My Dad has been feeling pretty chipper of late. He was hospitalized last November and since returning to home care, he has been gaining weight and generally doing pretty well. Today, when we visited, Dad was getting some sunshine on the front porch.

Last month, we discovered a fraudulent charge on the credit card. The procedure for rectifying that is to cancel the card. When the new card arrives, you have the task of notifying all of your on-line stores (like Amazon.Com) that you have a new number. When I tried to notify Mobil to change the card associated with my Speedpass®, they told me they would send a new one and that I should destroy the old one.

Fair enough . . .

Last weekend’s ‘Mozambique’ drill at the firing range. The idea is to aim and shoot “two to the heart, one to the head.” The technique is used to defend ones self against an assailant who may be wearing body armor.

As you can see, I shot 10 rounds at the target - three 2 plus 1 and the final to the heart. All of these were well within tolerance. It was a good day.

As promised, here is a photo of another daffodil in the patio. I expect to have more of these in different colors and varieties as the season continues. Click to enlarge.

Today is February 3rd which is a cross-quarter day. During Earth’s orbital motion, cross-quarters occur midway between solstices and equinoxes. They have been observed by cultures for many, many centuries. Today, for example, might have been the day that nomadic tribes may start their journey toward spring hunting and gathering lands.

Image: Imbolc - click for a complete orbital depiction.

In our culture, we consult a fat rodent for a non-scientific weather prediction - sort of like Al Gore, in a way.

A good place to read about equinoxes, solstices and cross-quarters is Archeoastronomy.com. The cross-quarter days are summarized below the break:

Thus, Imbolc was the beginning of Spring. Imbolc corresponds more or less to Groundhog Day in the USA, February 2, when tradition has it that if a sleepy groundhog creeping out of its burrow at dawn sees its shadow, there are 6 more weeks of winter. (If not, we surmise, only 42 days remain.) Solmonath and Candlemas were Church-approved substitute names for Imbolc, which is spelled Imbolg by some pagans. Druids prefer Oimeaig, pronounced IM-mol’g.

Continue reading » Cross-Quarter Days - Happy Imbolc!

An unfortunate consequence of trimming the shrubs around the house is the inevitable loss of some of the little blossoms. These were on the Hawthorne bush today before I cut it back. Not to worry, the spring growth will bring plenty of these as it always has. Click for a close-up of Verna’s image below.

This pink Icelandic Poppy bud just opened a day ago. I love the subtle color of these poppies and hope that there will be a variety of colors as the flowers bloom. Click image to enlarge.