Happy Polar Bear Day!

Today is only a so~so day to be a polar bear. Global warming (which this winter doesn't seem indicative of) and climate change are the two things that have caused the polar bear to be considered a vulnerable species according to international conservation organizations. Good reasons to be a polar bear, however, abound. Polar bears have excellent noses and can smell a seal (a meal) more than a mile away. Polar bears are the largest land animal carnivore too. Pregnant polar bears often give birth to twins (I’m a twin!) and pregnant mamma bears don’t eat during their pregnancy, they just live off their fat (I wish that would have worked for me!). Polar bears actually have black skin and colorless hair. That last fact just seemed like an interesting one to me. So even though it may only be a so~so day to be a polar bear, I wish you a Happy Polar Bear Day anyway! And many more!  

Faking DNA

DNA, the veritable gold standard for evidence in criminal cases, can be faked! Scientists in Israel have demonstrated fabricated DNA evidence, specifically in blood and saliva samples. With access to a DNA database they can construct a sample to match a DNA profile without obtaining tissue from that person. And these same scientists say the process is simple enough that any biology undergrad could replicate it. This coupled with the fact that DNA evidence is easier to plant at a crime scene than a fingerprint, is enough to give this person (me) pause. At this point in time it appears that criminologists and investigators aren't worried because they think the technology is still beyond the reach of common criminals. I wonder how long before that changes and then how many cases will have to be overturned whether or not the person or persons were actually guilty of criminal acts. 

When You-Know-Where Freezes Over!

Despite the recent onset of memes on FaceBook menacing who ever complains first about the heat this summer, I find myself tiring of the cold. That’s because it has finally happened. Not when pigs fly, but rather when you-know-where freezes over and of course I mean Niagara Falls! This actually doesn't happen every year but it manages to make the news when it does. In all honesty I must say here that I have never actually visited Niagara Falls, frozen or not. I have been to several waterfalls though, in Hawaii, Waimea Falls, in Michigan, Tahquamenon Falls, and in Georgia, Amicalola Falls. I saw some falls in Alaska also but never have I witnessed any frozen waterfalls. I have enjoyed seeing waterfalls and listening to the rush and roar of the cascading water, but as I mentioned previously I am tired of the latest polar vortex, arctic air mass, or wintry blast, whatever the weather folks are calling it. I will be content this winter to enjoy seeing Niagara Falls in all of its frozen splendor from the comfort of my own home, wrapped up in a snuggly blanket, in front of my TV or computer!

Funny Bunny Business

Bunny slippers, Bye Baby Bunting, bunnies in general just bring warm snuggly thoughts to my mind, especially since we have been experiencing one of the coldest southern winters in my memory. Nevertheless, the habits of rabbits (in Europe according to a recent study) are changing. Instead of bunching up (I prefer the term snuggling) in complex burrows in rural areas, rabbits are moving to the cities and living more solitary lives in smaller rabbit warrens. The closer rabbits are to the city the less populated and smaller the burrows become. Cities provide a better food supply thanks to humans feeding them deliberately and offer easy access to shrubs and other vegetation. Cities are warmer so the need to snuggle for warmth is reduced. Burrows don’t need multiple exits (think of the old Bugs Bunny cartoons) because the threat from predators is reduced in cities too. Rabbit populations in rural areas are declining and cities are serving as new habitats for them.

Now it’s time for me to slip into my bunny slippers. 

Left Swipe Dat

Today’s title has a couple of meanings. When you left swipe dat on your smartphone, you are getting rid of an image or email you don’t like or want (sending it to the trash so to speak). So left swipe dat can be an indicator of dislike. The bigger (more viral) meaning is it’s the name of a video on You Tube starring various internet personalities (none of whom I know or am familiar with) that my grandsons showed me this morning. They were pretty insistent about me featuring this in my blog today and after watching it I agreed wholeheartedly with them about the value of its message. Keep in mind, that my only use for You Tube in the past has been for videos on how to crochet new stitches, can or freeze veggies, or occasional funny cat entertainment. I think highly enough of this (Left Swipe Dat) to try to copy a link to it at the end of this entry. (if the link doesn't work just type Left Swipe Dat in your search engine) It is worth checking out. I’m glad my grandsons found it and I hope they and all the other young people watching it take its message to heart. Perhaps there are some good things on those phones everyone seems so attached to these days! After you watch look out for a new finger gesture I’m working on. I point (with my index finger), paired with my over the glasses, eyebrows up, teacher/granny look, and then slide that same finger that’s pointing right at you, to the left. When you see it you’ll know you or whatever you've been doing has been left swiped too!

