Beautiful And Strange "Light Pillars"...!

So often the night sky offers us a free and totally spectacular show, just because Mother Nature feels that we need it. These Light Pillars are just one example of what I mean.

Light Pillars

Photo credit: Christoph Geisler

Light pillars are an extremely elegant phenomenon where vertical bands of light appear from a light source. This effect is caused by the interaction of light with ice crystals that are in the atmosphere or are suspended in the clouds. The prominence of the light pillars has a direct relationship with how large the crystals in the atmosphere are. In other words, the larger the crystal, the more pronounced the light beams become. Common sources of light are the Sun, the Moon, and streetlights. These dazzling spectacles have been known to appear during sunrises, sunsets, and at night in places like Northern Ontario, Alaska, and even Arizona.

Pillars caused by artificial sources like street lights are often taller than light pillars caused by natural sources like the Sun, which creates a phenomenon known as sun pillars or solar pillars, and the Moon. The pillars you see aren’t actually over the lights as they appear to be but are optical illusions like halos.

I found this article over at Listverse, in case you are interested. You ought to check them out.

Coffee out on the patio this morning. The temps are supposed to be around 77...that's great!

Angel Hair On Monday Mystery...!

I am always amazed at the sheer number of mysteries that we have absolutely no answer for, especially those involving nature. Here is an example from Listverse.

Angel Hair

Angel Hair is a rare phenomenon that has so far defied explanation. It is made up of silken threads that rain down on to the earth, but reach out to touch it and it will almost certainly vanish before your eyes. It is a world wide phenomenon with the most regular occurrences from North America, New Zealand, Australia, and western Europe. There is no known proof for what causes this substance, or even what it is made up of. Speculations are that it has come from Spiders or another type of silk-spinning insect, and even UFO’s as it has often been associated with UFO sightings. Because of its sensitive nature, it has been difficult to collect, and to analyse as it is subject to contamination from car exhaust fumes, and even human contact, which could skew the chemical results.

I would like to see some of this stuff up close, ya know...just because I'm the curious type. You believe that, right?

Coffee in the kitchen this morning.

Some History About Tabasco...!

While wandering around the Web looking for an interesting article for today's post, I found a little history of my favorite hot sauce...Tabasco! Where else would I find it but Listverse, of course!

The Civil War Made Tabasco Sauce, And Reconstruction Made It Popular

Photo credit: spicysouthernkitchen.com

In the 1850s, Edmund McIlhenny was a successful banker. In the 1860s, he was bankrupt. The Civil War had ruined his business. With no more money, he moved back into the home of his parents-in-law on Avery Island, Louisiana.

But his luck was about to turn around. Little did he know, the family’s estate was built on a giant salt rock. He mined the salt and made a fortune selling it to the Confederacy. When the Union found out about this strategic reserve of salt, they attacked his salt mine and burned down his farm twice.

Afraid for their lives, the family was forced to flee to Texas. When McIlhenny returned to Louisiana after the war, he planted a vegetable garden. To pile on the bad news, everything he planted died in the salty, burned ground.

In New Orleans, he met a war veteran who told him about some pepper seeds he had from Mexico. McIlhenny made the first bottle of Tabasco sauce from these seeds.

Later, his sons would mass-produce the sauce. It became a hit because it added some necessary flavor to the bland food available during the Reconstruction. It is the same spice that we put on our bland food today.

I'll be the first to agree that Tabasco certainly has a flavor all it's own, although it is a tad spicy. I love the stuff!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. It's cool, but the sun is shining for a change!

A Real "Fishy" Story...!

By now we have heard many, many stories about the crazy things Mother Nature does. Here is just one more example of Her mysterious pranks, or miracles...depending on your outlook.

Yoro, Honduras

Photo credit: laprensa.hn

There is at least one place in the world where a fish rain is a roughly scheduled event that the residents look forward to. The Lluvia de Peces (“Rain of Fish”) has occurred at least once a year since the 1800s.

Each May or June, locals rely on storms to bring the fish to the streets of Yoro, where the creatures are collected to provide much anticipated food for the town’s residents.

