Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Denise Thompson!!!
Denise Thompson (levisgrammy, #43) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Backyard Farmer Merit Badge!
“We started our own flock originally by purchasing chicks from a hatchery. We had Black Austrolorps to start and used their eggs to hatch a flock using an incubator given us by my father.
The present flock are Black Sex Link and they were purchased from a hatchery. They enjoy free-ranging as much as possible and are fed organic feed. We enjoy about 6-7 big brown eggs every day this time of year.
We will be enlarging the flock this Spring.”
While our modern justice system might have its problems, it’s a vast improvement from the courts of old. Today’s word,
cephalonomancy
is a perfect example.
Cephalonomancy was used in ancient times to detect the guilt of a person accused of a crime. It involved, of all things, boiling the head of an ass.
Wha???
While boiling the head of the ass, the prosecutor would recite the names of possible suspects. If the skull cracked or the jaw moved when a name was spoken, that person was deemed to be guilty.
Engraving of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, 1875
Will he, or won’t he?
Photo by Cephas via Wikimedia Commons
Phil won’t spill (the beans, that is).
Not until sometime around 8 a.m. Eastern Time.
Are you hoping for a shadow … or no?
In case you’re unsure of what the shadow portends, here’s the superstition:
If the esteemed Pennsylvania rodent known as Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.
Photo by Susan Sam via Wikimedia Commons
“The celebration of Groundhog Day began with the Germans, Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers,” explains Groundhog.org. “They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, ‘For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May…’ The settlers found that groundhogs were plentiful and were the most intelligent and sensible animal to carry on the legend of Candlemas Day.”
Photo by Skeeze via Pixabay
Naturally.
For the latest updates on this year’s shadow sighting, it would be prudent to follow Phil on his Facebook page (insert chuckle here).
His “prognostication” is scheduled to occur between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. (not sure if that timeframe includes some sort of “pre-game” party, but I think I’ll wait till sunup for the report). Check out the official Groundhog Day Guide to see what else goes on in celebration of the 130th annual event.
Of course, if Phil sees his shadow, don’t despair. USAToday reports that, since 1988, the groundhog was “right” 13 times and “wrong” 15 times. In other words, only 13 times did the national average temperature for the remainder of February match what would be expected based on what the groundhog predicted.
And, anyway, if you’re in dire need of spring sunshine, scurry on over to this groundhog’s burrow, where you’re sure to smile:
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
