Cold Weather

Cold weather has arrived in the Shire.

While it is not as cold as in some places,

it's definitely cold from my perspective.

A high today of 32 degrees,

a low expected in the 20s--that's extreme cold here.

When I lived in Wisconsin, a high of 32 degrees 

prompted many to don shorts and lay out in the sun.

Not me, of course.

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Generally, I can't think of  many good things to say about cold weather,

but today was clear and bright 

and the sun sparkled on the rivers and streams

like so many diamonds cast on the water.

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It takes cold weather to achieve that effect,

but the beauty of the reflections doesn't help

the discomfort of  walking in the cold and wind.

But if there were a cure for the uncommon cold,

I'd say it involves hot tea, cocoa, or soup,

and maybe a dog or two curled up next to you on the couch.

It may not help chase the cold away, 

but it can't hurt.

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The First Photo of the Moon

Yesterday, New Year's Day, was fittingly a new moon.

That means that January 2nd the moon will be only 2.8% visible.

Just a sliver of light in the dark winter sky.

I was reading today and discovered that the very first photo of the moon

was taken January 2nd, 1839 by Louis Daguerre.

The original photo was burned in a studio fire, so it is lost forever.

But there is a photo of the moon that dates back to nearly the same time.

It was taken by Dr. J. W. Draper in New York in 1840:

Accessed from http://lightbox.time.com/2013/12/20/the-first-photograph-of-the-moon/#1

The full moon for January occurs on the 15th.

I wonder how the moon will look then 

compared to how it looked in its first photo 174 years ago.

Probably about the same.

It's good that heavenly bodies don't sag and wrinkle after decades

the way human ones do.

It would make stargazing so much less pleasant.

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Happy New Year 2014

Why does the New Year begin with January 1st?

It seems March 20th or 21st would be more sensible

since that's the Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.

Indeed, the New Year did once begin with spring,

but with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar,

January and February were added 

and the new year was by necessity, moved earlier.

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According to EarthSky.org,

the Roman God Janus governs doorways and new beginnings,

so January may have been a logical choice for marking the new year.

But EarthSky says that early January is also when the earth is closest to the sun,

giving the date its own astrological logic.

So Happy New Year 2014...

let the resolutions begin!

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