Good Morning! Happy Ground Hog Day. Early spring it looks like. Currently 40 degrees and sunny this morning in Albany. This afternoon we are looking for a high around 45 degrees. Light breeze. Going to be a nice one for early February. Sunset at 5:09 PM with darkness around 5:30. Should be a nice sunset. Tonight the Waning Crescent Moon with 36% visible will rise around 2:03 AM. Early risers and those up before tomorrow’s sunrise are most likely to see it. The new moon is next Monday.

I left my cellphone home this morning, so I guess I won’t be able to use it at work today. I realized I didn’t have my cellphone with me, so my choice was either to run home and catch a later bus or leave the phone home. I decided on the later. At least it will be well charged when I get home.

Certainly the bright sunshine nice this morning. It’s been so cloudy, dark, and gray lately. Sunshine just gives us some hope, especially as we enjoy it’s warmth. All things considered, this has been a rather depressing winter season. But maybe the early spring will mean warmer temperatures with adequate rain to prevent the fire risk. We will see. I heard that January was pretty darn dry by historical standards. I’m sure we have to get at least one good snow storm this year.

It seems like January came and went fairly quickly, which is nice because I’m already pretty tired of winter. It’s not so much the cold and the snow as the extended darkness. The nights are just so incredibly long this time of year. That said, I wouldn’t mind a nice weekend up at Moose River Plains once summer comes back around.

I think so much of the obsession over the Iowa Caucasus is a bit silly. NPR had three hours of analysis on the Iowa Caucus results last night, which I have to admit I did tune into hear a bit. Like many Americans, I was fascinated by the race between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Ms. Clinton won the Iowa Caucus but not by a lot. I was surprised how well Mr. Sanders preformed. Iowa is a fun state with good gun laws and not a lot of restrictions on open burning in the country. If it burns, you can burn it within reason. They as a state are a bit devoid of public lands, but they do have some good dirt for growing crops, which is why they produce a big chunk of the nation’s corn and soy, and they also feed a lot of hogs and cattle. Food is good.

That said, I think Punxsatawney Phil can tell us more about our country’s future then the Iowa Caucus.

Chapin Brothers – Ground Hog Song
Come out little ground hog.
Put your head above the ground.
Can’t you see there ain’t no shadow, on that cold, cold ground?
But if you dance your song, and you know that winter’s gone.
Come out little ground hog, spring a spring on me!

There are 2 months, 23 days until Arbor Day. Looking forward to the warmer temperatures and some green popping up. Maybe the Ground Hog is on to something.

This day in 1934, the Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated. The bank finances and insures foreign purchases of United States goods for customers unable or unwilling to accept credit risk. It was suspended for several months this year, when Congress refused to renew it’s charter, suggesting the bank was corporate welfare, and allowed risky American corporations to succeed when the market alone would not sustain them.