Tuesday, October 11, 2022

What's It All Mean, Mr. Natural? Part 10,000

 



In case you're wondering, that is a picture of one of our little anoles outside on the back porch screen with its shadow on one of the porch supports. And there's actually another shadow on the screen, isn't there? 
Now how does THAT work? 
Don't try to explain it to me. 
I tried to read an article in the New York Times last night entitled "Black Holes May Hide a Mind-Bending Secret About Our Universe."
Here's what I got from the article: I know nothing and can understand even less and never in this lifetime or any other will black holes tell me their mind-bending secrets. 
I mean, once you start talking about black holes and worm holes and "tickling the radiation" I might as well be reading some language invented and written by the cat who could theoretically exist in the black hole and do not ask me about THAT, either. 

Maybe tonight I'll read the article on chimps and gorillas forming rainforest friendships. I think I might have a far better chance of following that story. At least I have a fairly decent understanding of what chimps and gorillas are. 

It's been another beautiful, dry day here. It was foggy this morning, which, as the fog condensed and rolled off the leaves almost sounded like rain drops. Once that cleared, however, there hasn't been a cloud in the sky. 

I went to town today and met Jessie for lunch. We talked and talked, catching up. Her boys are doing fine and I'll be picking them up from school on Thursday. There was a CVS near the restaurant and I stopped in there for some drugstore stuff. Supplements and a bite guard to hopefully do a better job of preventing me from biting my tongue every night. Of course I had to buy some pens while I was there. I cannot pass up a pen display. 

Then on to Costco for a very few things and then to Publix for the rest. I wanted to get home to punch down the loaf of sourdough that I started this morning and give it another rise. Here's where I'm at with the whole remembering thing- last night I asked Siri to remind me at nine a.m. to make bread. 
I swear. My iPhone is going to keep me out of the memory care unit for at least an extra year. Maybe. If I can keep remembering how to use it. 

And that's been about it. I've turned the chicken and broth into a soup with carrots and celery and leeks and other good things. Tomorrow I will make another soup- venison and vegetable. Mr. Moon is leaving on Saturday to DRIVE TO CANADA with three guys and two dogs to duck hunt and I will freeze the soup so that it will be edible when they get there. 
It is definitely that season again. The season where my husband takes off for days at a time to go hang out in various wild areas with other guys who wear camouflage. God love him. This is such an important part of his life and to be honest, I know I get jealous. It's not the idea of being alone that bothers me. I actually love being alone because I know he'll be home eventually. But in a way, going off on these trips is his mistress. Which is a conundrum because he loves it so much that I do harbor a small bit of resentment.
Not that much, though. Having had a husband whose mistresses were, um, more traditional in the mistress sense, it is hard for me to truly get worked up about this. And the longer we're together and the more I love him, the more I want him to have these experiences. 
We are aging and things are becoming more difficult. 
Walking, for instance.
There will come a time when adventures are something we'll probably only enjoy in our memories. 
I know he loves me. He's even loving me when he asks me to make soup for him to take. It is a sort of badge of honor for him to be able to contribute something made with his own venison that I made for all of them to eat. I like the idea of nourishing him, even that far away. 
And trust me- he supports me in many ways that require far more understanding and patience than me sending him off with soup and my love to hunt. 

Anyway, here we are. Lily and Lauren and the kids all just got back home safely from Las Vegas today. Have I mentioned this trip? Jason's brother lives there now and so he and his mother wanted to go visit and take the kids and invited Lily and Lauren to come along and so they did. I think they had a great time and I think they are probably all very glad to be home. My favorite picture of the trip that Lily sent to us all is this one.


The accompanying text read: "I think Maggie would be happy staying in this brown and gold room living out her 70's secretary fantasies." 

I love this picture too. 


Gibson being cool in the casino. I hear that Maggie was quite upset that children cannot play the slot machines. They had not thought to educate her on this sad reality. 

I am glad they got to go and glad they are home safely and life is good even without the understanding of how black holes work. If I learn anything earth-shattering about chimps and gorillas, I'll let you know. 

