I did not set the alarm when going to bed early this morning because I had already decided that I was not getting up to track the birds. Not enough hours between bedtime and 6:15 a.m. to get good sleep. Turns out I was awake, anyway…but stayed in bed on the off chance I’d drift back off to sleep. Got up at 7:15…the sun was fully up and the birds were having breakfast but there was still time for a bike ride before the heat got unbearable. Rode eight miles on the frontage road…four miles each way.
----------
I
googled ‘grasshoppers in Arizona’ and found that I’m not the only one to notice
the sudden increase in grasshopper activity. Pest experts say
that the wet fall season and early spring heat are responsible for this year’s abundance of grasshoppers. This combination of conditions causes soil to warm sooner,
triggering an early emergence. These are pallid-winged grasshoppers
whose life expectancy is from 30 to 90 days and are not to be confused with
locusts. Grin and bear it for a few more weeks and they’ll be gone.
----------
We’ve been noticing
the increased length of trains in the last year or two; however, every time I
try to count one to verify its length, the speed of the train hinders my efforts.
As I was riding today, a train was coming down the track slowly. Perfect train car counting opportunity. I stopped and used a fixed
point for a count reference. I came up with 184 cars; however, there is
a good possibility there were a few more. According to my rough calculations the
train was over 2 miles long. It seems for an accurate length I’d need to track
the number of freight cars, flatcars and engines because all three are
different lengths. I didn’t do that, so I’m okay with a rough calculation.
----------
On
my bike ride, I got to wondering about the Gregorian calendar and who was
responsible for setting up the schedule of days and months that govern our
lives. Because I know this fact: this stuff was not taught in any class I had
in school. So, I did a Google search and honestly, I found and read more information
than I probably needed to know, but that’s the nature of going down these
rabbit holes. And I have the time, so why not?
The Gregorian calendar is the internationally
recognized civil calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582 to
correct the 11-minute annual drift of the Julian calendar, which
caused seasonal misalignment. It’s highly accurate, only shifting by one day
every 3,300 years, achieved by adjusting leap years—specifically by excluding
centurial years not divisible by 400.
Purpose: The primary purpose was to correct the Julian calendar,
which had drifted by 10 days, to align Easter and other Christian holidays with
the spring equinox.
How
it Works: It maintains a
365-day year with 12 months, adding a leap day in February every four years,
except for century years (e.g., 1700, 1800, 1900) that are not divisible by 400
(e.g., 2000 was a leap year, 2100 will not be).
Implementation: Pope
Gregory XIII issued the change via a papal bull, Inter gravissimas, in
February 1582, with many Catholic countries adopting it immediately by skipping
10 days in October 1582.
Months: The
months remain the same as the Julian system. Thirty days has September, April,
June and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except February which has 28,
sometimes 29.
Accuracy: By
calculating the tropical year as days (rather than 365.25), it is
remarkably accurate and the global standard today.
This made me curious about the
Julian calendar but that’s for
another day. Need to let my brain think on this for a day or so.
----------
Adam left today…got
a text saying he landed safely in Grand Rapids. We enjoyed his visit, despite
the heat hampering our activities. My mom flies into Mesa tomorrow; she’ll be
here the remainder of the month and then ride home with us.
----------
Three, maybe four years ago two traffic lights were
installed at intersections on Hwy 87, one near a manufacturing plant and one
near the correctional facility. The light at Houser Rd. was functional right
away; it helps facilitate traffic flow when workers from the nearby Lucid
factory (formerly Nikola) head home. The light at Hanna Rd is still not
operational; it’s been hanging over the road for at least 3 years, and the
lights are still covered. The ironic thing about that traffic light is that it
was installed after a fatal car/motorcycle accident occurred at that
very intersection in 2021. The biker, an employee of the correctional facility,
was hit and killed as he headed home from his shift. A roadside memorial
consisting of a cross adorned with his vest, t-shirt and helmet, along with a
bench, was moved a few yards from its original location during the installation
of the traffic light. Time and money
went into installing the light; it’s mystifying to me that it’s there but still
not operational.
----------
There was a
cookout at Joe and Mikki’s tonight. Ryan/Felicia, Jaden, Ozias, Audra, Joe/Mikki,
and Kim/Karen. Asked what we could bring…Joe said everything was covered. Drove
to Casa Grande this afternoon for two reasons: a ride in an air-conditioned vehicle
and to get cookies, because we’re not going empty-handed tonight. I’m sure the
cookies will be on our doorstep tomorrow but that’s okay. I wanted to contribute.
----------
No comments:
Post a Comment