Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings posts give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
Welcomings will be posted at the start of each week (usually Saturday night with a Sunday date). To find the posts, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?
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NOTE: The comments page will split off after 20 or so left margin comments with the most recent comments on the current page. To see the older comments, scroll to the bottom of the page (right before “Leave A Reply”) and use the Pages Tool to view previous pages, shown here with 3 pages of comments available and Page 2 circled.
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It’s 62 heading for 83 and sunny. At the moment and supposed to be all day. Yesterday it did clear off enough to generate 18.45 KWHs and the m-t-d at 302 gained a little ground.
Well, my Social Security came in so I’m assuming Diana’s (and Suzanne’s) did too. One more month of security.
I had a fire last night and dried laundry in front of it. With the windows open. Even then the den was over 90 by the time I went to bed. Warm enough that although I missed one window when I was closing up and it got down to 50 overnight it was still 70 in the kitchen when I got up this morning. Unless something really weird happens with the weather the next laundry will be hung outside. LOL. I baked molasses nutmeg oatmeal cookies too. Not sure if that’ll be the last of the baking for the summer. We shall see in a couple of weeks when I finish off this batch.
Meanwhile, rocky night, 5 hours of sleep (maybe), groggy, and need to get started on my boosting day. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s raining, thank Goddess. I love the sound, the scent, the look. We still have a 4-and-a-half-inch rainfall deficit for the year to date, so rain on, say I!
I must go to the gym this morning or die in the attempt. My weight is creeping back up again.
AH GOT MAH SOCIAL! Yay! Hope bfitz received hers too. I’ll set about arranging a birthday present for my grandson, who will be 11 on 30 May. Can’t believe it! I’m glad I had the exhausting but happy experience of being a nanny-granny to two of my grandchildren. I couldn’t stop feeling guilty that I was spending more time with them than I did my own children when they were that age. However, as I reminded myself, if you really love your child, the first thing you try to do is keep a roof over that child’s head. I clung to that thought for years.
Feeling outraged and helpless because I read the front section of the WaPo. It carried a heart-rending story of federal workers who are depressed and at sea because of losing their jobs in the chaos. Some have committed suicide. I hate Thing and his minions with a visceral hatred that knows no bounds. Are they all multibillionaires? One thing is certain, they know nothing and care less about how government is supposed to work. I’m sure they envision a happy return to feudal times in the year 1000 A.D.
It was the Black Death that finally upended the status quo and made workers able to bargain for more rights and more money. Hope it doesn’t take an epidemic this time.
Well, now that I’ve cheered y’all up I’ll go back to wrestling with my latest project: writing my own song lyrics to someone else’s tune (I’m not musical, I can’t make up tunes). The first three stanzas are okay, but the tune’s ending is decidedly downbeat and I wanted the lyrics to be upbeat.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
There was an article yesterday that someone posted on BlueSky and that I bookmarked but have not had time to read yet. It describes the end game for the oligarchs – essentially hoping for (helping along?) mass extinction events to prune the population so that there are more resources for them. Their theory is that the poors need a few genocides here and there for civilization (ie the Rich) to survive. What a ghastly thing, that the multi-billionaires want to kill us off! And even more ghastly that they are being given the power to do so by the MAGAts.
Patriarchy to the max, Jan!
Someone once asked, “What would a world with no men be like?”
The answer was, “No crime and lots of fat, happy women!”
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 73 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 95. Sunny skies are in the forecast. The moon was over the mountains this morning – her light is dwindling quite rapidly, she will be new on Monday at 8:02pm MST. Seems like she was just full.
I only scanned the news briefly yesterday and I will give today’s news a pass as well. I had a couple of not very productive days filled with errands and unexpected projects so I am going to check my lists and my Inbox and make sure I have not missed anything and then get off my computer and give myself a break. There are a few sporting events I have on my watch list today. I was glad to see the WNBA Atlanta Dream beat the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis and quiet the racist fans who go to the games just to harass the Black players. Gross and MAGAtty.
See all y’all later!
Thanks Jan for commenting about Indiana fan racism – I was rooting for the Dream too.
They play again tonight, this time in Atlanta. Clark fans travel – they may not find their racism is much appreciated in Atlanta.
Good morning, 51 and partly cloudy. I finally got over my attitude re chrome books and bought one to replace an old computer. It took less than an hour to set up, it’s easy to use, and the price was very affordable. Sometimes I get in my own way :)
I’ve got some desk work to do this morning and this afternoon I’ll work in the garden with Bri. She found the variety of hydrangea we have been looking for so we’ll plant and prune and all will be well in my garden. If I stay away from the news I should have a good day. Best wishes to all
Thursday Meese. 47 here going up to 49 and raining (again)
Puerto Rico
Oh my gosh, it is so hot. Already. 77 degrees at 6 am. Made for an unpleasant walk. If this is May, what will August be like??
