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January 20th, for unspecified reasons, is designated as Cheese Lover’s Day.
There are many types of cheese to choose from, from the mild to the strong to the stinky. So please celebrate by enjoying whatever is your favorite cheese today. For those of you who sadly are lactose intolerant, my deepest sympathies.
Sandra Heska King is a contributor to The Mischief Cafe, published by T.S. Poetry Press, an extension of Tweetspeak Poetry, an on-line space for poets and poetry-lovers.
To read Sandra Heska King’s poem “Round of Cheese” click:
“A flower’s appeal is in its contradictions –
so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance,
so small in size yet big in beauty,
so short in life yet long on effect.”
– Terri Guillemets
“Flowers always make people better, happier
and more helpful; they are sunshine, food
and medicine for the soul.”
– Luther Burbank
“Every flower must grow through dirt.”
– Laurie Jean Sennott
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January 14 is International Kite Day, which grew out of Uttarayan, a major kite festival in India which marks the beginning of summer there.
Seamus Heaney (1939-2013), one of the major poets of the 20th century, was born in Northern Ireland, and later lived in Dublin for many years. He was the author of over 20 volumes of poetry and criticism, and won the 1955 Nobel Prize for Literature. Heaney taught at Harvard University (1985-2006) and served as Oxford Professor of Poetry (1989-1994). He died at the age of 74 in 2013.
Heaney wrote “A Kite for Aibhin” as a welcome for his new-born granddaughter
To read Seamus Heaney’s poem click:
“Well, there’s one thing:
they can’t order me to stop dreaming.”
– Cinderella
“In order to rise from its own ashes,
a phoenix first must burn.”
– Octavia Butler
“Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can the floods drown it:
If a man would give all the substance
of his house for love, It would
utterly be contemned.”
– Song of Solomon 8: 7 (KJV)
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January 7 is Old Rock Day – a celebration of the Earth’s rocks, their incredible history, and the amazing geologists who help us understand them.
The study of rocks was first introduced by the Ancient Greek Theophrastus (287 BC) in his work, “Peri Lithon” (“On Stones”), and became the cornerstone of geology for other interested scientists. The study was advanced by Pliny the Elder, who recorded numerous minerals and metals in great detail, with a particular focus on their practical use. Although working without the tools we use today, Pliny was able to correctly identify the origin of amber as fossilized tree resin.
It wasn’t until 1603 when the word ‘geology’ was used for the first time by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi. It took a further 150 years for the first geological maps to be drawn by British geologist William Smith, whose work began the process of ordering rock layers by examining the fossils contained in them.
Then, in 1785, James Hutton wrote and presented a paper to the Royal Society of Edinburgh called ‘Theory of the Earth’, which outlined his belief that the world was far older than previously thought. His breakthroughs make him widely considered the first modern geologist.
“Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the appointment of former career Justice Department prosecutor and former chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, Jack Smith, to serve as Special Counsel to oversee two ongoing criminal investigations.”
Department of Justice – November 18, 2022
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And now we welcome the new year.
Full of things that have never been.
– Rainer Maria Rilke
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 