The culprits, or benefactors in this case, are most likely waterspouts. They suck up fish that are carried by winds and dropped later, although the local people in Yoro believe that the source of the fish is divine.

Father Jose Manuel Subirana, a Catholic priest of some local standing, was believed to have prayed for food for the people of the area and was answered with a rain of fish. Since 1998, there has been a festival and parade honoring Father Subirana and his prayer for intercession.

The fish themselves may be different species each year, brought from a different part of the ocean. An alternate theory is that the animals are blind, underground lake fish that are forced up to the streets by regular flooding of their underground home.

Either way, it’s a good feast for the locals.

No matter where the fish come from or whether or not they are divine intervention, the important thing is that the people are putting the fish to good use. That's a win in my book! Of course I found this story on Listverse.

Coffee in the kitchen once more, but the sun is supposed to show up today!

Can You Say Crazy...?

Sometimes certain folks get to a point in their lives that they go just a bit crazy...maybe even more than a bit. I can't imagine what else would cause this man do do what he did, can you?

The Saw

Get ready to squeam again. We won’t say we’re sorry—you’re the one who keeps reading. In June 2011, emergency services dispatched an ambulance to the home of 65-year-old Barrie Hepburn. Barrie was a retired sports car enthusiast and a paraplegic. He’d been left wheelchair-bound in 2000 after being shot by a neighbor in an argument. Barrie had told the emergency operator that he was bleeding heavily, and they feared the worst, as he had fallen silent during the call. They certainly weren’t expecting what they found, which was the shock of their lives, and the grisly stuff urban legends are made from.

Barrie, who had lost all feeling in his legs, had made an enthusiastic attempt to remove one of them with a hacksaw. He had recently become despondent because he was having so much trouble getting into and out of his beloved sports cars, and his overtures to his doctors about amputation had thus far been rebuffed. Barrie had apparently decided that if he began the surgery himself, doctors wouldn’t have any choice but to continue. When the paramedics arrived his right leg was almost totally detached, the plastic sack he’d used for a tourniquet covered in massive amounts of blood, and his bag was sitting beside him, neatly packed for the hospital.

I think the man needed some mental treatment more than anything else. I found this disturbing story on Listverse.

Coffee in the kitchen again, as it is still cold and rainy outside.

The Mysterious , Lonely Grave...!

I think that finding some old artifacts while being on a archeology dig would be a very rewarding experience. However, sometimes there is a hint of mystery attached to one or more of the finds. Here is an example from Listverse.

Bizarre Bird Skull Burial

Photo credit: Malgorzata Kot/University of Warsaw

In 2018, a project re-examined long-stored artifacts found in Tunel Wielki Cave in Poland. When researchers opened one box, they discovered a child’s skeleton—minus the head. The youngster suffered from malnutrition and died, aged ten, during the late 18th or early 19th century. Beyond that, the story turned hazy. Oddly, the shallow grave was alone, not just in its own cave but all over the region, where not a single other cave burial existed.

When researchers sought answers in an old photograph and the case notes, things got downright bizarre. The skeleton was discovered in the late 1960s, and right afterward, the skull vanished when it was sent off for analysis—but not before archaeologists recorded a strange burial practice. For unknown reasons, somebody placed the tiny skull of a bird (a chaffinch) in the child’s mouth. Pressed against the youngster’s cheek was another chaffinch head. The lonely grave was already mysterious, but the inclusion of two tiny bird skulls stumped the experts.

I think the act of trying to piece together the puzzle of how or what some old, aged find was used for would be exciting...not to mention satisfying if you could figure it out!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Help yourself to the coffee as I have a blood test at the V.A. and I need to go study for it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR...!!!

I just have one thing to say today...and I think you all know what it is.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

I want to thank each and everyone for hanging with me over the past year. You will probably never know just how much I appreciate it ! Believe me, you mean the world to me...REALLY !

A special thanks to Momlady for the care package and to Jo, who is always there to give me a hug when I need it! Hugs for everyone this morning ! OK?

A heaping platter of cookies and coffee are waiting in the kitchen today !!!