Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

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Spring Equinox 20 March 2025

Happy first day of Spring (northern hemisphere)! We’re off to a good start with daytime temperatures in the mid 70s and forecast to become in the mid 90’s in a week or so.

Greeting me on the first day of spring were these two critters — a cactus wren on the block feeder and an antelope ground squirrel foraging in the west side of the yard:

We always get a lot of comfort and enjoyment when the creatures which abound in our little corner of the desert show themselves to us and our cameras.

Both images were taken with the Canon EOS Rebel SL3 and an EF 55-250 lens at 250mm. Click on either image to view enlarged.

20 Mar 2025 by Arizona Critters Culture Notions Photography

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

This date in history marks the 1564th anniversary of the death of Saint Patrick; the sixth-century icon who lives in perpetuity by virtue of his 30 years of activity in restoring the Christian Faith to the island of Ireland. The video below takes a serious look at how St. Patrick’s day came about. And no, it isn’t about getting drunk and engaging in gluttonous behavior on March 17th.

Dave Stotts takes a look at the history surrounding the life of St. Patrick in this video – watch time almost an hour. Damsel and I watched it and got a lot out of the actual reasons and history behind the St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There is a good amount of travelogue footage in the video as well. I recommend watching it on the You Tube full-screen and not in the <iframe> below.

And speaking of gluttony, we’re going to have a traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner to celebrate, but not in the portions that would actually make us gluttons. We might celebrate with an Irish cocktail for dessert. Hope that y’all have a great day.

Near the end of the video, Dave, the host and narrator of the video, offers this rendition of a prayer attributed to St. Patrick:

May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
– Against the snares of the evil one.

May Christ be with us!
May Christ be before us!
May Christ be in us,
Christ be over all!

May Thy Grace, Lord,
Always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen.

Amen, and and have a blessed St. Patrick’s Day!

17 Mar 2025 by Culture Holidays Notions Religion

Moon PI

PI, the ratio of a circle to its diameter is about 3.14 and for some neo-cultural reason we now celebrate “PI Day” on March 14th of each year. Those of us who score very well on the Nerd Test, can appreciate this nerdy quasi-holiday.

As it turns out, we had sort of a coincidence overnight when the Moon became obscured by the Earth’s shadow (umbra). Damsel and I observed the phenomenon after midnight just before hitting the hay.

SpaceWeather.com posted the image below on their website of the Moon, as seen from Earth and the Earth as seen from the Moon during the eclipse. The Blue Ghost lunar lander took the earthward image seen on the right side of the composite image.

Astronomy Picture of the Day posted the explanation that when an eclipse of the Moon occurs the angle between the Sun and the Moon from Earth’s perspective is approximately 3.14 Radians (180°).

Happy Moon PI Day!

14 Mar 2025 by Astronomy Notions Technobabble

Panoramic Images

Panoramic Image of Our House

Earlier this month, I retired my venerable Canon Powershot A710IS Camera and started using my newer Kodak PIXPRO FZ152 Camera. The older camera had roughly 18 years on it and after it got retired, I started using the newer camera. The newer camera, it turns out, had more features that I didn’t know about because I used it so seldom. Lo and behold, there is a “panoramic image” mode.

To make panoramic images using the FZ152, one must select the proper mode and shooting left to right (other direction optional) snap three or four images as you move the camera. There is a “ghost” image of the preceding image that helps the user to align the camera. When done, select the “SET” button and the camera begins to “stitch” the images into a single elongated image — a panoramic image.

I am still learning how to use the panoramic image mode, although some of the image results from following the procedure have been disappointing, with visible disconnects in the continuity of the image. I thought I was using the proper procedure and got the result seen below:

Discontinuity example

As you can see, the right half of the panned image jumps from a place in the middle of the house to repeating (in a distorted fashion) the same image segment going to the right. The image is not useful except to demonstrate the problem.

I guess I am spoiled by having had a really good Canon Utility in the past that would render panoramas from several images with very good results, even with marginally acceptable images. Unfortunately, that utility stopped being supported and did not work with later versions of Windows subsequent to about seven years ago or so.

I will keep trying to get panoramas with the Kodak Camera in the future, but I may opt for a Photoshop ($$$) utility to do the things I used to do with ease and for free with the Cannon App.

25 Feb 2025 by Notions Panorama Photography Technobabble

Washington’s Birthday

We still honor the Father of the Country, George Washington, on the Anniversary of his birth, February 22nd. The following is edited from our post of Washington’s Birthday back in 2010.

Today is the anniversary of the birth of George Washington, the first president of the United States, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

From WikiPedia:

gw.jpgGeorge Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and as the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. Because of his significant role in the revolution and in the formation of the United States, he is often referred to as “Father of His Country”.

The Continental Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces in 1775. The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, lost New York City, and crossed the Delaware River in New Jersey, defeating the surprised enemy units later that year. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies at Saratoga and Yorktown. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure. Following the end of the war in 1783, King George III asked what Washington would do next and was told of rumors that he’d return to his farm; this prompted the king to state, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” Washington did return to private life and retired to his plantation at Mount Vernon.

For those who still recognize this day in honor of our first president, have a very Happy Washington’s Birthday!

22 Feb 2025 by Arizona Entertainment Notions Photography

Spring Song

This 10 second video is of a Curve-Billed Thrasher singing what sounds like a mating call. It’s not the usual loud “weee-weet-tweet” that we hear during other times of the year. Could it be that we’re getting an early spring about four weeks ahead of schedule? The forecast for our part of Arizona calls for 80° temperatures by the weekend.

AS you can see from the video, holding the camera steady at 250mm zoom is difficult without a bi- or tripod. I made this video today with my Canon EOS Rebel SL3 and the EF 55-250mm lens. I am still experimenting with and getting used to making videos with the Canon camera.

19 Feb 2025 by Arizona Critters Notions Photography Technobabble

Imbolc Weekend

Imbolc, also called Saint Brigid’s Day, is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint Brigid. It is held in early February, which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox (i.e. Cross-Quarter Day). Our ancestors (both of us) are western Europeans, many of whom were Celtic, Scottish or Irish. The actual day for Imbolc will be on the 3rd of February, but we’re going to start celebrating early by enjoying a weekend full of Celtic-like feasting.

First off, on Friday 01/31 we’re having Irish Beef Stew and Soda Bread. Then, on Saturday, it will be Irish Braised Chicken and Irish Coffee. On Sunday, it will be Corned Beef and Cabbage. I will come back to this post and put in links to the dishes we are preparing.

Compost Heap

In other developments, we seem to have lost our vermicomposting worms; they were in our outdoor compost bin behind the garage doing their thing, but when checking on them (which I apparently need to do more of), it did not appear that there were any active worms. So, just a while ago, I ordered 500 composting worms from Uncle Jim. They should be here in a few days.

One theory of why the worms are gone is that during our 2024 late summer and early fall, the daytime temperatures were usually in excess of 100°F. Since worms cannot survive in soil temperatures that exceed 85°F., we think that the increased soil temperatures might have done them in.

So, when the worms show up, we will stir up the compost heap and welcome them to their new digs. More on that later.

31 Jan 2025 by Culture Food & Dining Notions

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