Weather Change

In theory, weather changes should not come as a surprise any more. We have far more reporting stations, we mostly understand how fronts move across the globe even if we can’t always predict precisely when and where they will arrive and with what ferocity. Those of us who live in rural and some suburban areas can watch insects and wildlife as well as the sky. However, depending on where and in what season, weather shifts may be subtle, quiet as Carl Sandberg’s fog, creeping in on “little cat feet.”

And sometimes…

A cold front races south.

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Too Much History in one Place

Ah, Eastern Europe. I was sorting through books and pulling ones I need to review (and some I need to read) as I think about getting ready for next summer. And I’m reviewing material for teaching the Ottoman Wars of the 1500s-1700s. Some places really have more history than is comfortable. Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, eastern Austria, the Balkans. Some years back a student asked if there was a century when Poland had not been invaded by someone. I stopped, thought, and could not come up with one, going back to before the Romans.

Generic Post

Today’s Post. Brought to you by Peter Aikman / Old fence post / CC BY-SA 2.0

I’ve been working on documentation of classroom methodologies for the upcoming visit by the accreditation organization. Yes, St. Angus-In-the-Grass School is an accredited institution of learning. Just what we’re credited with I leave to your imagination.

Rail Fence. Montanabw@wikipedia.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

Frau Pechte and Frau Holle

Every so often you come across something in folklore that makes you raise an eyebrow and wonder. The figures of Frau Pechte/Perchta and Frau or Mutter Holle are two of those. One leads the Wild Hunt, and the other features in several of Grimm’s fairy tales.

Boughten and other Archaic Words

One of my beta-readers flagged the adjective “boughten,” in Imperial Magic. Did I mean store-bought? Well, sort of. Boughten is the simplified adjective form of the past participle of “to buy.” Since so many goods were made at home, something that was often made domestically but had been purchased (in this case a soft toy doll) was “boughten.” Rot – rotten. Bought – boughten. It had the connotation of being something unusual or at least different, because someone purchased the item instead of making it. My maternal grandparents used the word, and I have read it in older works of fiction and non-fiction. But in every-day conversation? No.

Blackbirds and Woolly-Worms

The sun has begun drifting south, and we are past the autumnal equinox. The monarch butterflies appeared for a few weeks, then faded away as the first wave continued on south. The hawthorn haws have shifted from green to blazing orange, and will soon attract the attention of hordes of robins (“a robination”), forcing me to change parking places for a while. The Tri-State Fair triggered a major cold front, with highs in the 60s and strong north winds, lows in the 40s.

And the wooly worms have started crossing the road.

Mew Shall not Pass!

One would think that 11 pounds of puss-cat cannot block access through a house unassisted.

WRONG.

Short cut short circuited.

Friday Funny

From the Sunday, September 16 Amarillo Globe-News:

Hospice. Day of the Dead… fun run? Preceded by the zombie jamboree?

Mom, Dad, and I were laughing so hard at the headline that the cat came in to see what was going on.

Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, began at sundown on the 18th. This is the gravest of High Holy Days in the Jewish calendar, one of those days that even people who rarely set foot in the synagogue make sure to get a seat ticket for. Not unlike Christians and Easter and Christmas, a Jewish friend assures me. It is very, very serious, and marks the time when men must examine their souls and apologize and make amends and atonement for the sins committed against G-d. Believers should have already asked forgiveness and apologized to other people they might have sinned against.

Socks – Lost and Wandering

I don’t understand it. I have one single sock of each kind and color that I wear. They do not wear out in pairs. They do not disappear from the dryer in pairs. One sock at a time expires, or goes AWOL, leaving me with multiple single socks and mild frustration.