Love...Ms. Moon


35 comments:

  1. The cat in the black hole is, of course, Agapanthus!
    Sally was reading a kids science book and got quite upset about black holes. I was unable to explain anything to her (I needed Agapanthus) but did manage to calm her down by saying they are a long way away. I love science but sometimes ...
    Are kids allowed in casinos? Here, you have to be 18 to set foot in any gambling venue.

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    1. Yes! Agapanthus- the cat in the black hole.
      The hotel they stayed in was connected to a casino and they had to walk through it to get to the elevators.

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  2. I wonder how easy it is to cross the border into Canada with guns and dogs? That would never come to pass in Belize - at least not legally. Lots of things for kids to do in Vegas! I think I see evidence of swimming in the photo of Maggie.

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    1. They've done it before several times so I imagine it's possible.
      I saw that bathing suit too!

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  3. I love Lily's sense of humor!

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    1. She says things that I laugh about for years. Literally.

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  4. I love that the divorced parents in your family get along so well that they can vacation together and yes, Lily has a wonderful sense of humor.

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    1. It may have helped that Lily grew up seeing Glen and I getting along with my ex and his wife. And of course, they're all just really good people. I am so glad of that.

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    2. It is so rare and such a precious gift to the kids. I love the way you've raised your children and love them for who they are

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  5. what most surprises me is to hear you say you may harbor some slight resentment at Mr. Moon's hunting escapades............ I'm flummoxed at that. But......I *get it*.......though you know in your heart that YOU are his mistress through and through. Regardless of all else....anxieties and moods do get the best of us at times
    Susan M

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    1. Perhaps "resentment" isn't the right word. It's probably more of an abandonment fear although after all of these years, I'm pretty sure he's going to be coming home after these trips.

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  6. I find it amazing that Mr. Moon and his buddies drive all the way to Canada to hunt ducks. Aren't there ducks in Florida? But you're right, do it while you can.

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    1. Honey- don't ask me. I don't pretend to understand one dang thing about hunting.

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  7. Driving to Canada? How long will it take to get there? I love that the kids got to experience a bit of Vegas.
    The shadow on your screen is the anole. The shadow on the porch support is the shadow of the shadow. Look at the connecting point.

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    1. I am not sure how long it will take. Longer than I'd be willing to drive and ride at one go. You are right about the shadows!

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  8. Oh my....driving to Canada!! I am not looking forward to an hour and a half drive to see friends for lunch on Saturday!
    I envy you being able to see lizardy things " in the wild". I have always wanted to have a reptile as a pet, but they seem too much trouble to keep, and the thought of the live food some of them would need is also off putting!

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    1. We have so many reptiles around here that I don't have to think about keeping one as a pet. I do enjoy seeing them. There were SO many in Roseland. I'd forgotten.

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  9. My ex-husband also had a mistress (in the traditional sense), but then I guess their passion for booze was a bigger mistress to both of them and that's why they clicked. It may not be Mr. Moon's "mistress" that bothers you (in my humble opinion), but more his PASSION for hunting. I know I envy people with a passion because I lost mine somewhere and don't seem to be able to find it! As for black holes, I live about 30 minutes from CERN (the European Nuclear Research Centre - think Hadron Collider) that straddles the Swiss/French border and I'm still none the wiser to what they actually do there, except to say they appear to be a bunch of boffins! (I did learn to ski with the CERN ski club though many years ago and they ski pretty well too)!

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    1. I think you're right- it's the passion. You absolutely figured it out. But honestly, it's fine and I'm with you- I wish I had a passion like that.
      Interesting that you live so close to a nuclear research center. And that they're good skiers!

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  10. I like that Lily and Lauren were invited along with Jason and his Mom and the kids. It is so nice that they all get along.
    Wishing Mr. Moon safe travels! Hope you enjoy your quiet time, altho, I imagine your group is not quiet very often... You all seem to plan a lot of fun together! :)

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    1. They do all get along which is awesome.
      I will have lots of quiet time when the man is gone. And hopefully, some fun noisy time with the kids too.

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  11. Oh lord, they'll remember that trip to Vegas forever! The first and, thankfully, one of the only times, I visited Vegas was on a "western tour" with my family when I was around twelve or so. I was overwhelmed -- or underwhelmed and got a headache! But I do remember feeling bummed that we couldn't play the slot machines!

