Gloom ~ Dude & Sun ~ Throw Back Thursday ~ Picture of the Day ~ Johnny Cash Tarantula ~ Bacon & Pecan Butter Tarts ~ National Sangria Day

Good 41º SUPER foggy morning. 

 

 

Yesterday the gloom and fog and clouds hung around..........

 

Then the sun peeked through for a few minutes about noon. Dude was a happy camper!!!

 

We warmed up all the way to 55º!

 

 

Happy Throw Back Thursday.........

Me with my oldest sister's husband, Joe Mueller...

 

Today was Joe's birthday, 1924, and he passed away in 2002. He was a GREAT guy, good dad, husband, and brother-in-law! He served in the Army.

 

 

Picture of the Day....

 

 

 

 

Interesting about Johnny Cash....

Scientists scouring the fields of Folsom, California found a new kind of black tarantula which they have named after Johnny Cash, the American music legend who sang of the jailhouse blues.

The eight-legged creature named Aphonopelma johnnycashi is all black, the way Cash often dressed when he strummed his guitar and sang songs like "The Man in Black" and "Folsom Prison Blues" in his bass-baritone voice.

"I'm a huge Johnny Cash fan," said Chris Hamilton, lead author of the study in the journal ZooKeys which identified the tarantula as one of 14 new spider species discovered in the southwestern United States.

This photo shows the Johnny trantula ^

"But I didn't go into this searching for something I could name after him," he told AFP.

Instead, Hamilton along with researchers at Auburn University and Millsaps College sought to closely examine tarantulas found throughout the southern United States, west of the Mississippi River.

During a decade-long hunt, they collected nearly 3,000 specimens in multiple states.

They found that the Johnny Cash spider was widespread, but had long been considered as another species, known as A. iodius.

"It is quite similar looking," said Hamilton.

"When we really started collecting lots of specimens from across the distribution and looking closely at their morphology, DNA, and ecological variables, we saw that these specimens were unique and certainly warranted being separated as a separate species."

Given the deep black color of the males, combined with the location of the spider in Folsom, California -- home to a state penitentiary where Cash performed for inmates in 1968 -- "the name popped into my head. It just fit perfectly," Hamilton said.

While researchers did not pick up the tarantula directly at or outside the prison, Hamilton said he "wouldn't be surprised" if the tarantulas roamed free in the area.

"They are found all over that area of Folsom, California and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevadas."

- New species in backyard -

Prior to this study, more than 50 different species of tarantulas were known in the United States, but they were poorly organized and some were misidentified as being different species when they were actually the same.

Now, Hamilton and co-authors say there are 29 US tarantulas in the Aphonopelma genus, 14 of which are new to science.

"I'm not surprised that so many previously described species were found to be invalid," said Marshal Hedin, a professor of biology at San Diego State University who was not involved with the work but described it as "rigorous and much-needed."

In the past, "researchers simply didn't have many characters to work with, and were sometimes perhaps overzealous," said Hedin, who also serves as the acting president of the American Arachnological Society.

"This new study combines all of the powerful components of modern taxonomy -- large samples, digital studies of morphology, huge DNA datasets," he said, describing it as "remarkably comprehensive" and "significant for many reasons."

- Unexpected diversity -

Researchers also found unexpected diversity in tiny tarantulas, those about the size of a silver coin.

"One of the most remarkable things that we discovered during this research was just how diverse the miniature Aphonopelma were in the United States (and most likely Mexico too)," Hamilton said in an email to AFP.

"Eight of the new species belong to the miniature group," which is believed to have shrunk in size over time, though experts do not yet understand why, he said.

In the meantime, researchers also have concerns about how climate change will impact America's big and hairy spiders, possibly forcing some north into cooler climes or higher elevations that may not be as favorable as habitat.

"Two of the new species are confined to single mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona, one of the United States' biodiversity hotspots," said co-author Brent Hendrixson of Millsaps College.

"These fragile habitats are threatened by increased urbanization, recreation, and climate change."

Other new spiders identified during the project were given names that were suited to their habitat, including the Aphonopelma xwalxwal, found in the homelands of the Cahuila Native Americans, incorporating their word for spider, "xwalxwal."

"As a Native American (Chickasaw Nation), I like to be able to tie Native American history to species that can be found in their ancestral ranges," said Hamilton.

Tarantulas may look scary but experts say they rarely bite and their venom is not considered dangerous to humans.

 

Johnny Cash..

• Born: Feb 26, 1932
• Died: Sep 12, 2003

 

 

Bacon and Pecan Butter Tarts

 

• 1 pie crust pastry, chilled
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
• 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

 

 

1. Roll the pastry out to 1/8 inch thick and cut out 12 4-5 inch circles, pressing them into the holes in a muffin baking pan.
2. Chill the muffin pan in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

 

1. Meanwhile, mix the egg, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, vanilla extract, salt, pecans and bacon and pour the mixture into the tarts.
2. Bake in a preheated 350º oven and bake until set, about 15-25 minutes.

Option: Remove or replace the pecans and bacon with your favourite ingredients.
Option: Add a splash of bourbon to the custard mixture to make maple bourbon bacon butter tarts!

 

 

 

Historically this date.........

1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California. Suspect unknown. Suspect never caught.

 

1987 – History's worst peacetime sea disaster, when the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

 

1989 – United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.

 

1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.

 

2007 – Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassingQueen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

 

 

 

 

 

And births this date include....

1898 – Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990)

 

 

1908 – Dennis Morgan, American actor (d. 1994)

               ...with Ginger Rogers.

 

 

1927 – Charlie Callas, American comedian (d. 2011)

 

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Happy TBT. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Across the nation each year on December 20, National Sangria Day is observed by enjoying a well-mixed sangria.

Sangria is a beverage made with wine and sweetened with fresh fruit and fruit juices. Other ingredients can include herbs, spices, carbonation, and liquor.

The combinations are endless, giving sangria a place at in the cocktail rotation year round. Refreshing and light during hot summer months, bright and sparkling during the winter ones, this fruity punch is quite versatile.

Sangria made with white wine is called Sangria Blanca.

Use fresh fruit in season for the best flavors. Once mixed, sangria should be chilled and the fruits allowed to marinate a few hours or overnight.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Try these sangria recipes:

Red Sangria

Winter Sangria