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcAj3lOyv3s  

Thundersnow

Here is an odd topic for me since I can now say I've lived in the south longer than I lived in the north where I may have had an opportunity to experience thundersnow storms. I have no recollection of it if there was one way back then. Now living in the south, I get excited if there is even a slight chance of flurries. There were a few flakes here this winter and no I’m not talking about visiting family either, I am talking about snowflakes. Thundersnow, however, is a completely different story. Thunder and snow together seems especially peculiar because when you've lived in and around the lightning capital of the USA (central FL) you come to associate thunder with hot (really hot) weather, not snow. But there you have it, thunder and snow can and does go together. Thundersnow is relatively rare but like regular thunderstorms with lightning, thunder, and rain, they occur when cold and warm fronts meet. Thundersnow storms, a winter time phenomena, generally occur where there is lake effect snow (think the Great Lakes area). I guess since I have no desire to drive in snowy conditions (like the ones associated with lake effect snow) it is unlikely that I will actually ever get to experience thundersnow. I figure I’ll just have to be content to watch it via video clip on the internet.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Today is the day for this, a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13^th. Along with not being able to pronounce the name of this phobia I also find it difficult to spell. Numerous analyses of accident and hospital visit data shows that Friday the 13ths are no more dangerous than other days, but for some reason this particular day gets a bad rep. Maybe it is the combination of Friday, known for being an unlucky day for a long time…since Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and 13, the floor number that many hotels and skyscrapers skip completely. The number 13 has its own phobia name too (Triskaidekaphobia), so there is that. I think 13 can be a good kind of luck when you consider a baker’s dozen. Either way, I am not superstitious about Friday the 13^th. I have been too busy crocheting hats leading up to it for the Mardi Gras and St. Marys Express craft booths tomorrow. So I’ll end this here and go count and organize my hat inventory. I already know I don’t have 13 of any one particular kind!

Seeing the World through Rose Colored What???

A Poem…

Roses and Valentines go together so well,

Today rose colors meanings are of what I must tell…

Roses of red - the color I favor,

Speak of love - paired with chocolate, my favorite flavor,

White roses are for those with hearts unacquainted,

With love’s tender brushstrokes, a heart yet unpainted.

Roses of pink, which signify grace,

Match the blush of new love on the one you love’s face.

Peach for the modest, purple enchant,

Orange is fascinating - I agree with that.

This year I’ll forgo roses for a simple Forget-Me-Not,

And don’t forget the chocolate ‘cause I like that a lot!

From Out of the Closet

From out of the closet come the strangest things. I’m not referring to the colloquial definition of coming out of the closet that involves gay folks announcing their preferences to the public or their families. Specifically I am writing about the astronaut purse found in Neil Armstrong’s closet. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died in 2012 and his widow recently (this week) found priceless artifacts from the Appollo 11 mission tucked away in their closet. Among the items in the purse (and the purse itself is an artifact too-perhaps I should call it a messenger bag, my husband’s term of choice over man purse) was a waist tether, power cables, and the historic camera that was mounted in a lunar module window, which recorded Armstrong taking his "one small step" on the moon's surface on July 20, 1969. I think this should amaze me but then I think about my own closet and how easily things get tucked away and forgotten deep within its nether regions and I’m really not surprised. But I have been inspired to search my closet for priceless artifacts, and this is what I have found. A set of wooden representations of the 12 Days of Christmas that were crafted by a dear friend who passed away earlier this year that I will treasure as I bring them out and display them on my fireplace year after year. A tangle of yarn that I just cut off and tucked away in frustration (because of my impatience with the ordeal of untangling) that just happens to have the perfect turquoise color for the Frozen hats (Elsa’s crown) that I’ve been making. Some wrapping paper rolls and some small mustard seed necklaces, forgotten Christmas gifts from a few years ago (probably 2012-rather than 1969). One blue and white striped fuzzy sock that I have been looking all over for, and had long given up on it since it’d been missing so long (at least three years). Hence I have been forced to wear my pink fuzzy socks exclusively this chilly winter and now one of them has a hole in it, making me even more grateful for my old standby striped fuzzies! That’s it for hidden treasures for me, so what’s in your closet? 

