ASTRONOMY vs ASTROLOGY

MARTEN ARTS GALLERY

The rains began around 7 this morning bringing with them a warm front which enshrouded the whole coastline in fog thus putting an end to any hope for a sailboat regatta to-day. Bayfield seems to have bad weather luck when it comes to their annual Sail & Canvas event each year. (I later found out the boats did go out in the fog but you couldn't see them from the shore anyway)

Noticed on my FEEDJIT site that a lot of folks clicked on one particular picture from yesterday's blog so this morning while in Bayfield I stopped & took a few more photos of "Marten Arts Gallery." It was not well identified in the photo yesterday.

We have an older fellow in the park here who does superb woodworking in his garage now that he is retired. He uses exotic woods to painstakingly make very fine vases & bowls etc. After assembling the woods into patterns he turns them on a lathe & finishes them to a fine product. It had been a hobby but more & more people have been urging him to sell his handiwork. Hank decided awhile back to do that so I helped set up a web album site for him & you can see his woodworking skills here... http://picasaweb.google.com/paduka75/RIVERROADWOODCRAFT#

While browsing around this morning on our favorite RV Net Open Roads website http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm I clicked on one of my favorite forums called, Around The Campfire. One of the topics was titled, "Is anyone here into Astronomy?" That perked my interest because astronomy is another one of my interests & I know my way around the night sky reasonable well. I bought a book called "Nightwatch" by Terence Dickinson back in the spring of 2000 & have spent many contented hours with my sky charts & flashlight under the stars learning the constellations, planets, galaxies, & stars, etc. Astronomy is often confused with something else called Astrology & I am always quick to point out that the two of them are totally different. A few years ago I came across the following explanation about the difference between the two & I think the writer sums it up perfectly..............

ASTRONOMY vs ASTROLOGY

People sometimes confuse Astronomy with Astrology. Although related in ancient myth they are literally light years apart in the realm of fact & fantasy. Here is a brief explanation of the difference....
"Astronomy is a science that compels us to seek beyond ourselves and our small world, a science of discovery that enriches our lives by exercising our brain and our intellect. It empowers you to think clearly and rationally. It improves and sharpens critical thinking skills." It may even encourage you to free up your mind to think beyond conventional religious beliefs.
"Astrology disempowers you. By placing your future in the accidental configuration of planets and stars, you avoid taking responsibility for your actions, you fail to make decisions based on your own best self interest, and you give up the power to control your own destiny. Belief in astrology results in a degradation of critical thinking skills, which, combined with the loss of power to control your own destiny, can only serve to degrade your life, not enrich it."
"Be in charge of your life. Experience the mystery, awe, and excitement of observational astronomy..............................................

I'm going to try using medium size photos in to-night's blog & that should make them clickable to enlarge. I will try some different structuring as well. Despite last night's spacing mess I did learn some things. To-night's pics are Bayfield oriented so I will put in my link again for the Bayfield Photos I took last August.
BAYFIELD TOUR http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/gallery/5845016_7pESE#362675509_zZfh9

Maybe one of these fine days I'll even figure out how you people add links by just using a name instead of the whole address like I did above. And, I've noticed some sites are able to read the photo captions by just holding the mouse over the photo. How do you smart people figure all these things out anyway.............................:))

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AN EXPERIMENTAL PHOTO BLOG TO-NIGHT

It's already 8 p.m. & I haven't come up with an idea for a blog yet so I'll just post some pics on the site that I took this afternoon of Bayfield in a little 10 minute walk-a-round in the center of town.

I'm going to post the pics in a small/medium format & see if that will make them clickable to enlarge. I know I used to able to do this quite awhile ago but not sure if my Picasa is running just a hundred per cent so this post might be a bit of a mish mosh as I see what will work & what won't. I'm not even going to try getting captions under these pics but will put all the photos in a June Web Album maybe next week...................

Try clicking on the photos to enlarge them

Yes, I know I have one of the photos in here twice but I'm tooooooo tired to try & dig it back out. And I also know I will not be trying this little photo experiment again!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

MY FAVORITE OLD BOOK COVER

THIS IS THE BOOKCOVER THAT STARTED MY LOVE OF THE OLD WILD WEST BACK IN THE EARLY 50'S

Some of you folks might be interested in knowing how a rattlesnake got into the backpack of The Happy Campers so check out the June 14th entry of Rex & Mary. They are currently camped in the Black Mountains near Oatman, Arizona & you can find them here... http://rexandmary.blogspot.com/

The photo at the top of the blog is the actual cover of a book I had when I was a small boy growing up back in the early 50's. The rest of the book is gone but I found the cover while cleaning out my Mother's house years ago. It was this book that I would look through over & over marveling at all the wild west cowboy pictures. My imagination was in overdrive as I turned the pages looking at desert scenes, mountains, stagecoaches, cowboys, sagebrush, & towering cactus. The drawings came alive for me & it was in these colorful pages that my love for the American southwest took hold. Little did I know that many years later I would actually be living for a few months of the year in the very same lands where these pictures were drawn from. It was exciting stuff for a young boy years ago & it's still exciting stuff for that young boy these many years later.

THAT IS PINE POLLEN ON THE WINDSHIELD

Bayfield's nautical community & local merchants have their fingers crossed for good weather this coming week-end. Sail & Canvas is a popular annual sailing regatta with many boats on the water competing & racing. The towns wide main street is filled with outdoor artisans & musians. People come from near & far to take part in the festivities.........weather permitting!!AS KIDS WE ALWAYS CALLED THIS EARLY MORNING STUFF ON THE GRASS............FROG SPIT

To-day's Pun.......Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/