topic Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition in Among Friends

The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:43:42 GMT

Welcome to The Bee Hive!

We already have a Bird’s Nest and a Back Fence here, so we thought the addition of a beehive would be appropriate. To maintain the current two-word format, we chose The Bee Hive.

It’s a place where all are invited to chat about almost anything.

And it’s a seasonal thread, so expect to change with the seasons.

Today we’ll begin our Winter Edition because it's December Solstice (12/21/20). Spring Edition will be on March Equinox (3/20/21), Summer on June Solstice (6/20/21) and then Autumn again on September Equinox (9/22/21).

Join us! 🐝

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:46:20 GMT

And since we've no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:48:19 GMT

To face unafraid
the plans that we've made
walking in a winter wonderland

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:50:22 GMT

Bundle up!

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:53:01 GMT

I really can't stay
Babee it's cold outside
I gotta go away
Babee it's cold outside...

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:02:13 GMT

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
'May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white'

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:06:55 GMT

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:17:09 GMT

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:24:39 GMT

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

Harpa — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:26:14 GMT

True to your reputation, you've been busy this morning!

I wonder what's really going on in all those snow-covered hives!

Happy winter!

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:27:22 GMT

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there's a feeling of Christmas
Children laughing, people passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you'll hear

Silver bells, silver bells...

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:33:20 GMT

@Harpa wrote:
True to your reputation, you've been busy this morning!

I wonder what's really going on in all those snow-covered hives!

Happy winter!

@Harpa

Not sure...

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:53:35 GMT

@geezerette

I think I found the mug shape I was telling you about.

Different message, but this one probably came out around the same time as mine.

It has a nice rounded bottom (don't we all?) so the tea doesn't settle and stain.

It works!

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:58:39 GMT

O Christmas bee, O Christmas bee...

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:07:24 GMT

REMINDER:

Monday, December 21

Today is a busy day, astronomically speaking! First up, the winter solstice occurs at 5:02 A.M. EST. On this day, Earth’s North Pole is tilted maximally away from the Sun. It’s the shortest day of the year and typically marks the official beginning of winter.

Next, Jupiter passes 0.1° south of Saturn at 9 A.M. EST — that’s one-fifth the diameter of the Full Moon. However, the pair won’t be visible until twilight, when they’ll pop out of the growing darkness low in the southwestern sky. Jupiter is a bright magnitude –2 and Saturn is a dimmer magnitude 0.6. If your southwestern skies are clear at sunset, it’s more than worth getting bundled up to see the sight. But be quick — the planets are so low that they’ll set a little more than two hours after the Sun.

The last time Jupiter and Saturn sat this close together in a dark sky (meaning relatively far from the Sun) was 1226 A.D., although many other, farther-apart conjunctions have occurred. Of course, they aren’t truly close together — Jupiter is 551 million miles from Earth, while Saturn sits nearly twice as far away, at 1 billion miles from Earth. At those distances, Jupiter appears 33" across; Saturn’s disk spans 15", but its rings stretch 35" from one end to the other.

The pair make a great naked-eye sight and will show up in a single field of view in binoculars or a telescope. As with last night, several moons are sprinkled around them: four of Saturn’s moons — Enceladus, Tethys, Dione and Titan — appear west of the planet, while Rhea and Mimas are to its east. At Jupiter, Europa sits alone to the planet’s west, while Ganymede, Io, and Callisto are to the east. And Eastern U.S. observers get an extra treat — they’ll watch Ganymede begin to transit, or cross in front of, Jupiter starting at 7:04 P.M. EST. Its passage will take 3.5 hours in total, meaning that while western observers won’t see it start, they’ll get to see the second half of its journey. Those farther west will also get to watch the dark blot of Ganymede’s shadow slide onto Jupiter’s disk at 9:40 P.M. EST.

And if your skies aren’t clear or you don’t have a good viewing location, Lowell Observatory has got you covered. They’re livestreaming the event, starting at 7 P.M. EST on the 21st.

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:11:57 GMT

Oh, how they pound (Oh, how they pound)
Raising their sound
O'er hill and dale
Telling their tale...

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:47:02 GMT

Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la la la la la la la!
Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, fa la la la la la la la la!

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

BlueFinch — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 15:50:58 GMT

@just bee Wow, such beautiful hives and settings. Thanks for sharing the Bee edition.

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

bikerbabe — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 16:52:14 GMT

Good morning!

Gosh, I love love bees 🐝 and they love me. I always try to have bee, butterfly and hummingbird-friendly flowers.

Had a terrifying episode yesterday afternoon when an old light fixture nearly caught the place on fire😱. I was freaked out for a while trying to decide if there was an electrical fire in the walls and it look like it was just the fixture. It actually charred the kitchen cabinets in a couple of spots! I have a call out to our regular repair guy whom I trust. I am just so thankful we were home and awake when it happened. Smoke alarm didn’t go off because it didn’t get to that point but it certainly stunk up the place for a while. I have a call out to our regular repair guy whom I trust. I am just so thankful we were home. Oh my gosh my poor cat- she’s my CHILD and I would have gone off the deep end if anything happened to her. In a “normal” year we would have been asleep or out of town. 😱

Not very wintry here today - low 80s. 😕 We so desperately need rain.

Re: The Bee Hive -- Winter 2020 Edition

just bee — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 20:11:33 GMT

@BlueFinch wrote:
@just bee Wow, such beautiful hives and settings. Thanks for sharing the Bee edition.

@BlueFinch

Ah... so you like colorful hives, eh?

Check these out...