Sundogs

Imagine my surprise when the word sundogs didn’t get an automatic underline (for misspelling) on my computer this morning. The word brought an untraditional meaning to my mind when I saw it this morning. It made me think of my daily daybreak commute to school with my potcake, Fiff (who loves to go for a ride in the car) and my grandsons. The sun rises behind us on our way and on my return is right in my face, despite my use of my car’s trusty sun visor. The morning dew is steaming from the top of our mailbox as I turn back into the driveway. That’s how I end the beginning of my day, I sometimes think, but it really is just a pleasant prelude to the rest that is yet to come.

Sundogs are actually halos of light that form around the sun with bright spots at 22 degrees on either side. They are called sundogs because they appear to follow the sun like faithful old dogs following their master. When light is refracted off the plate-shaped ice crystals in the thin and wispy cirrus clouds in the troposphere sundogs appear. The best time to see them is when the sun is low on the horizon. They seem to be more common in the winter… or in my case on school day mornings.

Measly Measles

The truth of the matter is that measles aren't

 really measly at all. Since they are caused by a virus and completely preventable through vaccination, they may even seem so measly as to not require a second thought. I am giving them a thought (or two) here for a couple of reasons. Earlier this week I took two grandsons for immunizations (not for measles prevention, for meningitis prevention) required for school in GA. Apparently vaccination requirements vary from state to state (in this case from FL to GA) and their immunization records were found lacking. That is reason number one. Reason number two is that not everyone is immunizing their kids against measles, resulting in recent outbreaks. The worse news is that measles may seem measly because they have long been out of our mainstream consciousness but they aren't. Measles can be deadly (hence, we have vaccines for their prevention, duh!).

Back to my grandsons…I clearly remember taking them for shots when they were still babies (MMR-measles, mumps, and rubella included) and the older of the two (now 14) was the classic shot despising, wiggling screamer. But we got the job done. The younger of the two never made a peep which really surprised me since I was mentally preparing myself for the whole table tackle situation. Fast forward to ages 14 and 12…now you get your shots at the local pharmacy on the corner so if you throw down all the shoppers in the store can make a video with their cell phones. The older of the two rolled up his t-shirt sleeves and was nervously showing off his ‘guns’ when the nice lady pharmacist with the cart (and needle) came rolling out from behind door number two. She engaged him in video game conversation and despite all his trepidation he didn’t realize the deed was done until she was ready to move on to grandson number two. He said all he felt was a pinch. Then it was the younger one’s turn. After watching his big brother handle the process I thought he’d be okay, but that’s what I get for thinking. When he sat down in the chair his face went pale and he reached for my hand and whimpered, “Grandma.” But by then it was practically all over as the pharmacist started talking with him about his martial arts and jujitsu classes. That second shot went smoothly and soon we were on our way.

Back to the not so measly measles…the part that matters here is that the measles can be deadly. The virus does usually start out with a fever, runny nose, and rash but can move on to include swelling of the brain (causing brain damage), ear infection (causing deafness), and /or pneumonia (one of the leading causes of death in infants and children under the age of 5). The big thing here is that this is ALL PREVENTABLE with simple vaccinations. No matter how unhappy your child is over the actual shot the truth is the vaccine can save their lives. That is what should be foremost in the minds of parents because measles are not measly at all. 

You Don't Have to Have Big Mussels to Have an Impact‏!

