Speaking of morning, on Jan 31 will be a super blue blood moon.
https://www.space.com/39458-super-blue-blood-moon-eclipse-best-viewing.html
Blue because it is second full moon of month, super because it is at perigee, closest to earth so looks bigger and blood because total eclipse makes it red.
Don't miss it. Hope for no clouds.
Psssssst....looks like it will be too light anyway, close to sunrise.....(0728 hrs)
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Re: Fencelines
« Reply #610 on: Today at 01:45:54 PM »
The full moon is calling...
The scurs continue gaining confidence in the Weather Eye. Off by a day on the snowstorm but forecasting weather is like horseshoes and hand grenades. Are we starting a trend or was Monday’s storm an anomaly? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-20’s and lows in the mid-teens, still above zero. Thursday, partly cloudy with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs in the low 40’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Saturday, partly sunny with highs in the low 30’s and lows in in the low teens. Partly sunny Sunday and cooler with highs in the upper teens and lows in the mid-single digits. Monday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 20’s and lows around 10 above. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper teens. On the 31st we’ll see the second Full Moon of the month of January which means February will have to go without. The normal high for January 31st is 24 and the normal low is 5. The scurs are thinking after the snow, a jaunt south wouldn’t be a bad idea. Iowa won’t cut it.
The Full Moon falls on the 31st and is known as a Blue Moon. Interestingly enough there is also a lunar eclipse in conjunction with this one. The total eclipse calculated for Bugtussle (aka “New Richland”) from the US Naval Observatory shows it will begin at approximately 4:50 a.m. and reach totality at 6:51 a.m. The moon will appear as completely red at that point. Unfortunately it will set at 7:35 before the eclipse is fully completed. However, the sun rises at 7:32 so barring an overcast situation it should still be visible in the west-northwest sky as long as you can find an unobstructed area to view it. How frequently does February not have a Full Moon? Actually about four times in a century. And it usually means that both January and March will each have two Full Moons as they do this time around. The last time was 1999. So if you grow hair on your palms and you begin to scratch four times in three months, you may have an excuse unless you recently shaved your chest. Enough to make one eat muffin stumps.
The birds appearance in the yard the day before the storm seemed to foreshadow the event. The goldfinches were numerous even though the thistle seed supply was dwindling. Livestreaming the Gopher women’s game kept me from getting a fresh supply. They had plenty of sunflower seed so it wasn’t as though there wasn’t anything offered. During the storm the goldfinches were conspicuously absent. Lots of blue jays were after sunflower seeds along with the icky little house sparrows. The male cardinal stuck out like a sore thumb even though visibility was poor. The fox squirrels made an appearance then must’ve gone back to the safety of their nest or a hole in the tree. As fat as they are they should be able to go for weeks without eating.
The snowstorm makes one glad that plenty of hay and bedding was tucked away if you’re a sheep farmer. Sure, the stack in the barn is starting to recede and the round bales don’t occupy as much of the yard as they once did. However there should be plenty to make it through the winter and until the hay is ready to cut again. The addition of another more efficient round bale feeder over the weekend should help ensure that. They don’t give the feeders away although having two types of feeders prior to that so that an actual comparison could be made makes it a no-brainer. It doesn’t take long for the more efficient type to pay for themselves.
Ruby has had a good winter so far watching TV. There seems to be more air time involving pets, in particular dogs and horses which sets her off on a barking tirade. This is humorous as long as one isn’t trying to nod off. Gunsmoke provided a perfect opportunity for her not too long ago. They had both dogs and horses on at the same time! I was just dozing off and her barking was enough to wake the dead. I know I’d theorized at one time that with the advent of HDTV, it made the images sharp enough that they appeared very real, causing her to bark. Not so anymore after her carrying on during Gunsmoke. The episode was filmed in black and white and not broadcast in HD. Not to worry. The recent flap over comfort animals flying on Delta caught her eye. That was in HD. She really does watch the tube although her attention span is definitely that of a three year old.
The sports weekend was a mixed bag. Our beloved Vikings couldn’t get over the hurdle, again. As someone who really doesn’t bet on sports but plays the odds in his mind, it just wasn’t to be. For instance, the Gopher men’s basketball team reverted to their old selves and got pummeled by Ohio St. No surprise there. The Gopher men’s hockey team swept Michigan St. on the road. Big surprise considering how poorly they had been playing. The Gopher women’s hoops team pulled off a major upset over 20th ranked Iowa at The Barn, a real pleasant surprise. They played hard and deserved the win even though the sound on the broadcast about blew the earwax out of my ears several times. That left the Vikings. Did anyone seriously think they’d win after all that transpired? Does sheep doo-doo look like black jelly beans?
The annual ritual of sheep shearing is almost upon us again. The ewes continue to get girthier and closer to lambing with each passing day. Was keeping an eye on them during the recent storm and most of them stayed inside for the duration. It doesn’t make for a very good relationship with the sheep shearer when the sheep are wet. Sheep shearers are becoming an all too rare commodity these days so if you plan on continuing to raise the animals, you’d best treat them right. If some of the sheep do happen to get a little snow on them hopefully the forecast will hold. It should allow the moisture to evaporate off the few dummies who decided to brave the elements and gnaw on the round bales. Always a greedy individual or two in every crowd.
See you next week…real good then.
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Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)
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Re: Fencelines
« Reply #611 on: Today at 03:21:36 PM »
The moon thing...
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/super-blue-blood-moon-coming-here-s-how-see-it-ncna840356
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