Rose Bowl at Champs

Since we'd celebrated the win over Ohio State with Ray and family at Champs, we decided to join the crowd for the Rose Bowl,

Penn State lost by a hair (52-49)

JoePa Fired

Since this is a blog about the Barony, this rant probably doesn't belong here, but since it's my blog, here goes:

It's a grim day here weather-wise and moral-wise, the morning after the Board of Trustees meeting in which Paterno and Spanier were fired and day 6 of the now nationally-known "child abuse scandal at Penn State".  Student rioting is contained to a small part of downtown known as The Canyon and some at Old Main.  Peaceful vigils, not reported frequently, took place at the Lion Shrine and on Joe's lawn. 

If  the Board of Trustees was thinking about the buck stopping here, they probably got the fire Prez Spanier correct, and perhaps with the same line of thinking, Joe had to go, too.  But I think Joe did what was correct with the info he had.  He had to turn in a trusted friend and colleague on minimal information, which he did.  He had no reason to follow up because he had his chain of command which he trusted.  

I worry about Joe now not having a reason to get up in the morning and a place to go.  I hope this abrupt decision doesn't kill him.  Spanier has been lots of places; he'll survive in a new school begging for his name, his magic act, and his washboard playing.

I think Sandusky should (hugely) endow a center for the prevention of child abuse and cure of sexual predators; no name on the building however.  I think Spanier should endow a center for new media because of his continued belief that if he ignores a problem it will go away.  

I think all of the people in Hollywood another places of entertainment, and Washington DC and other places of politics should have the moral rectitude and ethical standards as Joe Paterno; the world would be a better place.  He spent 61 years here at Penn State walking his beliefs; he should not have to go out in a blaze of hysteria and gossip. He man responsible for this hasn't been tried and convicted, although I'm sure he will be.  

I have no intention of going off the Barony this weekend; I have everything I need for a lockdown.  The wackjobs from Westboro Baptist church in Kansas will be in town protesting something and, of course, it's the Nebraska game which is always a murmuration, though never quiet.

I think we haven't seen the end to the reaction.

Reading Commune of Women Susan Still ***On an ordinary Los Angeles morning, the lives of seven women are about to become inextricably entangled, as they converge upon LA International Airport for various purposes. Suddenly, the morning erupts into chaos, as black-clad terrorists charge into the terminal, guns blazing. As the concourse becomes a killing field, six of the women dodge a hail of bullets to find refuge in a tiny staff room. Betty, a Reseda housewife, Heddi, a Jungian analyst, Sophia, a rugged and savvy mountain woman, Erika, a top-level executive, Ondine, an artist just returning from France, and Pearl, an ancient bag lady, all traumatized or injured, barricade the door and cower down, hoping to survive...the most profound revelation of all is how each has betrayed herself. (Kindle review)

First snow

Started about 7AM and is wet and heavy, sticking to trees and grass but not driveway yet. 32 deg at 8:30.
Scrambled out of bed to a low and deep chest growl from Buddy: a small herd of deer crossing the drive. 45 minutes later he still won't leave the window in case they didn't really leave.

The chickens are hiding from the snow under the truck.

11:30 heavier snow 32 deg
Half the chickens made it back to the coop before the ground was covered.  We may have to carry the rest.

branches are beginning to sag but the birdbath is still visible

On the last walk through the meadow we shook the fruit trees, locusts and some oaks on the path to relieve them of their snow load.  The cherries, especially, still have plenty of leaves.

1:45 still snowing

Trees are bending over with the heavy wet snow. Bird bath is completely covered. Chickens still trapped under the truck.

6:00PM  Snow is just about over.  Temperatures hovering around 32 degrees.  A total of 4 inches fell but the warm air and ground are slowly reducing the snow cover.  With 42 degrees expected tomorrow, most of this will melt away.  It will be slushy.  Fog has developed in the valley.

Penn State beat Illinois in the last seconds, sort of like the game we went to in Champaign with Heiner and Fass's when Shannon was a freshman and Penn State won in the last 6 seconds.  JoePa gets 409 wins.

A little orange in a sea of blue and white.

The Western Prince and his parents came to cheer Ill-Ini on to a 30-13 rout of the PSU "girls" football team.  We took the Fullington from Target for $7 each.  It took us 30 min to travel those 5 miles so that ticket was well worth its price.
Tailgating with Diana from DuBois and her family set us up for a good time.  Thanks Diana.
There's not much to say about the game: sunny, mid 70's, good seats (NF26) middle of the north endzone for slightly over face value.  I thought we'd see half the game at our end.  We did, but it was the wrong half.  The Prince slept through most of the game, even when his father cheered ILL- to receive -INI from across the endzone; he has quite a cheering voice.

More tailgating and a quick bus ride back to Target since most of the stadium had emptied at the 3rd quarter. Penn State has an impressive system to move 107K people around on a Saturday afternoon. Even the bag check line moved faster than the airlines'.
All of us but the Prince were exhausted by the sunny afternoon; it couldn't have been the excitement of the game, for sure.  He entertained us all evening  chasing himself  and the 3 dogs around the house, finding buttons everywhere including on the soles of Oma's slippers and knots in the wood, and testing his vocab (who needs TV?).

Reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Stephen King**** First section describes how he grew into writing; the second gives pointers on the craft.

Fall is coming

I can tell fall is near because white lines and parking blocks are appearing on the fields around Beaver Stadium. So are the portapotties. Dorm signs are popping up like mushrooms or real estate signs around campus. I might have missed the yellow cherry leaves beginning to fall between the parking lot and my office; a few dogwoods and Virginia creeper have bright red leaves; I might have missed them without the man-made signs. I might have missed the hummingbirds bulking up at the feeder or the flocks of other birds gathering. Thanks goodness for signs of football.
We moved the chicken tractor another length and aimed the game camera at it. Something big ripped a 3" L-shaped gash in the tarp between noon and 5:00 today. The bird bath has been tipped over 3 times this week. I duck taped the gash closed. We opened the door and 11 chicks scooted out; 5 didn't care to explore the wide world and stayed comfortably inside while we moved the tractor. By the time we had it all back together and the tarp back on it was very dark. The chicks were crammed in the far corner, not under the tarp, settled in for the night. I climbed in to encourage them to move back under cover, but as I would toss one under, another would scoot out. Not the smartest animal in the forest.