Another, Texas may have to follow the pattern of Iraq: everyone sleeps all day and stays up all night. Even in the early years of the 20th century, Gertrude Bell reported that if the temperature outside was 90 F., no one wanted to go swimming in such cool weather. They lived on lassi, which is a kind of yogurt drink.
Good gloomy moaning, Meese! What are we glooming about today? Not much. It’s 57 F. outside, heading for a high of 67 F. The grass is a dark emerald, long and cool and as thick as English grass. It’s sprinkling lightly from the gray sky I can see behind the deep, full green woods. Birds are chirping about the locations of the thickest worms and juiciest insects. Thank Goddess we didn’t have that for breakfast, for us it was granola with sliced bananas.
I have to totally get my act together this morning because I am to interview Madame La Directrice at 3. The article is due to the editors on 1 June. Can you believe it’s nearly June already?
The sprinkle has now changed to steady rain, how interesting. No matter how much it rains, the airport down the road never measures very much, so we’re officially still 4 inches under for the year to date.
I hope to have a peaceful weekend, catching up on writing, laundry, and exercise. I’ll try to forget the outside world. A young Israeli couple were shot to death last night outside the Jewish Museum in DC by some incel shouting “Free Palestine!”. I’m still sad about the death of Gerry Connolly. The one good thing to hold onto is that he helped turned Virginia blue.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
It’s 66 heading for 73 and sunny at the moment but the widget says clouds and rain this afternoon. I believe the clouds. The rain we’ll see if it gets here. Yesterday we generated the highest single day for month and (I think) year so far with 22 KWHs. The m-t-d at 327 is off track but it did gain some.
Today I need to go to the credit union and get cash then go to the library and exchange books. But first I need to get started on my boosting. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good morning, 48 and cloudy. I enjoyed doing what I can do in the garden yesterday, but coming to terms with what I can do now and what I can’t is not easy. Oh well, some garden time is better than none so I will keep on coping. Best wishes to all.
Princesspat, I am finding it very hard to accept that I am 81 years old and can’t do as much as I used to. In my mind I’m still 21 and full of energy! Where in the die-diddley hail did it all go?
Your hydrangeas sound lovely. What color are they?
Thanks Diana, adjusting to the reality of being 80 is indeed hard, but I’m grateful to still be able to do what I can. Hydrangeas have a prominent place in my garden so the deep freeze in 2023 made an impact. The older plants have recovered better than I hoped and I’ve planted 3 more to fill the gaps….a blue, a deep burgundy and a pink so I should have lots of flowers to enjoy this summer.
Good late afternoon, meeses! Thursday …
I had a hectic day filled with deadlines and phone conferences and just being tired. It got to 102 degrees today so traditional sum-sum-sumertime is starting a few days early. My air conditioner is brand new and my freezer is stocked with cool refreshing mango pops so I am ready.
See all y’all tomorrow!
Mango pops, what a good idea. On superhot days I crave coffee ice cream mixed with cold black coffee, but mango pops sound more healthful.
They are Outshine Fruit Bars, Mango flavored. They have other flavors as well but I have developed a taste for mangos which are readily available down here.
We got rain! Water actually just fell from the sky…..like, just out of the sky…… Not a drought-buster but every drop is awesome. It stopped, so I got my walk done. Oh, and there is some really cool astronomy news. Happy Friday everyone!
Good morning, meeses! Finally Friday …
It is 70 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 99. Sunny skies are in the forecast. Temperatures will drop over the next few days becoming more “normal” – the 100s are not typical of this time of year.
The bastids in the House did it, didn’t they? Cut healthcare for millions in order to give tax cuts to their wealthy donors. My Republican Congressman vowed that he would not cut Medicaid and he voted for it. I know not enough people care about poor people dying of treatable injuries and illnesses but I hope that they care that their congressman lied to them. We have some Democrats planning to run for the seat that was gerrymandered in 2021 to find more votes for the Republican Death Cult candidates. Maybe 2026 will be the year that we get it back in the Blue.
I say “finally Friday” because this week has been very odd. Tuesday felt like Thursday and I was sure that Wednesday was Friday! It was probably wishful thinking – my work projects are tied to client schedules right now and I am more productive on the weekends when they are not working. In any event, it is truly Friday, I have my weekend projects set and I hope to be able to get off my computer early and do some things that I want to do today.
See all y’all later!
It’s 64 heading for 76 and sunny at the moment. Widget says clouds will be moving in soon. They moved in early enough yesterday we only generated 14.23 KWHs and the m-t-d at 338.82 lost more ground.
