One of my favorite views - Island With Eagle at end of Day
I have to admit that I am not positive of the 'Eagle' as I did not notice him on taking the photograph but on sufficient cropping to enlarge the photograph it does seem to have a white head - that plus the loneness of the single bird seems to rule out a vulture, so I surmise 'Eagle'
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - all my life I knew the first verse and that was that, and thinking about this in my sleep I decided to see the whole poem
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
By Jane Taylor
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
How could he see where to go,
If you did not twinkle so?
In the dark blue sky you keep,
Often through my curtains peep
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
The lyrics to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, come from a poem titled "The Star" written by the English poet, Jane Taylor (1783-1824). Taylor published the poem in her book Rhymes for the Nursery in London in 1806.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and The Alphabet Song all share the same tune! The famous melody is also used in many other songs including German, Hungarian, Spanish, and Turkish Christmas carols. So who composed this famous tune? Many people think it was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but that's not true. The tune is actually an old French melody titled "Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman" ("Shall I tell you, Mother?") that first appeared without words in Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy by M. Bouin in Paris in 1761. Twenty years later, when Mozart was 25 or 26, he composed a set of 12 improvisations based on "Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman."
DECEMBER TWENTY-FIRST (being that shortest day of year)
DECEMBER TWENTY-FIRST
(being that shortest day of year)
Today, the sun rolls on the tops
Of the elms and soonest drops
Into the pinewood at the west.
The hens are scarcely off the nest
To scratch for hot corns in the straw
Before the umber shadows draw
Across the henhouse, and they must
Fly to roost in clouds of dust.
The cows eyes grow their biggest early
The ferns of frost renew their curly
Fronds the soonest on the pane,
The little mice creep to the grain.
While little ponds are hardly thawed
Before their surfaces are flawed
With new needles of green cold.
Farmhouse windows turn to gold
At barely half-past three o’clock.
The briefer sun, the longer talk
By fireside , where sweet the bloom
Of popcorn flowers scents the room,
And the roasting herring’s smoke
Mingles with the smell of oak.
In the sunlight of old wood
Homely furniture looks so good,
A star shines in each scoured pan,
And it feels good to be a man.
Robert B. Tristram Coffin
Tree Up Today
My young son and I went out to get our Christmas Tree today, 20 Dec, just about the earliest I have ever cut a tree. Over Colora way we had spotted this little tree farm with closed, weekends only sign and decided to go back today. Again closed, but we knocked on the door of the house and a very nice lady agreed that we could get out trees (Calum wanted one also) if we wanted. And we did after about 10 to 15 minutes surveying the trees and making our choice.
The Little Thrush Did Recover
If I had been outside away from the house when this little thrush (Hermit I think - re they are the most likely winter candidate in this area and the colorations fit) flew into the window pane I am fairly certain he would have died in the cold icy snow for he was in disarray and not moving when I picked him up. No chest movement at all and completely limp. I cupped him in my hands and went inside before the wood stove and after about 10 minutes or so his chest started to move even though his eyes were still dull and distant. Gradually he became more living though not making any efforts to wiggle or escape being cupped within my hands. I loosely wrapped him in an old worn bit of cloth table napkin and took him outside and after a small amount of time maybe 10 minutes or so he wanted free. The above picture is where I put him on the porch chair just before the one I already posted with my hand across its shoulder - when I had moved my hand off, it flew off like new.
A Fire at Night - Robert P Tristram Coffin
A Fire at Night
A man should kindle once a year
A fire after dark and peer
Across this little world of light
Into the faces of the night.
On such a night of sparks and gust
He reads the Apocalypse of dust,
Knows, without his brain to guide him,
The emptiness and fear inside him,
The loneliness and bitter plight
Of a creature fed on light
Which must burn out. He hears the tread
Of vast feet above his head
Where the future and the dark
Lean above his dying spark.
And as he tends the tender shoots
Of fire, he can feel the roots
That grow from him and reach out far
Till their tendrils clutch a star.
He feels the safety of the sky
Curved about him cold and high,
He comprehends eternal life
Keen before him, like a knife
Between him and the silence going
Beyond the reach
of any knowing.
