Rachel Maddow Interviews Ken Burns

MoonHowler

Rachel gives us some background and then interviews Ken Burns.  The theme from FDR resonates throughout, ‘building human happiness.’

 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

 

Much as been made of the idea what if the government had not taken lands that ordinary people fell in love with and preserved them for our posterity.  Sedona, Arizona comes to mind.  Many of the most beautiful areas of that red rock country are sequestered away for only the rich people to enjoy.   Fabulous canyons are accessible, if you can afford to pay $400-$1500 per night for accommodations. 

Burns and Maddow tie in some of the problems being voiced today to the problems that have haunted the National Park System.  Regardless of how far we come, we still end up discussing some of the very same issues that were discussed a hundred years ago.

 

From the New York Times:  What’s Wrong with the National Parks?

 

Bone-Chilling Winter Predicted plus Tom Ridge

MoonHowler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Farmer’s Almanac 2010 goes on sale September 1. It predicts an extremely harsh, cold winter this year. The Farmer’s Almanac, which has been printed since 1818 says that ‘numbing cold will predomintate the nation’s midsection.’ Oh joy.

According to the Huffington Post:

The almanac, which has been published since 1818, issues annual forecasts using a formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and the effects of the moon.

This winter, the 200-page publication says it’ll be cool and snowy in the Northeast, bitterly cold and dry in the Great Lakes states, and cold and snowy across the North Central states.

It says the Northwest will be cool with average precipitation, the Southwest will be mild and dry, the South Central states will be cold and wet, and the Southeast will be mild and dry.

The almanac’s forecast, however, is at odds with the National Weather Service, which is calling for warmer-than-normal temperatures across much of the country because of an El Nino system in the tropical Pacific Ocean, said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md.

It all boils down to who you are going to believe. Winter is winter. Make sure you have a warm coat, hat and gloves. We aren’t even through hurricane season yet. That isn’t over until November 30. We are at the half way point.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Tom Ridge book The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…And How We Can Be Safe Again is due out tomorrow. That ought to start everyone fighting. Hard cover is $17.15 Kindle is $14.29 for those of us who like instant gratification.

Shower Time! Perseids are Back

MoonHowler

It’s that time of year again. The Perseid Meteor Shower is back again. Each August the Earth moves through the densest part of the tail of the comet Swift-Tuttle.

The best time to see the shower is from midnight to 5 am Wednesday morning. For those who aren’t early birds, the meteor shower can be seen tonight from 9 to midnight also. Look about half way up and towards the east-north east. The meteors will radiate from the area of the constellation Perseus. It is predicted that during the peak time it will be possible to see 60-100 meteors an hour.

A few more pieces of pertinent information, which you may wish to dazzle your friends or kids with: A small object passing through space is a meteoroid; if it hits the Earth’s atmosphere and becomes luminescent, it becomes a meteor; if some part of it survives its passage through the atmosphere and hits the ground, that part is a meteorite. Should anyone ask, the Perseids are burning up at a temperature of over 3000 degrees Fahrenheit (1650 Celsius), and become visible to the naked eye at about 60 miles up.

The moon is half full tonight so there will be some light pollution to detract from the splendor of a good meteor shower. Inclement weather can also be a problem as there is some cloud cover today.

Just to whet your appetite even further, here’s a video a man named John Chumack shot in Dayton, Ohio a few days ago, compressed down to a few seconds. And that was before the peak!

Yahoo reading
Further Reading

Tips for viewing the Perseids

Hordes of Invaders Have a Summer of Love

MoonHowler

Those hordes of invaders are fireflies, also known as lightning bugs. Actually they are neither bugs nor flies. They are beetles. Glow worms are lightning bug larvae. Because of the wet spring, we have a bumper crop of the critters, all out looking for love in all the right places, according to the Washington Post:

The tiny lights shone in Virginia, too. In Alexandria a figure chased a waist-high yellow light across her yard — driven to obsession by flashes of unrequited love.

