by Matthew Cobb
Good morning! This is the ultimate Cobb morning post – The Boss will be back at the controls tomorrow, full of penguins.
In Poland, Hili is pen-sive (sorry not sorry):
Hili: Pod biurkiem.
Here is a picture of Leon and Mietek sitting on the same armchair. Elzbieta wrote to me that Leon had just very thoroughly washed the whole kitten. They are friends!
Leon: I washed his ears and he fell asleep.
Greetings and good morning it’s Sunday 1 December rush hour #rushhour #farmrushhour #adventcc @caro_painter pic.twitter.com/pZkqE2Gi8u
— caenhillcc (@caenhillcc) December 1, 2019
1 December, so we have just set up this lovely advent calendar from @ANGELACHARDING pic.twitter.com/ryoKpmhFVa
— Matthew Cobb (@matthewcobb) December 1, 2019
Here’s a more traditional view of December, taken from the UK children’s Ladybird book series:
Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 1.
“December”#RonaldLampitt pic.twitter.com/xd4sYV8u3l— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 1, 2019
In Macclesfield, Abi Gilmore caught morning’s minstrel, dawn’s delight. Sound on:
Song or mistle thrush at dawn 🐦 pic.twitter.com/wQp1IyNsOX
— Dr Abi Gilmore (@Abi_Gilmore) December 1, 2019
A wintry reintroduction:
F176, Ariana, was ready to meet her new home on this frosty mountain day. She brings us to 71 fishers reintroduced into the North Cascades!! #conservation #restoration pic.twitter.com/pUSYRwmuq1
— Jason Ransom (@wildequids) November 30, 2019
A wintry web:
Beautiful, frozen webs at Woodwalton Fen this morning. pic.twitter.com/i4Akx08hFX
— Julia Cooke (@CookeJulia) November 30, 2019
A wintry scene by one of Jerry’s favourite singers:
'40 Below 0' painting by artist and musician Joni Mitchell #womensart pic.twitter.com/Lc1pAE5OSC
— #WOMENSART (@womensart1) December 1, 2019
Tweets sent in by The Boss:
Abert's squirrel or the tassel-eared squirrel. Stunningly nimble. pic.twitter.com/asQzUFjN9c
— Dick King-Smith HQ (@DickKingSmith) November 30, 2019
̶M̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶g̶ ̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶it!̶ ̶X̶
I̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶!̶ ̶X̶
My duckling fell asleep on my calculator! ✓ pic.twitter.com/uVAnxWbMGu— Dick King-Smith HQ (@DickKingSmith) June 9, 2016
If you think Twitter is bad, have a look at the comments on YouTube:
I imagine this YouTube commenter had a rough thanksgiving. pic.twitter.com/rpKHgA1Atb
— Stated Clearly – Jon Perry (@StatedClearly) November 30, 2019
From Heather Hastie – ‘tweet of the week’:
“Gary, do you ever think about what your tusk is going to be used for after you’re gone?” pic.twitter.com/tjIEvw4rnz
— New York Mammoths (@NYMammoths) November 30, 2019
And in a similar vein:
Fighting terrorism since 1672 https://t.co/ltvRIXOwF1
— Piers J. Hale (@PiersJHale) November 30, 2019
A reader asked Jerry this question, who asked me, who asked Twitter. There doesn’t seem to be a simple answer, though if you have any recommendations, chip in below:
What’s the best single site that summarises the recent discoveries in human evolution (aDNA, Homo naledi, Denisovans, etc) for the lay reader?
— Matthew Cobb (@matthewcobb) November 30, 2019
Finally, to link with Jerry’s recent amazing trip, here’s a reminder that today is the 60th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty. Some lovely pics in Emma Johnston’s thread:
To mark the 60th Anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty & #WorldAntarcticaDay, here is my ‘Ode to Antarctica’ accompanied by a short clip of my photographs of the isolated continent – I hope you enjoy the beauty & power of #Antarctica, as seen through my eyes pic.twitter.com/0u6wP11UmX pic.twitter.com/W6K8Txnac7
— Prof Emma L Johnston AO FTSE (@DrEmmaLJohnston) December 1, 2019
The frozen cobwebs are stunning.
It’s serendipitous that today is World Antarctica Day, which will mark the first whole day that PCC(E) is back from from his Antarctic adventure.
Thank you, Matthew, for keeping up the Hili Dialog to brighten our mornings and bring us Cuthbert and crew during PCC(E)’s absence. I’m not Jewish but I’ll say that was a much appreciated mitzvah.
Yes, indeed. Thanks to Matthew for keeping the home lights burning.
Yes indeed. From the u.s.: Thank you matthew for taking the helm, keeping us current on hili and friends, and introducing farm rush hour…all while tending to strike duties and if i recall, finishing up with your editor on your latest book. The continuity has been very much appreciated!
A clearer view of the fierce Fisher Pekania pennanti – a member of the weasel family [rarely eats fish]:
https://youtu.be/nv0lLmE5ZEU
Thank you Matt!
And thank you, Michael, very cool story about the Fishers
Ta very much
Any relation, Michael?
Yes, that cutie is from the furry fury side of my clan. 🙂
🤓
Mushroom and E. coli, banana and pine tree, bee and human, we are all cousins.
Thank you Matthew! I so enjoyed your posts and your keeping us connected to WEIT while Jerry is away.
I’m loving the morning greeting at Caenhill Farms. It helps me figure out what day it is.
What’s a mistle thrush, he asked: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Turdus_viscivorus_in_Baikonur-town_001.jpg/1200px-Turdus_viscivorus_in_Baikonur-town_001.jpg
And why are they called mistle thrushes, she asked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistle_thrush. Because they really, really like mistletoe.
Odd to say, but: The final verse of the Jethro Tull song “Jack-in-the-Green” from their album Songs from the Wood mentions the bird in the lines “Oh, the mistlethrush is coming. Jack, put out the light.”
And why was the toe added to the mistle?
Never read the YouTube comments, man. Never.
I’d as lief accompany Ewan McGregor into the worst toilet in Scotland scene in Trainspotting. 🙂
Matthew, we much appreciated your daily Hilis!!!
Very much. Thanks
The first magical colour photographs I remember seeing of Antarctica were in “The Crossing of Antarctica” by Sir Vivian Fuchs and Sir Edmund Hillary (1958). It told the story of the first ground crossing of the continent.
Fuchs started out from the Weddell Sea. Hillary ventured inland from the Ross Sea laying out a route and supplies for the Fuchs party once they had passed the Pole.
One (B&W) photo I like shows a scientist seated next to a Sno-cat, a handbell at his side: “Geoffrey Pratt taking a gravity reading. The bell was rung to warn people to switch off engines and stand still”.
Youtube has the official film of the expedition: The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Parts 1-5). Part1 has some early Scott and Shackleton footage, Part2 interesting domestic scenes of the first overwintering party, and Part4 the rescue of a Sno-cat from a crevasse.
Thank you, Matthew, for filling in for Jerry.
Thank you so much for the Hili updates and all the interesting tweets.
Your query re human evolution :
Recently I read an article by John Hawks (U of Madison-Wisconsin) – but can’t find it(!) Lee Berger (Wits. Univ.) is usually interesting.
This might be a bit complicated, but is excellent :
A Neanderthal Perspective on Human Origins with Svante Pääbo – 2018 https://youtu.be/R1R8yrEGAgw via
@YouTube
Given the wording of the title, Svante Pääbo must be a Neanderthal.