A Day in June

 Today is Sunday, a day in June. June 21  is  Father's Day, and here's light rain falling here. More  severe weather downstate, tornado possible in the area near Effingham, which was hit very hard in the storms on June 17. EF-3 damage, but  fortunately no fatalities!

Yes there are tornado watches and warnings in central Illinois today, too. Be safe everyone...

June 19 marked Juneteenth--A federal holiday--no mail and banks closed. The Obama Center opened to the public, a celebration of hope and better days to cone.  

The day before, June 18, was the Dedication Ceremony, and the attendees included past presidents, musicians and other celebrities--- Bill and Hilary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, and Joe and Jill Biden were there.  Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayo Brandon Johnson were there too, It was a beautiful day. One of those rare perfect days.

And it's also Summer Solstice today! Celebrate the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. It's been meteorological summer since june 1st, but now astronomical smmer begins. 

Let's hope for more beautiful summer days...

 

Maybe May

 May will have two full moons this month--the first one is called the flower moon. The second one is called a blue moon.

May be very green, blue skies, flowers and blooming trees--

redbud, and dogwoods, lilacs and lily of the valley

May be pollen and allergies--achoo!

May be sun and 60's, May be frost warnings overnight.

May be T-shirts and jackets, cargo shorts and hoodies 

May be flowered dresses

May be weeding and pruning, may be planting new things 

May be construction, pothole repairs, may be traffic delays

May be thunder and lightning, may be torrential rains

May be sun and rain at the same time

May be rainbows. 

May be a weather pattern change

May be 90 next week!

10 Days in April

Oh, April of  memory and desire, the month of poetry and daffodils. severe weather and possible tornadoes.

Trump's war continues in the Middle East, with bluster and threats, without Congress approval or even a vote. ICE is still in our cities.

There have been verbal attacks on the Pope, for affirming peace.

Yesterday, there was an election  in Turkey. Orban  was decisively defeated.  The people won.

And for the first 10 days in April, while we worried about bills and taxes and the price of gas, 4 human beings left Earth,  flew around the moon, and came safely back home to Earth again. They brought back more than breathtaking pictures. They brought back a sense of wonder. They brought a spirit of cameraderie and cooperation. The entire team at NASA showed us all what we are capable of if we work together.

Let us all carry the spirit of Artemis 11 with us. Affirm humility and peace. Let us share that sense of wonder.  

Opening Days

These are the opening days---baseball, green leaves and windows. There are daffodils and crocuses blooming in people's yards.

There are people marching in the streets. There may be NCAA basketbal champions, but there are NO KINGS in the small towns and big cities. There are NO KINGS,  even in Antarctica.   

And today, O'Hare Airport recorded a high of 81 degrees.  There may be rain and hail tomorrow. That's the way March has been---many weathers, battling warm and cold fronts all month long. There have been tornadoes and 6-inch hailstones. 

There have been IRS  taxes, and property taxes. Gas prices have been going up. Groceries have been going up, Everything is more expensive.

ICE agents at the airports, TSA agents working without pay,  and there's the war with Iran. Yes, these are distractions from the Epstein Files. 

But it was a very good day to go out and march for democracy., for the right to vote, for the Constitution, for We the People.  

Winds of March

 Winds of March, and winds of war.  The news is full of weather. There was a lunar eclipse a few days ago, the full moon crossed by  earth's shadow.  The moon looked down on another war. 

Meterological Spring comes  on March 1.  Astronomical spring arrives on the Euinox, on March 20.  March holidays include  Holi, the festival of light and colors, and St. Patrick's Day, a festival of returning green. There is the time change, too--Spring forward!  In the US that will occur on March 8. In the UK, clocks will gain an hour on March 29.

And there will be an extra hour of daylight in the evenings. Many people will welcome getting home before dark.  Darker mornings are an adjustment, but there are milder days, and spring flowere--daffodils and crocuses, and signs of new green.

March has winds, too, as the pattern changes to Spring, and Severe Weather Season. 

Winds, rain, hail, thunderstorms, flooding and power outages are all possible. There are tornadoes, and derechos or straight-line winds. Both can be very damaging and dangerous.

And this Spring of 2026, Kristii Noem is out at DHS, to a new job, as Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas.

And as Operation  Epic Fury enters it 6th day, there is no plan or exit strategy.  There has been no declared war. The conflict is spreading in the Middle East. People are stranded in airports, schoolgirlas have been killed, soldiers have been killed. 

The winds are picking up.  Hold on to your hats, and the Constitution!

The Return of the Light

 February begins with lights festivals. Candelmas, Imbolc, Grounhog Day---all celebrate the lengthening days after the winter solstice. Already, we are seeing sunsets after 5pm.  Every day, more daylight, now.

Sunrise and sunset in Chicago today, February 9--sunrise----6:53am   sunset ---5:16 pm.   Thank you, Time and Date.com 

Still a time of cold and dark, but not so dark, and not quite so cold.  It's  been the longest deep freeze for the Chicago area in almost 20 years! We may see 40's in the next few days.

Yes, the winter of 2026 has seen some very dark cold days. In Minneapolis,  people are still marching in below-zero  temperstures,  and holding vigils for Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The city of Minneapolis has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

And in spite of the cold and snow further south, the Monks for Peace are walking  to Washington, D.C.   They are being met with warm welcomes wherever they go. They too have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Sunday, February 8, was SuperBowl Sunday.  Bad Bunny's half time show was full of light and love.

And soon, those four wonderful  words--Pitchers and Catchers Report--February, 10, 11, 12.  Baseball  is beginning again.  Spring is coming! 

 And then Valentines Day on February 14.  Wishing you light and love.

Faces of January

 

Janus is the ancient Roman god of beginnings, transitions, doorways, and endings, famously depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions—one to the past, one to the future—symbolizing change, duality, and passage (past to future, war to peace, etc.). 

 

January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is depicted with two faces, You can imagine the classic face, but it's also like a Picasso face. You can read more about Janus on Wikipedia, here.

So here we are in January, marking new beginnings and transitions. Didn't we just wish each other Peace On Earth and Best wishes for the New Year?  Yet there are still wars and plagues, they don't take a holiday, and chaos has been working overtime, with Venezuela and ICE in Minneapolis.  And still, the Epstein Files...And the 5th  Anniversary of January6.

 

Here, the colorful holiday lights have been taken down, there are evergreens in the alleys. The trees can make shelters for birds and other animals in the winter. There is no need to throw them away.

Right now, the streets and sidewalks are clear of snow.  As the weather people say, it is seasonably cold today, but it was quite warm for the season a few days ago.  The rain on January 8th was torrential! There was flooding in  Chicago.

 

 But there is plenty of winter left. The daylight may be increasing after the December Solstice, but the coldest temperatures of the year come in January. We could get blizzards, snow squalls,   ice storms, freezing rain, sleet and graupel. Even thundersnow!  

January is the many faces of winter---gray and cold, sometimes dazzling blue sky and sun on snow..

 

We are making transitons, the overcast gray sky and the calls of geese, heard not seen.

People are thinking of gardens and green leaves.