In fact you can be a tiny golden mussel, about an inch in length, and have a really big impact. The golden mussel is an invasive species from China that is slowly making its way closer to one of the world's most biologically diverse regions, the Amazon River. The Amazon has more freshwater fish species than any river in the world and it also has the right temperature, calcium levels and acidity in which golden mussels thrive. These little mussels are already a big nuisance in five other South American countries with their ability to clog pipes and shut down turbines requiring hydroelectric plants to find ways to scrape them out or use chemicals to be rid of them at the cost of millions of dollars annually. The mussels do provide food for ducks and local fish but this benefit is outweighed by the negatives including the alteration of phosphorous and nitrogen levels in the water that produces blooms of toxic algae that can be deadly to aquatic creatures and humans. The little mussels have also had a devastating deadly effect on native clam species by attaching themselves onto the local mollusks, sealing them shut. For the past decade, Brazil has been working to stop the spread of the golden mussel by requiring ships headed to Brazilian ports to stop at least 200 miles off the coast and empty the ballast waters while far at sea so the larvae stay far out to sea. This hasn't been effective in stopping the golden mussel so researchers are looking into mapping the mussel's genome and engineering a virus or other "bio-bullet" that could essentially render the species infertile. The race between science and the invasive little mussels is on.

Big Poppa Tart Donut

It’s a donut, it’s a pop tart, no wait, it’s…a pop tart inside a donut! Yep. The Big Poppa Tart Donut is the latest culinary craze at OC Donut Bar in California. You can also find these (I hesitate to say) tasty treats (because pop tarts taste a bit like cardboard to me) in some popular donut shops in New York. The donut frosting does appeal more than the pop tart frosting, so there is that, and in order to contain an entire pop tart the donut must be pretty sizable. But to me this latest craze just proves that people will fry up and/or donut-ize just about anything edible, especially things that aren't all that good for you. I am not sure about the nutritive value of pop tarts or donuts but if they are part of a craze, then they probably aren't what I'd consider healthy! Of course it’s up to the individual Big Poppa Tart eater to decide whether or not they find them delicious.

A Tale of Three Groundhogs

Happy Groundhogs’ Day, I wasn't planning on blogging about the weather prognosticating rodents but I finally gave in. Our regular weatherman (the human kind) predicted thunder and lightning and rain today but he was mistaken. We had a light sprinkle early this morning but after that the sun came out and the skies have been sunny and relatively clear. So I got to thinking basically if the human meteorologists can’t predict the weather, maybe the groundhogs can. I turned to my usual sources of info (MSN and other internet news sources) for the groundhogs’ reports. Punxsutawney Phil in the far (from me in South Georgia) reaches of Pennsylvania predicts six more weeks of winter. He obviously saw his shadow when rudely yanked from his cozy abode and as we all know this is a true weather indicator. I figure old Phil is easily as accurate as the TV guys. I was fine with six more weeks of winter until I heard about Georgia’s prognosticator, General Beauregard Lee. He predicts an early spring. I live in Georgia and I am even readier for an early spring. The third prognosticator, and perhaps the smartest of all, is a groundhog named Jimmy that resides in Wisconsin. He not only predicted an early spring (couldn't see a shadow at all) but showed his displeasure for the rude early awakening by biting the mayor on the ear. So between the three the prediction is 2 to 1 for early spring. I’m with Jimmy and if he’s wrong don’t wake me up early to look for shadows for at least six more weeks! 

February

For the shortest month, February is jam packed. It starts off with the Super Bowl and no matter which of the teams you are going for the commercials always seem to be the big winners. Wouldn't it be fun to be a celebrity in one of the fancy boxes too? One can always dream, even one (who is not a celebrity) watching the big game on TV at home.

And today we finally had mild beautiful weather, the nicest so far by far this winter. Of course the groundhog will probably predict the return of winter tomorrow so I’m glad I got to enjoy today with my grandsons. We spent the afternoon picking up a bazillion pine cones in a neighbor’s yard. He just got a pacemaker and appreciated the help with the cleanup.

Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day also figure into February and a school day off for Presidents’ Day too. Parades with beads, chocolate and love, and no school, that’s another bunch of reasons why February is one of my favorite months!