In Pursuit Of Maine: January 20, 2015 - Sun Pillar

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

January 20, 2015 - Sun Pillar

A small sun pillar is my reward for hailing Ra on his journey to the underworld tonight. A sun pillar is an optical phenomenon that occurs when sunlight reflects on ice crystals with somewhat horizontal parallel planar surfaces. They drift quickly back and forth as they fall downward. Usually the crystals are associated with very high clouds, but for some reason, these lower clouds are dropping their little crystals. The sun has to be very low on the horizon or just below the horizon for a pillar to form. The reflection on the crystals makes a beam that extends five to ten degrees beyond the sun, and voila, a sun pillar is formed.

Sun pillars don’t last very long, maybe 10 minutes or so, sometimes only a few seconds. This one was visible for about a minute. I’m taking it as a sign of good luck. I think Ra’s chariot must be very grand, indeed, to elicit such beauty. Tonight he fights in the underworld and will drive Apep away when he returns at dawn tomorrow morning. Will he bring another sun pillar then, I wonder? I wouldn’t be surprised.

A sun pillar appears as Ra heads to the underworld.

"The Plain Maine Cookbook" is my own collection of vintage Maine recipes that will immediately bring you back to a simpler time, a less confused time. These recipes are more than just comfort food. They're family food, traditional food, simple food, plain food. One bite and you'll say, "Ah, yes! I remember my grandmother used to make this. I had forgotten all about it!" Recipes for whoopie pies, funnel cakes, fried fiddleheads, haymaker's switchel, coffee can bread, glogg, and much more are in these pages. There is even a recipe on how to render lard. So open the door and go back to some simple, time-tested foods you can prepare easily. You'll find that you save money and waste less by "making do" with commodity cooking. What's in the pantry or in the garden is what's for dinner.

"So You Want to Move to Maine" is an invaluable little book in helping people to make a permanent move to Maine. It will save you a ton of time because all the initial footwork is done for you, including 100 links on how to find work and living quarters, getting your driver's license, pet requirements, programs for people with disabilities, programs for senior citizens, getting married in Maine, hidden taxes and expenses, hospitals, health insurance, handling a real winter like a pro, etc. Stop being "just a number" or another face in the crowd. Walk away from the rat race. Become boldly individualistic and make your mark in life. You can still do that in Maine, one of the last holdouts of ordinary, old-fashioned, kind, and decent American living.

I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.