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    1. My family went to Las Vegas when I was about twelve or thirteen too. All I remember is that mostly we kids had to stay in the room. At that point there were few things for children to do there. Oddly, what I do remember is that all the adults went to see Shecky Greene who I gather worked blue and my mother was NOT thrilled with his jokes.

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  12. OK, you said to not explain it to you, but...

    The magical little anole (I wish we had such creatures in the chilly North!) casts a shadow on the screen, but since the screen lets most of the sunlight pass through, an anole-shaped shadow is also cast on the support, as if the screen weren't there. In fact, if you look really closely, the screen itself casts a delicate gridded shadow on the support. So the support actually contains a shadow of anole-on-screen.
    If you could have held up a square of opaque paper between the anole and the support, the second anole shadow would have been cast on the paper instead of the support, and the paper would have cast a square shadow on the support.

    Ever notice, in mid-20th century black and white movies, where supposedly outdoor scenes were shot indoors in studios (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I'm looking at you!), the actors often cast several multi-directional shadows because of the multiple studio lights? Well, no, you probably didn't-- like I never noticed that actors' footsteps sounded like they were clopping along on plywood when they were supposedly walking on concrete sidewalks, until someone pointed it out to me.

    Only Peter Pan thinks we have one personally-owned shadow stuck to the bottoms of our feet.

    Your anole photo is truly lovely, and I hope the explanation lessen the specialness. It doesn't for me!

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    1. Knowing the scientific explanation never lessens the specialness for me. It only increases it. What a world we live in!
      I will start looking for the multiple shadows in old B&W films.

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  13. Maybe black holes are really just big bangs on the other side spewing out matter and stars into a new universe. And why wouldn't chimps and gorillas make friends. And Jason, what a generous man to invite Lily and Lauren on the trip.

    Dry here so the sprinkler circuit is in full swing. My husband no longer takes his once a year week to visit with my brother while he skis. Damn covid! I loved my week alone in the house.

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    1. Jason is sweet about including Lily and Lauren in things with the kids. He doesn't pay for it though!
      One thing I learned from reading that article about the gorillas and chimps is that they make friends while co-feeding and co-feeding seems to work out well because it broadens the scouting abilities for new food sources which they can alert each other to different sites. Pretty cool, huh?
      I bet you DO miss that yearly week alone. Can't you encourage your husband to re-establish that annual visit?

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  14. I love Gibson's Las Vegas Rat Pack moment. Perfect. :)

    As for the Black Hole article, I completely relate to your angst. It also explains why I was an English major. Just not into tickling the radiation.

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    1. You're right- Gibson is definitely having a Rat Pack moment.
      I used to drive my science teachers insane when I didn't understand something because I would just keep asking questions until they finally lost their shit. I can't believe I actually graduated with a nursing degree because there was a lot of science in that.

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  15. To me a black hole is where an animal lives - probably a badger in this country. Sometimes their homes or "setts" are hundreds of years old and generations of badgers have lived there. Sadly, they have suffered governmental persecution in recent years with secret marksmen employed to murder them in the dead of night. God Save The Badger!

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    1. For me, a black hole is mostly the place where all my lost items go. There is also one in my brain which is getting bigger every year.
      Doesn't killing off the badgers upset the ecosystem?

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    2. Governments do not care about such things.

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  16. I understand black holes in the most basic unscientific way. I understand vague what they are. I understand what they do. I will never understand the why of them, and I have no desire to spend time to do so.

    The anole shadow I can explain though. But I'll save you a discussion on light beams and angles.I can assure you, though, that it is not earth shattering which is exactly why I understand it.

    Glad that Las Vegas withstood Magnolia's outrage at not being allowed to play the slots. That COULD have been earth shattering.

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    1. I did not hear whether or not Maggie let the entire casino and hotel be made aware of her displeasure at the ridiculous rules about children not being allowed to play the slots. They certainly look like children's games, don't they?

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  17. Las Vegas with kids must be an interesting experience. I feel like I'd just be saying "NO!" all the time. But bravo to Jason for inviting Lily and Lauren. The pictures are great.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.