In this El Niño year, the snow levels dropped to below 5000 feet in the San Gabriels, normally not seen with snow on the southern slopes. Damsel took this image (cropped to make a panorama) after the rain passed the other day. Lingering clouds can be seen topping some of the peaks. Click on the image to see the full-sized panoramic image – don’t forget to use the scroller to see the whole image.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” — Abraham Lincoln
Today is the 201st anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, one of the nation’s greatest presidents.
16th President of the United States, 1809 – 1865
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a log cabin in Hardin County (now LaRue County), Kentucky. He rose from humble origins and less than a year of formal education to become the 16th President of the United States, and one of the great men of American history.
Lincoln was elected President on November 6, 1860, and led the United States through the nation’s greatest crisis, the Civil War (1861-1865). He is credited with saving the Union from disintegration and eliminating slavery in America.
On the evening of April 14, 1865 Lincoln was assassinated as he watched a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. He was the first American President to be assassinated. Thousands of mourners lined the tracks as his funeral train moved him from Washington to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.
Hat tip Planet Gore.
Further credit to Planet Gore‘s Edward John Craig for the term “WARMmongers,” to describe idiots like Keith Olbermann.
Last week, we bought a potted Asian “stargazer” lily. The flowers started opening this week. The morning light from the window over the staircase was at a great angle to get this shadowed effect.
As usual, you can click the image for the 1024 X 768 pixel version.
It looks like the solar activity is starting to increase. This is the first day in a while where there are three sunspots visible on the Earth-facing side of the sun. These images are from the SOHO spacecraft. The left panel is the visible light snapshot and the right panel is energy being emitted in a narrow band of ultraviolet. You can’t see UV, but it’s common knowledge that it is a major cause of skin damage.
Just how solar activity affects the climate isn’t well understood, but there is correlation between sunspot numbers and the climate.
I don’t know about you, but I am sure there are a lot of Americans rooting for warmer weather tonight. That includes us, even though we’re California weather wimps according to Breda.
Last week, I put up a tight shot of a pink hyacinth, “up close and personal.” This week, the blue hyacinth takes center stage. I still wish you could smell the beautiful fragrance of these flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.
Damsel and I prepared our Superbowl Sunday meal today – we decided on pulled pork sandwiches served with blue cheese broccoli slaw and a dill pickle, a traditional Memphis pit BBQ meal.
I started the picnic roast (pork shoulder) in the crockpot early this morning, throwing in some pepper, fruit juices, chopped onion and garlic cloves. We let it cook all day. When I pulled the pork it was literally falling off of the bone. I used a couple of forks to shred the meat and separate the lean stuff away from the fat.
Damsel came up with a wonderful home made barbecue sauce with that tart southern cooked taste. She placed a scoop of the shredded pork on a bun and topped it with the sauce. It was the best.
We chowed down during the pregame show and took our after dinner walk at halftime. It was a great meal, a good football game and an all around great day – really a Super Sunday.