bear bring in sticks that looked to weigh at least that much.
🦅
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
Thursday, March 07, 2024
Thursday Thirteen #850
1. I have been doing a Thursday Thirteen for 16 years and 4 months. To my knowledge, I have not missed a week. That's 850 weeks of thinking about the number 13 on Thursdays. I've been late on some days, but I haven't missed.
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
1. It's another free-for-all Thirteen, and a late one at that. What if I'd gone 846 Thursday Thirteen in a row and then missed one!? My goodness.
2. The chronic laryngitis/sinus issue from hell continues. It's been over a month now since I've been able to sing or carry on a conversation without sounding like Jeramiah the Bullfrog. I do try to be a good friend . . .
3. The other day I thought a cow was calving in front of the house, but when I looked again she was gone so I thought maybe I was wrong. A bit later, though, my husband looked out and the vultures were around the area where I'd seen the cow. He went out to check on things and sure enough, she'd had a calf and quickly moved it under the trees where the evil vultures couldn't get to it. They enjoyed the afterbirth, though.
4. We received our tax assessments for real estate taxes in the mail this week, and my Facebook feed looks like a bunch of people who have no clue how things actually work are posting inane comments and baseless conspiracy theories. Oh, wait, that's exactly who is posting. People who have no clue how things actually work.
5. It isn't hard to understand how government works, but (a) you have to want to understand and (b) you have to be open to how it actually works. If someone has already decided the politicians are crooked, on the take, and out to do bad things, then they're never going to understand what is going on.
6. I'm looking around my office to see if there's something here that catches my eye so I can write about it. I have a book on a shelf called The Writer's I-Ching. I've never opened it and I'm not sure where it came from. But it reminds me that one time, a very long time ago, I wrote an article about a guy who lived in an abandoned church who had created a deck of new age cards, sort of like Tarot but not. He planned to sell them and become famous. I wonder what happened to him and his cards.
7. The I-Ching book is squeezed in between a book that identifies trees and another that is my favorite book on writing, Phyllis Whitney's Guide to Fiction Writing. This book was published in 1982 and is no longer in print. I'd buy another copy if it was. I'd even buy a Kindle copy.
8. The other books on the shelf include a guide to local mammals, several different thesauruses, a couple of dictionaries, an out-of-date AP Stylebook, the Chicago Manual of Style (also out of date), and books about writing memoir.
9. I need to dust.
10. Earlier, I saw a deer eating alongside the cows. They don't usually socialize.
11. Two of my three clocks in my office are not running. They need new batteries. Batteries are expensive now, and I only need one clock. So it's always 10:55 on one clock and 5:25 on another, now.
12. I wonder what time it is in Thailand. I ask Alexa, she says it is 2:25 a.m. there. It's 2:25 p.m. here. A 12-hour time difference. I learned something!
13. The other things on my desk include Chloraseptic sore throat lozenges, Halls cough drops, and nasal spray. Which takes me back to the beginning, I suppose, in a roundabout way.
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Thursday, February 08, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
2. I picked up a little freelance work, but I am not keen to do it. It feels like a step backwards, the pay is not the best, and so far, the people involved are uncooperative. I don't need the stress for something that isn't going to make or break me.
3. I am almost done with the bookkeeping necessary to send my taxes to the accountant. In fact, I hope to wind it up today and have it ready to go tomorrow. I try to get it to the accountant no later than the 15th, but in this instance, with legislation concerning the tax payments in flux in Congress, waiting might be the best option, if it passes.
4. Many people I know are ill. My father is ill, my friend Teresa is ill, I have been ill, and I know some of my fellow bloggers and readers have been ill. Stupid germs.
5. Have you noticed the price of batteries? Wow, they are out of sight. I bought cheap ones but they don't last very long. It's better to spend the extra to get a Duracell, although I've had trouble with batteries corroding more since the pandemic. I think we have people making things who don't know how to make things.
6. Clorox products are also pricey. Bleach, toilet bowl drop-ins - anything with the Clorox name on it is quite costly. What's with that, Clorox?
7. In spite of all humanity does (and we do a lot), the sun still comes up, the moon waxes and wanes, and the stars twinkle whether they're hidden by light pollution or not. In the larger scheme of things, we're not much, and many folks need to step outside on a dark night and look up at the vastness of the sky and stars to understand that our lives are not relevant in the grand scheme of things.
8. Most of us will die poor, or barely eeking by. Why people think they're somehow going to turn into billionaires at the end is beyond me. And the money doesn't matter, anyway. Death is a journey we all take alone.
9. One of my friends told me she was having laser hair removal under her arms. The thought of that makes me shiver. It has to hurt. She is half my age and said she was tired of shaving. I said I'd been shaving for longer than she'd been alive.
10. On our farm, you will find cows, a pond, tractors, old buildings that one may or may not call barns, tools, pasture fields, and hay fields. You'll also find us, the people, the caretakers of this small little piece of earth.
11. It's hard for me to feel poetic and write something flowery before 9 a.m. in the morning, so this is why this Thursday 13 is all over the place. I am not totally awake, although I am awake and have been up for three hours.
12. I do more things that are not good for me than I do things that are good for me. I think. I need to move more, sit less. And eat better. Not necessarily less, just better. Ah, the shoulds. They do follow me around, don't they? I should I should I should. What if I just accepted myself as I am and said, ok, you're a lazy butt. It is what it is, as my brother likes to say.
13. This would have been better if I'd given it some thought, but I have had trouble keeping up with what day it is, and suddenly here it is, Thursday. How'd that happen?
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Thursday, February 01, 2024
Thursday 13 (#845)
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