{"id":13296,"date":"2024-01-11T06:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/?p=13296"},"modified":"2024-01-10T15:19:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T21:19:42","slug":"random-thursday-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/2024\/01\/11\/random-thursday-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Random Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Howdy, fellow Gazetteers, and welcome to this special edition of Random Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just kidding&#8230;it&#8217;s the same old stuff; sorry if I got your hopes up. But at least you can still celebrate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaldaycalendar.com\/national-day\/national-milk-day-january-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Milk Day<\/a>. And guess what? Even if you don&#8217;t like milk, buy a gallon, pour it on the floor, summon a loved one (or even a stranger), and celebrate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaldaycalendar.com\/national-day\/national-step-in-a-puddle-and-splash-your-friends-day-january-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day<\/a>. Hilarity will ensue&#8230;possibly. But if not, gently but firmly blame your not-to-be-denied muse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Puddle Song\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9WRc6QY2pIo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"108\" height=\"15\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/divider.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13075\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I hardly ever use cash anymore, even though I generally carry a few bills with me, just in case. Now that almost everyone accepts contactless payments, more often than not I just use ApplePay on my watch to pay via a debit card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday was an exception, as I bought a quart of milk at the local market and felt kind of dumb paying for it with a card, even if it was just an exchange of electrons (I guess). So I handed the clerk a fin (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ceifx.com\/news\/5-currency-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-us-5-dollar-bill\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one of almost a trillion that were printed in 2018 alone<\/a>) and pocketed the dollar bill and coins in change. Those coins are one of the main reasons I don&#8217;t like to use cash, because I never use them for subsequent purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It had been a long time since I&#8217;d looked closely at coins and as I was getting ready to feed our piggy bank (which is actually a goose), a particularly shiny quarter caught my eye. The &#8220;tail&#8221; side of the coin appeared to feature&#8230;bats. I took a photo and enlarged it so I could confirm what I thought I was seeing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/batquarter.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Reverse side of a quarter commemorating the National Park of American Samoa\" class=\"wp-image-13298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/batquarter.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/batquarter-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/batquarter-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/batquarter-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/batquarter-400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This shall foreverafter be known at the Bat Coin, the storage vault for which is in the&#8230;don&#8217;t make me say it&#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This coin commemorates the National Park of American Samoa &#8212; did you know that such existed? &#8212; and the reverse side shows a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging upside down, young one (a pup) clinging to her. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmint.gov\/coins\/coin-medal-programs\/america-the-beautiful-quarters\/national-park-of-american-samoa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">This coin<\/a> is part of the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmint.gov\/learn\/coin-and-medal-programs\/america-the-beautiful-quarters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">America The Beautiful Quarters Program<\/a><\/em>, which was started in 2010 and contains 56 different National Park scenes &#8212; one for each state, territory, and the District of Columbia. [The park chosen for Texas is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmint.gov\/coins\/coin-medal-programs\/america-the-beautiful-quarters\/san-antonio-missions-national-historical-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">San Antonio Missions National Historical Park<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m happy that I decided to use cash for a change (or for THE change), but now that I&#8217;ve seen the Bat Coin, I have no desire to see any others as they can&#8217;t possibly live up to that exciting standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"108\" height=\"15\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/divider.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13075\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s been an extremely mild winter thus far in the Texas Hill Country but that&#8217;s about to come to a screeching halt. Today&#8217;s high temperature in Horseshoe Bay is supposed to be 76\u00ba; the low temperature next Monday morning is forecase to be more than sixty degrees colder than that. So, for the first time in almost a year, I&#8217;ve loaded a wheelbarrow with firewood from the aging stack outside of our back fence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the wood that I split still had loose bark, so I peeled it, primarily to reduce the mess when I carry the wood inside the house to put in the fireplace. Plus, it sometimes seems like logs with bark don&#8217;t burn as easily as those without, but I can&#8217;t find any scientific support for this observation, other than some bark has a <em>slightly<\/em> higher moisture content than the wood it protects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The real advantage to peeling that loose bark was quickly evident. Under one strip of bark I found a hibernating ladybug. And this is what I uncovered under another piece:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-twentytwentyone-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"543\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/geckoonfirewood.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: A tiny house gecko sought protection from the elements under the bark of a piece of firewood\" class=\"wp-image-13301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/geckoonfirewood.jpg 640w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/geckoonfirewood-300x255.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fortunately, barbecue gecko was not on the menu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This tiny Mediterranean house gecko&#8217; choice of a winter hiding spot was fraught with danger, and although he didn&#8217;t seem to be amused by his exposure, he wouldn&#8217;t have appreciated the alternative in the least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"108\" height=\"15\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/divider.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13075\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of weather, a cold front that rolled through the area a couple of days ago presented a rather dramatic scene. I posted the following photo on Facebook, so some of you may have already seen it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-twentytwentyone-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_unedited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_unedited.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_unedited-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_unedited-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It looked threatening, but only brought some rain and high winds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I took that photo from the parking lot of a CVS in Marble Falls that overlooks Lake Marble Falls and one of the city&#8217;s parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I thought the scene as captured by my phone&#8217;s camera was pretty impressive, but I also thought I could, you know, punch it up a little to increase the drama. Here&#8217;s what I was able to do, again using only the edit function on my iPhone&#8217;s Photos app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-twentytwentyone-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_edited.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_edited-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/coldfront_edited-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you want to view larger (2016 x 1512 pixels) versions of these photos, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/images\/miscphotos2\/coldfront_unedited_large.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\">here<\/a> for the original version and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/images\/miscphotos2\/coldfront_edited_large.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\">here<\/a> for the retouched version.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"108\" height=\"15\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/divider.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13075\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Closing Shot: Well, which is it?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-twentytwentyone-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"471\" src=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/crocsignmeme.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/crocsignmeme.jpg 640w, https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/crocsignmeme-300x221.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A soup\u00e7on of topics&#8230;nay, a mere melange of tidbits with which to while away yet another Thursday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,19,9,67,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-writing","category-random-thursday","category-society-culture","category-weather","category-wildlife-turtles-lizards","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/foggysunrise2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13296"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13307,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13296\/revisions\/13307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}