The low light glow from the setting sun looks soothing on this backyard tree. Perhaps you recall this was the poor tree being drilled by the Sapsucker this past Winter.
The bark of the entire tree exhibits hundred upon hundreds of holes from that determined sapsucker….here a few dozen holes are attempting to mend.
The hula hoop love (video link..click it) at Burning Man (2012) is dizzily interesting and the visuals ah…interesting. Found this over at the ever hip and cynical Buster’s Blog. A G0-Pro Camera was reportedly used to capture the action. The video went viral last year.
Some of you may have to have a You Tube sign in for over 18 content (not that naughty…honest). Sorry, but worth it!!! Fun
“Creator Rob Vokel said: ‘This started with a simple idea when I duct-taped my Go-Pro to a hula-hoop and took it to Black Rock City'” (DailyMail)
Oh my. We have witnessed some celebratory Piñata over the years. Having been invited to quite a few birthday parties by our dear friends from Mexico, we have held our breath as blindfolded children swung away while other children bobbed and weaved to avoid be coldcocked by a swinging stick, bat, bar and shovel handle. We have watched this in backyards, barns and basements (Winter time).
Sonia Flores Ruiz (Fine Art America)
This morning, I was watching a program re the history of the Piñata. The show noted the origin was in Italy (Pignatta). The piece to be battered originally had seven protruding spikes, which represented the Seven Deadly Sins (Mortal/Cardinal). The Pignatta was representative of temptations or the devil and was battered to defeat temptation and the reward was the modest gifts contained inside that fell to earth with the defeat of temptation. Today, of course, candy usually falls to the floor.
I say usually because a few years ago, our backyard Piñata effort had a different ending. The kids swung away, battering the Piñata until it broke. But, kids and adults stood silent. Nothing fell out. Everyone looked at my Mom-in-law. “Where’s the candy?” She exclaimed “I paid $8.00 for that thing. You mean there’s no candy inside?!” She didn’t realize she had to fill it and reseal it.
The Pignatta tradition moved into Spain to become the Piñata tradition and eventually to the New World as a religious celebration to help instill Catholic values and compete with the native rituals. Today, the Piñata is less the religious ritual and seven spiked affair and more the celebratory event for kids.
If everyone is lucky, no one gets clobbered!!
One of the more prevalent freshwater insects, that is a tasty morsel for trout, is the Green Rock Worm Caddis larva (Rhyacophila).
