Yes bjd, I couldn't find an article originally written in English. Someone gave me that one that's a translation from an article from Spain.
I don't know when I'm going to the theatre, I hope it's soon, but it's very hard to get tickets, everybody wants to go.
I've got nothing to report except weather. It's cold!
I've mentioned here that I have an almost religious objection to turning on the AC before the end of May. This morning I had to put on three layers to avoid putting on the heat.
Oh, I turned my heating back on last week -- when it rained every day and it was 8°C on the Wednesday. The week before it was 25° on the Wednesday. I turned the heating off again yesterday, but am regretting it today. More rain. It is supposed to snow at 1200m in the Pyrenees tomorrow.
But, the 10,11,12 of May are called "les saints de glace" in France, and correspond to a period when there is often a cold snap. One is supposed to wait until after them to plant tomatoes, for example. And if any of you plan a trip to France, May is one of the worst months to do so -- it's often rainy and unpredictable.
We had an unusually cold late-season storm on Monday. Heavy rain here and snow in the mountains. Snow down to about 5000feet/1500 meters/ The average high for this time of year is 80F/27C. Monday it was 60F/16C.
As of yesterday, Mrs. Anna is still sitting. No chicks yet.
Just discovered that I made a mistake with the ice saints : 11,12 and 13. They exist in Germany too: die Eisheiligen.
And in the Netherlands: IJsheiligen. Certainly applies here in NY; it's been very cold the past few days.
Wikipedia says that the saints in question are St. Mamertus, St. Pancras, and St. Servatius, except in Poland where they are Pancras, St. Servatus and St. Boniface; St. Boniface's feast day falling on May 14.Those three are collectively known as the 'cold gardeners', the three days culminating in 'Zimna Zośka' (Cold Sophia's), the feast day of St. Sophia which falls on May 15.
The feasts were about 10 days later astronomically when the folklore originated and the Julian calendar was still in effect.
From what I read, in 1960 the Vatican decided that the cold saints (St Mamert, St Pancrace and St Servais) were too pagan, so they were replaced by Estelle, Achille and Rolande.
Mrs. Anna is now the proud mother of a bouncing baby birdlet. At least, I saw one little beak yesterday. This matches her pattern for the last couple of years--two chicks in the first brood & 1 in the second.
Vinny--know a good travel clinic in Balmer? Someone on the Health Branch is looking for one.