April Charm

Le Jardins de Quatre-Vents, La Malbaie, Québec

When April scatters coins of primrose gold
Among the copper leaves in thickets old,
And singing skylarks from the meadows rise,
To twinkle like black stars in sunny skies;

When I can hear the small woodpecker ring
Time on a tree for all the birds that sing;
And hear the pleasant cuckoo, loud and long—
The simple bird that thinks two notes a song;

When I can hear the woodland brook,that could
Not drown a babe, with all his threatening mood:
Upon whose banks the violets make their home,
And let a few small strawberry blossoms come;

When I go forth on such a pleasant day,
One breath outdoors takes all my care away;
It goes like heavy smoke, when flames take hold
Of wood that’s green and fill a grate with gold.

- William H. Davies, 1920

February 2022 Personal Inflation Indice

The national CPI addressed the "average" expense for a basket of goods. The argument is the same for the analogy of not using the "average" national family size of 3.1. Thus national CPI average inflation indice should not apply to every family due to differences in demographics, age, dependents, and etc.

As applied to me, a fine tuning of the national inflation indice was appropriate. I calculated three life-style representative CPI categories. The conclusion for the inflation affect personally was less severely felt.

Here are the three CPI categories compared in February:

Food and Beverages (National Inflation Index): 7.6%

Personal: 2.5%

Transportation (National Inflation Index): 21.1%

Personal: 1.5%

Other Goods and Services (National Inflation Index): 5.6%

Personal (Monthly Bills Only): 3.4%

First Day of Spring, 2022: And So This Emblem Shall Forever Be

Lo, Spring comes forth with all her warmth and love,
She brings sweet justice from the realms above;
She breaks the chrysalis, she resurrects the dead;
Two butterflies ascend encircling her head.
And so this emblem shall forever be
A sign of immortality.

—Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905)

Could A St. Biden Be Next?

The Russian Bear Could Eat Half or All of This Fish

Valentine’s Day 2022

Then Came Old February

Then came old February, sitting
In an old wagon, for he could not ride,
Drawn of two fishes for the season fitting,
Which through the flood before did softly slide
And swim away; yet he had by his side
His plow and harness fit to till the ground,
And tools to prune the trees, before the pride
Of hasting prime did make them bourgeon wide.

—Edmund Spenser.

1 February, 2022 - Lunar New Year of the Tiger

My New Year’s Letter to All Visitors

1 January 2022, Local Atmospheric Conditions

Lat: 37.7° N
0657 Hours PDT
Current Conditions: 37°F/2.8°C, Cloudy
Humidity: 47%
Dew Point: 30°F
Wind: 3.0 mph

Astronomy:

1 January, 2022            Rise:        Set:
Actual Time            7:20 AM PDT  4:57 PM PDT
Civil Twilight         6:51 AM PDT  5:26 PM PDT
Nautical Twilight      6:18 AM PDT  5:59 PM PDT
Astronomical Twilight  5:46 AM PDT  6:30 PM PDT
Moon                   6:21 AM PDT  3:51 PM PDT

Waning Crescent, 1% of the moon is illuminated

Length of Visible Light 10h 35m
Length of Day 9h 36m
Tomorrow will be 00m 39s longer