I got my errands to credit union and library done yesterday before the clouds and a very short spate of rain moved in. The clouds remained after the rain moved on, of course. sigh. Sometime next week I’ll have to go to Walmart for cat food & Braums for milk. Hopefully on the same day but there’s a mini-boycott of Walmart through Tuesday and I’m not sure the milk will last until Wednesday. We shall see. That among many other things. Anyway, off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Friday Meese. Raining and chilly here. Had to go for my semiannual MRI and CT scan this morning. Ugh.
Puerto Rico
National Puerto Rican Day Parade: 2025 theme, honorees and more
{{{Dee}}} Healing Energy.
Dee—hope you received a good report.
Thank you! Won’t know results till I see my doc next week.
Good Friday afternoon, Moosekind. It’s 63 F. at 1 p.m., and although the day promised to be fair, clouds keep blowing across the sky, dimming the light to silver. We’re having a distinctly un-summery weekend.
Had a doctor visit this morning. She thinks I need Vitamin B12, so I have bought some. My cholesterol is 20 points over what it should be! Evidently, no more ice cream. I wish I could like black coffee, but I’ve never encountered a coffee so tasty that it made me want to drink it black. Or I wish there such a thing as cholesterol-free half-and-half, but I don’t know whether such a thing exists.
Anyway, I have a meeting at 3 p.m. and right now I need to rest, so probably I won’t get to the gym any time this day.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Saturday Meese. Will be heading over to initiation ceremony at around 10 AM this morning, after I get Caribbean Matters posted, with comments at 9AM. Looks like rain has held off today, but it’s still nippy (49 right now) All ceremonies will thankfully take place inside.
Puerto Rico
I had to click on the Humboldt Park story to see where it was. There is a Humboldt Park in Milwaukee also but Milwaukee is not known for having a large Hispanic population and specifically a Puerto Rican connection. It is in Chicago, which makes a lot of sense.
Both parks were named after the same guy, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, “a Prussian geographer, and naturalist who did extensive work on botanical geography.”
Good morning, meeses! Saturday …
It is 70 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 93. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. I saw a monsoon beetle the other day which means that the monsoon is not too far off – June 15th is the “official” day to expect it but calendars don’t control the weather. This morning, due east over my mountains, I saw the prettiest waning moon with the Morning Star to the right and slightly above her. She is at 10% illumination today.
I am going to ignore the news this weekend and concentrate on getting my accounting up to date and my desktop and to-do lists sorted. I woke up to find that two of my computers had shut themselves off last night and I am a little nervous about what happened. I am in the middle of a project and can’t afford to be without computers. I will spend some time looking at event logs and hope it was a power blip that was not long enough to reset clocks.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. Nice to have a 3-day weekend, I can stretch out my housework & cooking. For now, I’m just relaxing and watching the local news. It is hot & humid, so all my activities will be indoors.
It’s 63 heading for 72, very dark and raining. If this doesn’t clear off at least a little I may not get any production today. Yesterday we generated 13.2 KWHs and the m-t-d at 351 lost a little more ground. Only 8 production days left in May.
Very groggy. I’d have stayed in bed longer if my back hadn’t started hurting – and my sinuses hadn’t closed up on me. I breathe better upright. Oh well. Time to be about my boosting day. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good Saturday morning, Meese! It’s 62 f. here in Ashburn, with puffy white clouds blowing across a cool blue sky, silvery sunlight, and, of course, the ever-unpopular WIND. I had meant to tidy the screened porch by this time and set it up for the summer, but no such luck.
Well, that’s very much a first-world problem. Have a lot of writing and laundry to do today. My draft article is due to Madame La Directrice on Tuesday morning. Yesterday I had a meeting with her and C., who is president of the Drama Club Board. We HAD to decide on the 2026 spring musical as no one else stepped up, so we chose “Into the Woods.” It’s going to be exciting, and Madame already has dozens of ideas about the wolf, the grandmother, and the Baker.
The IDF (really, probably Bibi) has allowed only a teaspoonful of aid to enter Gaza. I am SO TICKLED that Greenland signed a minerals agreement with Europe! Ha, ha! Finally found out why Thing hates Harvard: both Michelle and Barack graduated from it, and apparently Malia and Sasha attended, but Harvard refused to admit Barron Tr*ump.
Well, I’d better get to work. Wish a tech-savvy child or grandchild were here. I’m freaking out about the Summer Solstice ritual since B. won’t be here, but I’ll have to defer working on that until this article is finished.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond! Jan, you are so lucky to see the Moon! I know you will enjoy the sight for those of us who live in Foggy Swamp Land.