“I’ll go, like, catch a male and bring it over to the females. It’s really ridiculous,” said Kate Pabis, 36, a guidance counselor. “I just almost, like, feel sexual frustration for them. It’s like, ‘Come on, people! Let’s get together!’ ”

In recent decades, scientists have been able to translate snippets of this firefly babel. They say the flashes are a muddle of conversations, usually several species communicating in the same meadow.

They’re talking — as animals usually are — about sex.

 

Read More

29 years ago…May 18, 1980–A Mountain Blew Its Top

MoonHowler

Vancouver…Vancouver…This is it!

Those were the now famous last words of volcanologist David Johnston.

May 18 marks the anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. Far from Virginia and in a rather remote section of the country, almost 2 hours off the interstate, the remains of this mountain still show the devastation Mother Nature reaped upon the land, the air and the water.

Visiting Mt. St. Helens can only be described as humbling. About a third of the pre-1980 mountain is gone. A huge crater remains, with a cone mini- mountain inside, spouting molten, gaseous materials from the earth’s interior. The devastation reaches out some 15 miles on all but the southern side of the mountain.

 

 

Read More

Bluebell Festival in Nokesville!

Elena

Hey everyone, if you really want to enjoy Mother Nature’s splendor, don’t miss this opportunity at Merrimac Farm! See the info below from the Prince William Conservation Alliance:

Bluebell Festival at Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area
15014 Deepwood Lane, Nokesville, Virginia

Saturday, April 11, 009 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Free of charge, no reservation required.

More information: 703-499-4954, [email protected], http://www.pwconserve.org/plants/

Bring your family and friends to Merrimac Farm on Saturday, April 11, to welcome spring and view the spectacular display of Virginia Bluebells that carpet the floodplain along Cedar Run for nearly a mile.

Event includes a nature art show and naturalist-led tours to Cedar Run, where everyone can learn more about the birds, butterflies, frogs and other wildlife at Merrimac Farm.

Read More

New Dog Park Opens in Gainesville

MoonHowler

Residents of Prince William County have been clamoring for a dog park for years. Finally one has arrived, thanks to Merrifield Garden Center. The park, the first of its kind, has been open for about 6 weeks. Merrifield has had a presence in the county for about a year and a half. However, up until recently, they only had a satellite shop. The new center which looks like a huge sports arena from Wellington Road is not completely finished but open to the public. If it is anything like the parent company in Fairfax, it will be a wonderful garden experience. According the Manassas News and Messenger:

And it’s something Merrifield president and co-owner Bob Warhurst said he’s wanted to create for a long time.

Merrifield has had a presence in Prince William for about a year and a half, but its present facility has been open only since mid-November.

The chain’s other two locations, in Fairfax County, don’t have enough room for a doggie den. But when Warhurst realized he could transform an overflow parking area, he went for it.
He said he felt sorry for canines who rarely got a chance to run around.

“I’ve had several people come here since we’ve had this dog park and say, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the first time I’ve had my dog off-leash for two years,’” Warhurst said.

The setup was fairly simple: The Merrifield folks put down a couple inches of mulch and fenced off two areas.

“We have one that’s 40-by-40 for little dogs, and we have one that’s 50-by-80 for larger dogs,” Warhurst said. “I think the real winner here is the dog.”

Read More

Punxsutawney Phil’s Prognostication

MoonHowler

Today is a holiday. For the sports-minded, it is the day after the Superbowl.

For the Pagans, it is Imbolc, the day when the newborn lambs begin to nurse. Imbolc’s other name is Brigantia. This day is marked by the growing power of the sun, bidding farewell to winter, and special fire-lighting ceremonies.

For Christians, February 2 is known as Candlemas, or the Christian Festival of Lights. It celebrates the baptism of Jesus. The ancient festival marked the midpoint of winter, whether Pagan or Christian. People thought that the Christmas season lasted 40 days or until Feb. 2. Lighting candles supposedly scared away evil spirits.

