BLUE MOON & JUPITER: Tonight's Blue Moon has a companion: Jupiter. All night long, the giant planet will be located right beside the Moon. You can see them with the naked eye or, for a real treat, scan the pair with a backyard telescope. Behold the moons of Jupiter, lunar mountains and craters, and maybe even the Great Red Spot: sky map.

BONUS: Blue Moons are supposed to be absurd, but on May 21st, the Moon over Vecsés, Hungary, really did turn blue. "It was a unique and unforgettable sight," says photographer Ágnes Kiricsi who took these pictures: #1, #2, #3. The display was caused by a Sahara dust storm that filled the air above Hungary with micron-sized dust particles. Clouds of fine dust can act as a color filter, turning the Moon (or Sun) blue: more.

I really like that one DeJope Gaming commercial where the old farmer is trying to get the cow to jump through the ring of fire. Then the old lady says "How about the pig"? Ha ha! That's great.

We just can't seem to get any rain here. Last night they were talking about heavy rain and maybe 1 or 2 inches. I checked the RADAR about 10:00 p.m. and it sure looked like rain coming. Got up at 4:00 a.m. and let the dogs out and NOTHING! Not even a drop, that I could tell. So, I've been doing my irrigating again today.

Went to Coddington's True Value in Oxford today and got a timer for my garden hose. Boy, has that place got the stuff crammed in there! It's been awhile since I've been there. They have just about everything. If you're ever in Oxford, I suggest you stop in just to look around, if nothing else.

Summer is here! The flies are out and the cows have started whipping their tails to shoo them away. This morning it was time to trim the long hair from their tails. That long hair really hurts when it goes "SNAP!" across my eyeballs! Even after their tails are trimmed, they get me sometimes, but the "SNAP!" isn't quite so bad. It still hurts though. I tried wearing safety glasses once, but since the ventilation fans haven't worked in years, it gets really hot and steamy in the barn and the glasses fogged up all the time!

Endangered Species Protection Sought for Bigfoot

The man behind the petition was a Bigfoot enthusiast named Todd Standing, who claims to have definitive proof of Bigfoot but is withholding it until protection for the alleged animals is in place. “When I get species protection for them nationwide, I will make my findings public and I will take this out of the realm of mythology. Bigfoot is real,” Standing said. Full Story

SCIENTISTS have bred cows that produce skimmed milk and hope to establish herds of the cattle to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers.

The milk is also high in omega3 oils, claimed to improve brain power, and contains polyunsaturated fat. The saturated fats found in normal milk are linked to increased risk of heart disease. The cows, which have a particular genetic mutation, were bred from a single female discovered by researchers when they screened milk from millions of cattle in New Zealand.

Butter from these cows has the extra advantage of being spreadable straight from the fridge, like margarine. Full Story

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

I read in my stats from the other day that someone in Anchorage Alaska came to my blog after searching for "Polaris Hawkeye Hard Starting" so I'll touch on that a little.

At first it seemed like it might be hard to start. Once I figured out what it wanted for choke and throttle, turns out it's really not hard to start at all. It is very awkward to start, because of the way the safety features work and where the controls are located, but I've talked about that in a previous post. Here's how I start my Hawkeye, using the choke, throttle, or lack thereof:

When the engine is cold, I pull the choke all the way out, then push it in just a little if it's below 50F, or push it in about halfway if above 50F. I then turn the key and it starts right up (no throttle). I'll let it idle that way for a minute or two. The engine will eventually rev, and when it does I ease the choke in slightly to slow it down. Then I go riding! Once the machine is moving, I open the choke (push it in) all the way.

When the engine is hot, I open the throttle a hair, and it starts right up. Most of the time it would start without giving it any throttle, but sometimes it won't. I give it a little throttle every time when starting a hot engine and I don't have to mess around.

If all else fails and it still doesn't seem like it wants to start, whether hot or cold, give it a little throttle and it should start right up. By the way, the owner's manual is of no help when it comes to starting it. Trial and error is how I learned the best ways to start my Hawkeye.

Yikes! Had a little mechanical malfunction on my bike ride tonight. I was flying along on my old cruiser, a couple miles from home, when I spied some asparagus. I hammered on the brakes (coaster brakes=back pedaled) and the pedals jumped forward and nearly pitched me over the bars! The clamp that holds the coaster brake brace to the frame had broke and let the brace turn with the wheel hub. That forced the pedals to rotate forward with the hub.

Anyway, I cobbled it together enough to ride it home. I did ok until I got to the stop sign by my house. I forgot, put on the brakes, and almost over the bars I went again!

Nothing that a little plumber's tape couldn't fix, once I got home.

My last fire in the wood stove for the heating season last year was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The fire is still going this morning, but maybe the last one until Fall? We'll see. If it's less than 75 degrees in the house (depending on humidity) I'm froze! I guess when it doesn't cost anything to heat your house, your level of comfort changes too.

I think today is the day that the Necedah bunch goes to Pray for pizza. Wish I could go too, but have to do the milking and chores tonight. Maybe one of these Mondays I'll be able to go on the Pray Pizza Ride.

I was over to my ex-brother-in-law's house the other night. He bought a little tiny motorcycle at a flea market for his son. It's a street bike type, but it almost looks like a radio controlled model. Only thing is you actually ride on it. Pretty cool. If I would have had my camera along, I'd have taken pictures of it. Maybe when I see it next time.

I went for a ride in the refuge today. It was a nice ride, 70 miles, and nice weather. I rode some places that I'd never been before (Orange and Cutler, I think). It was kind of neat, but since I didn't have a map of those routes, I turned around before I started to get lost!

I've almost broke the 400 mile mark on the new quad! I hadn't planned on changing the break-in oil until Fall, but might have to sooner. I've got all the stuff to do it, just haven't done it yet.

I saw several snakes laying in the sand, sunning themselves. I carefully avoided them all. I don't mind snakes. All they wanted was some sun and I had no intention of harming the little buggers.

Last weekend I got 20 miles to the gallon while riding the trails by Black River with my Hawkeye. Used about 4 gallons on that ride. Today on the easier routes, I got 30 miles to the gallon. Only used about 2 gallons. I think that's pretty good. About par with the previous quad, or slighter less mileage.

I was riding down the route from Finley, the one with the railroad tracks between it and 80 (I think it's 12th?) and I got the crap scared out of me! All of a sudden there was a train next to me! I don't think I have ever seen a train on those tracks before, at least not while riding next to them.

Besides the snakes, I saw a lot of deer and a few dead raccoons. I don't think there's much traffic on those roads, not that I've ever seen anyway, so the coons must set there a long time waiting to get killed. Dummies. Maybe they're trying to catch the snakes?

Does anybody know where around here to get one of those aviator-type canvas or leather helmets like the Harley guys wear?