Please read this...Ugh...six more weeks of winter on the way

Way to go, groundhog.

The chubby rodent in Pennsylvania saw his shadow last Friday. He would have seen a shadow last Friday morning in Union County, too. Guess that means we get to have six more weeks of winter. Sigh...

...indeed, the groundhog's prognostication appears to be correct...

...we had some more snow last Sunday afternoon, which was accompanied by windy conditions and temperatures that were cold enough to make a photographer's hands hurt...

...more wintry precipitation was in the forecast for Tuesday night and early Wednesday of this week. Snow, freezing rain and such were possible. It's enough to make a groundhog stay in his hole until spring arrives, whenever that might happen. Hopefully, it won't be snowing on Independence Day...

...so, what happens when you try to shoot the moon, and it's nowhere to be found?

Last week, as you have heard, we had yet another chance to see a "super moon" in the sky above. The "super moon" occurred only days before a big game involving teams named after a patriotic bird and our patriotic forepersons. That got me to wondering about a few things.

The aforementioned "big game," as you most likely know, was Super Bowl LII. There. I carried on a long-standing tradition in this space. I used the words "Super" and "Bowl," without the express written consent of the National Football League. 

Same goes for the letters "L," "I" and "I," which, at least in this case, aren't actually letters. They are numbers. Or numerals. Not sure which is right. More specifically, they are Roman numerals. I think.

Given the world we live in nowadays, I also couldn't  help but wonder if it's OK to use the words "Philadelphia," "Eagles," "New," "England" and "Patriots" without the express written consent of the National Football League.

Ultimately, this all comes down to money. Most likely, you forked over some of your hard-earned funds to acquire this publication. As far as I know, the National Football League does not get any money from us. 

Since professional football is all about the big bucks these days, the National Football League is very protective about its money. Sometimes, it seems like those folks might be more worried about their money than the health of their players. Oops. Sorry. Socially relevant commentary. 

The game, by the way, was a pretty good one. 

Anyway, if it's OK with you folks, we'll go ahead and refer to the "super" moon, which I don't think I got to see last week.

The super moon made its appearance on Jan. 31. Said appearance was the second full moon to be seen during the month of January. That made the Jan. 31 display a blue moon.

Even more exciting, well, for some folks, was that a lunar eclipse also happened. Didn't get to see that, either. Got out early in the morning on Jan. 31, looked up in the sky and saw, well, saw the sky...

...guess I'll just have to make plans for the next lunar eclipse, which is supposed to happen on Jan. 21, 2019... 

***

Hope you don't mind, but yours truly wants to mention something personal this week.

During the past few years, I've been blessed to have some help...actually, a whole lot of help...from a couple of young folks who are fellow travelers on The Journey Through Life.

One of the travelers had already moved on to bigger and, hopefully, better things. The other traveler is preparing to do the same. 

Thank you, to both of these folks, who helped to make life a little bit easier. Best of luck as you open the next chapters in your life.

***

One last thing for this week...it's been cold...after it's been warm...after it's been cold...after it's been warm...

...such conditions offer perfect opportunities to sit down in your favorite chair with a good book, maybe even The Good Book, if you so choose...

...with that in mind, let me offer another shameless plug...

...a winter book sale is planned Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 9-11, at Stinson Memorial Library in Anna.The book sale is being sponsored by the Friends of Stinson.

An appreciation sale for members of the Friends of Stinson is planned from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. It's pretty easy to join, and helps to support our library.

The sale is scheduled to be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., a full bag of books will be available for $5...

...who knows, maybe you'll find the perfect book, or books, to help get you through the next six weeks of winter...most of all, though, keep on reading...and try to stay warm...