Put your warm 'dogs' on

A friend of mine sent me this e-mail today w/ this picture taken from what looks like where the steps to my old classroom are. I had forgotten about the Yup'ik saying "akerta-gguq aliimatengqertuq, nengllipiaqatarluni (the sun has gloves on both hands)." In other words, it's going to be cold. Quyana, Liz for the reminder!

This also makes me recall a time when we took the class out for recess & there was this nice slick sheet of ice that we were enjoying sliding on. I noticed a doll frozen beneath, except for it's face & the tips of it's hands. I still have a photo in my Dirty Dolly Collection. The aide, Jamie, working w/ our class told me that this meant there was going to be a long winter. Well, it was.


"A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, for "beside the sun") is a common bright circular spot on a solar halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. Often, two sun dogs can be seen (one on each side of the sun) simultaneously." - James Barthelman wrote this to Liz.

Amendment: I just read someone's blog (Alisha whom I still haven't met) that said the temp. today (11-19) at 12:01 am was 10 below zero in Bethel. This sets a new record, as the old one was set in 1973 at 9 below. The info. came from the Ntl Weather Service. Expect more broken records this year. I just hope it warms up enough to give us bountiful snow. Behold the sundog. =)

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Get Fuzzy has decided to tackle this invariable question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Finally, I think the world can set their mind at rest knowing the conclusion.

S = Satchel, the dog
B = Bucky, the kat


S: Hey, Buck! Why did the chicken cross the road?

B: That's an interesting question. I've done some thinking on the subject and I've come up with a theory.
You see, a chicken's perception of the definition of "space' is very different from yours or mine.
Whereas we understand the linear definition of the boundaries of the pavement and can make judgments on the future direction of the moving objects... vehicles, if you will ...
The chicken may only see an unconnected patchwork of shapes and movements.
It is my contention therefore, that the chicken doesn't even know he's crossing what we would call a "road."

S: My juice cap says "To get to the other side".

B: Well, sure, sometimes the other side is just cooler.

The above script is copyrighted 2005 to Darby Conley.

P.S. Did you see the video below? That speech makes me aspire to be a better person.

Can I get an amen?

AMEN!

The president-elect of the US is Barack H. Obama!
He will be our 44th and first minority president!

"You've gotta fight, for your right..."

to VOOOOOOOOOOTTE!

(That's close to what the Beastie Boys were singing about, isn't it?)

It's election day in the US. If you're 18 & registered, go vote... even if you don't think your vote will matter.

Picture It

I've been semi-regularly going over to the (sha-bill-ski) Przybylski abode during the week to watch The Daily Show (I *heart* John Stewart) & The Colbert Report (crush on Colbert). Finally, I remembered to ask to borrow their camera cord, b/c I don't have one. I've intermingled some in a couple of prior posts where it seemed fitting (dream a little dream of
me & bits of bliss). Above is Little Shibby-Mac, Isaac, one night when we were playing. Mama Bear took this photo.

Random back photos from August to now henceforth...

This is Nunap. back in August. If I were to take a photo now, you'd see snow & ice & houses camouflaged by both.

This year I tried my hand at coaching cross country (X-C) running again. It went better than last year with about the same # of kids committed. Practices start off with 15+ kids & then dwindle down to 3-ish. This is fine. I'll hold a practice for 1 committed athlete & our SA allowed us to travel more w/ low #s. X-C has a short season, at around a month, but we made the most of it. Photos: #1-Christopher, Stephanie, & Byron in Tooksok Bay (OOK). #2- The boys sneaking up on some of the 100+ birds we saw on our morning hike. #3- This is my little friend, Eric, who followed me when I was out on the Akula course to cheer them onward. #4- Bethel, our "hub," usually puts on a big meet with 15-20 schools. They're at a central location so it costs less to fly there & the course is difficult being a literal sand pit.

Why is there a tiller at a tundra village? I didn't see any garden near by.

These are some cold air funnel clouds, part of what was three. They came about on 11 Sept. Everyone was yelling, "tornado" & excitedly watching outside. This isn't a regular occurrence. Shaun, who is a storm chaser, was quite excited for this too. Thanks for the photo Shibby. :-)

I have acquired two cats w/in the last month. One of Zane's owners was allergic to him. Jade's owner's were going to put her on the tundra to die, even though they willingly bought her. Both are Vern cats with white coats, patches on their head & tails & a spot on their left side. They came from two different places. Maria theorizes that they came from the same litter, which is possible if they both came from Bethel. Zane has the black top & Jade has the tabby markings. The only photo I have of both of them is this one where they are feuding. Yes, Jade has decided to make the litter box her fortress.