To most kids in this part of the world, February 2 is known as Ground Hog Day. Legend has it that if ground hog Phil in Punxsutawney, PA sees his shadow, he goes back into his den and sleeps for 6 more weeks, giving us 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring is just around the corner. Punxsutawney Phil is the prognosticator of the day.

Read More

Giant Fireball Explodes over Denmark

MoonHowler


Meteor I Sverige 17 Jan 09 Meteor Sweden – Celebrity bloopers here

A huge meteor that lit up the sky entered the earth’s atmosphere somewhere over Denmark on January 17 at 1909 UT. It turned night into day in eerie blue light as the meteor exploded. Astronomers said that this fireball’s light was as bright as full moon light. A fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky.

What a shame we rarely get advanced notices on celestial events. Venus is nearing its peak brilliance, outshining everything else until the moon reappears at the end of the week. Saturn is rising about 8 or 9 pm this week. Does anyone have any sky news this week?

To find out more click.

Biggest Full Moon of the Year on Saturday

MoonHowler

It has been a long week full of events. Look at the number of posts! Time to take it down a notch, just for a few hours. Let’s turn towards one of nature’s events rather than political events.

If you think things look brighter this weekend, it won’t be your imagination. Saturday, January 10, will be another perigee full moon. The perigee moon is 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser moons.

What is making this happen? The moon is actually closer to the earth because its orbit is an ellipse. We are now coming up on the ‘short side.’

According to NASA:

Johannes Kepler explained the phenomenon 400 years ago. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is not a circle; it is an ellipse, with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. Astronomers call the point of closest approach “perigee,” and that is where the Moon will be this weekend.
Perigee full Moons come along once or twice a year. 2008 ended with one and now 2009 is beginning with another. It’s the best kind of déjà vu for people who love the magic of a moonlit landscape.
January is a snowy month in the northern hemisphere, and the combination of snow + perigee moonlight is simply amazing. When the Moon soars overhead at midnight, the white terrain springs to life with a reflected glow that banishes night, yet is not the same as day. You can read a newspaper, ride a bike, write a letter, and at the same time count the stars overhead. It is an otherworldly experience that really must be sampled first hand.


Above: The perigee full of Dec. 2008. “A cold wind was blowing as the Moon set over a neighbor’s farm,” says photographer Eric Ingmundson of Sparta, Wisconsin. “Next time (Jan. 10th) I plan to use a tripod.”

Another magic moment happens when the perigee Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. This weekend, why not let the “Moon illusion” amplify a full Moon that’s extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you catch yourself reaching out to touch it.

Click ‘story’ to hear the audio.

story

Lo, The Poor Squirrel

MoonHowler

Northern Virginia squirrels are in crisis. There are no acorns this year. Even Arlington National Cemetery is without its usual acorn ground cover.

 

According to the Washington Post, squirrels are going nuts, running out in front of cars, gobbling up bird seed and are very thin. Squirrel roadkill is at an all time high.

 

A friend of mine reported a squirrel convention at her house because she had some corn husks in her yard for Halloween decoration. I had bought potted sunflowers last summer. Something kept biting their heads off. I finally caught one of the culprits. Yup. A squirrel.

 

So what is going on? Some speculate that there was simply too much rain this spring. In fact, we got 3 times the usual rate. Since oak is a cross pollinator, perhaps all the pollen got washed away. Other scientists suggest that global warming and climate change might be behind the mysterious lack of acorns.

Basically, no one knows but the zero acorn population this year has not been witnessed before. In other words, the scientists are baffled.  Oaks live between 200 and 300 years, depending on specific species, and will probably survive. But expect a lot of dead squirrels this year. They will starve because of lack of food.

 

If you decide to help feed squirrels, be warned, they will eat through literally anything to get to food and they make a big mess tearing up stuff. They love peanuts (and will fight blue jays for them) and they cannot resist sunflower seeds. Some years they are just too lazy to bother with corn husks but my informants in Westgate tell me that is not the case this year.

Will you feed the squirrels or is it encouraging bad habits?  Should nature just rule in this case?  How will the deer handle not having acorns?  Is it global warming?