Tortoise and Hare Revisited

Aesop, a Greek storyteller, wove a fable about the race between a tortoise and a hare to reveal how to conquer an opponent's over-confidence.

The hare bragged about his speed to all the animals. "I have never yet been beaten when I exercise my full speed," he said. "I challenge anyone here to race with me."

     The tortoise said, "I accept your challenge." 

     "What?" laughed the hare. "I could dance around you all the way." 

     The tortoise responded, "Let's race?" 

     The hare zoomed ahead. Soon he flew out of sight of the tortoise. Laughing, he stopped and, to show his contempt for the tortoise, decided to take a nap under a tree. The tortoise plodded on and plodded on. When the hare awoke from his nap, he trotted on and soon saw the tortoise approach the finishing line. 

The hare and could not race up in time to beat the tortoise. The tortoise won the race.


Penny's version: 

Many centuries later, at dusk, a tiny turtle wandered the trail near his pond when a bunny bounced by. As the evening darkened, stars exhibited their shapes in a clear sky. 

When bunny stopped to nibble on a root, the turtle caught up.

"Happy evening," said the turtle. "Nice to catch you. Our relatives did not have a good experience," the turtle told the bunny.



"Yep," said the bunny. "My relatives bragged way too much about never losing. Why do we have to beat one another?"

The turtle smiled and directed the bunny toward a stump with a view to the night's stars. "Back then slow but steady progress won the race. Let's find companionship and use imagination to discover our images up in the sky." 

The bunny pointed upward and agreed, "Companionship and collaboration always win in the best way."

The new friends settled on the stump and reveled in nature's display. They fell asleep under the stars.

The next day, the turtle asked, "May I take you for a swim in my lake?" 

'What fun," the bunny wriggled and hopped onto the turtle's shell. "Let's go we have adventures ahead.

Celebrate the Day!

Punxsutawney Phil, the furry forecaster, predicts spring each year.

If Phil sees cloudy skies, he will leave his burrow, signifying that winter will end soon. If sunshine prevails, the groundhog will become frightened by seeing his shadow and retreat to his burrow. Then winter drags on for six more weeks. He did not see his shadow today so spring is on its way.
 
A German superstition says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last six more weeks.

The California counterpart of Punxsutawney Phil is a desert tortoise named Mojave Maxine. Her claim to season-predicting fame doesn't involve her shadow. 

Maxine's year of prediction involves awakening and toddling out of her burrow. Her body knows when to sleep based on the outside temperatures and the change in daylight hours. 

At the Living Desert Animal Park in Palm Desert, visitors watched her trundle out between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

Maxine will be 43 years old in April.

Each year a contest is held for students to guess the date and time Maxine will make appearance of the year.




Student prediction contest:  http://www.livingdesert.org/mojave-maxine/

In addition to spring predictions, today’s date is a palindrome date: 02/02/2020.

The date reads the same backward and forward. It is celebrated around the world, according to Aziz Inan, a University of Portland professor of electrical engineering.

A date with the year written with two digits, instead of four, will repeat each century.

Celebrate the day.

Scenes of the Sea

Before the storm, the sea flaunts its personalities. 

During their flights of defiance against the wind, seagulls ripple on the currents like kites. They evade the force as long as possible, wielding magic in the thrust of wings. 

Pigeons circle in formations catching the drafts. Subtle changes alert the birds' radar to seek shelter before intensity could whip them from the sky. 

Pelicans and seagulls find protection on the edges of cliffs as winds broil. Cormorants rise into the branches of pine trees and preen. A winter sea and sky toy with the color wheel and capture a view that defies a camera's eye.

In India, darshan means getting a view. The clouds escape to reveal a panorama of the Himalayas from the foothills. The Himalayas give up their darshan. They're letting you have their view.

The Pacific ocean has provided a darshan on its day of wonder. It doesn't show itself right away. The tease encourages a search for your own words and imagery of discovery. 

The sky provides an opening. Where does it lead?

As the storm passes, the sea calms and reflects its blue.










 

Discover ways to explore a winter scene.