Quiet Limit of the World

Last evening (January 5th!) is the earliest I can remember ever hearing a cricket chirp since I moved here. I am now almost convinced that said cricket is immortal. True, the evening was milder than is normal for the time of year, but still colder than any evening on which one would expect to hear a cricket. And that cricket has already survived some much chillier nights than this. Though he is merely a cricket, and neither a cicada or a grasshopper, I've begun to call him Tithonus, after the unfortunate lover of Dawn and inspiration for one of Tennyson's best known works.

Eos has not yet stretched out her rosy fingers, and Selene has long since gone to her bath. There were stars for a while, but they have grown fewer as the hazy sky of last evening has become ever more dense throughout the night. Now it is almost all clouds. Rain is likely to return today, but not until evening. The ground has barely had a chance to dry since the last storm, and the sodden mass of piled leaves moldering under the wild plum bushes still sends out the damp smell of decay. The local lawns, of course, are improbably lush. It looks as though it's going to be a very green winter.

I just had to fish a gnat from my glass of water. I air-dried it as best I could while it was on my fingernail, and then let it fall onto a paper napkin. Now it lies there, looking mostly dead, but now and then wriggling its legs. So far it hasn't tried to extend its wings. Maybe they are still too wet. I'll leave it there for a while and see if it flies away. If it doesn't, I suppose I should put it out of its misery. Stupid bug. Why would it go swimming when it doesn't know how?

Also: I have walnuts.

Clearly

The moon spent a couple of hours sneaking in and out of clouds, and finally vanished altogether a while ago. I haven't heard the cricket tonight, though the air is even milder than it was yesterday evening. But the crazy gladiolus by the fence is blooming again, joining the crazy azalea which bloomed all fall. The weather has gone all cubist over the last couple of years. Global Warming Descending a Staircase. There'll probably be something resembling a March rainstorm within a few hours. I've quit worrying about getting stuck with any big snowstorms this year. It looks as though it will be Pineapple Express for the rest of the winter.

This is probably old meme, but it's another of those things I've never seen before. Having seen it, I must say that I'd have been better off not having done so. It's The World Beard and Moustache Championships. Facial hair doesn't bother me. In fact, I have some myself, but these guys are extreme. They are the Bam Margeras of facial hair. Some of them are more than a tad creepy. I'm glad I'm nocturnal, as this will give me several hours to forget what I've seen, thus reducing the chances of having nightmares about being stalked by Rasputin, Karl Marx, and assorted Victorian mesmerists and marching bands.