It is good to stand with flame
By the gulf that has no name.
By the gulf that has no name.
Glenmorangie Single Malt - The Quinta Ruban, 14 year old - with full bottle and original packaging - and additional comments and reasons I am featuring this whisky
I do not receive any monies or such for posting these Scotch products at all, it is just a hobby of mine - both the whiskies and the blog, but I do enjoy introducing like-minded individuals to the joys of good single malt Scotch whiskies or/and to ones that this Scot miser finds that fit into his low budget sidelines. This particular one (see above) that I am commenting on is about $50 (U.S.) and to me is head and shoulders above those bland blends by Johnny Walker that range in the hundreds of dollars, although not at all in the range of the strong malty peaty flavours that I enjoy most.
This lovely bit of Scotch is smooth and easy to drink (and by drink I mean taking your time to swirl the liquor around the glass to note the viscosity, and then to smell gently for a few moments to enjoy the enhancements of a good malt liquor before taking a small sip and savoring the varieties of flavor and how the alcohol enhances those flavors and then when finally swallowing your 1/4 ounce or so, relaxing to enjoy the 'finish' to see what flavours remain on your palate). It is smooth and exciting - to use an over used word - and lets you extend the pleasure of such a contribution of taste to your life.
I really enjoy malts with much stronger combinations of malt and smokey peaty flavours but for those of you that might like to try a smooth but non-bland single malt this is the go-to of the day. Number One in my book - and the biggest compliment from a true mean (i.e. tight with his money) Scot, is that I have several bottles in my collection as caution against the invariable rise in price as the news gets around.
Glenmorangie Single Malt - The Quinta Ruban, 14 year old - with the company comments
"A voluptuously silky spirit, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is aged first in bourbon casks for smooth, fruity notes. We then finish this single malt whisky in ruby port casks to create velvety depth. Our Quinta Ruban port cask finish brings chocolate boldness to Glenmorangie's renowned smooth style. Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel, it is savoured all over the world. A voluptuously silky spirit, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is aged first in bourbon casks for smooth, fruity notes. We then finish this single malt whisky in ruby port casks to create velvety depth. Our Quinta Ruban port cask finish brings chocolate boldness to Glenmorangie's renowned smooth style. Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel, it is savoured all over the world.
A voluptuously silky spirit, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is aged first in bourbon casks for smooth, fruity notes. We then finish this single malt whisky in ruby port casks to create velvety depth.
Our Quinta Ruban port cask finish brings chocolate boldness to Glenmorangie's renowned smooth style. Non chill-filtered for additional aroma and mouthfeel, it is savoured all over the world.
Taste: Mint chocolate and walnuts envelop the palate like velvet, laying the foundations for rose, Turkish delight and sweet Seville oranges.
Finish: Long lasting silky aftertaste leaving dark chocolate mints and traces of orange."
The above is all from their website.
Glenmorangie Single Malt - The Quinta Ruban, 14 year old and for the age and the money it is the pinnacle of their whiskies
- and here I am with about an ounce + in my personal glass, of perfect size for me to gently smell, then swirl to see the adhesion cling to the glass, and then softly sip and inhale the amazing taste of this malt whisky - as I often say, I think that whisky taste descriptions that call out chocolate, and orange, and citrus etc really elude me but indeed I find some whiskies so much more alluring than others because of tastes that are subtle and fleeting and palates more sensitized than my own perhaps, can call out these overtures of water through granite and aging in charred casks of such unlikely inputs to the taste but as for me there are some basic inputs of alcohol content, barley, peat overtures, how long the flavours linger, the smoothness of the whisky and the embracing background of multiple tastes competing for your attention - and overall a drink worth savoring because as in life strong robust intrusions into your consciousness can build your appreciation of being alive AND this is why I personally believe that some highly priced blended whiskies such as Johnny Walker Blue etc are just a waste of money that could be better spent on something besides malt whisky. If you like Johnny Walker (which is a choice that is undeniably yours to make) then my reviews are not for you.
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