April 28-May 4
Glogg, May Day and the brown recluse spider
(April 28, 2011) April 28. Birthdate, in 1758, of James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States and the third to die on the Fourth of July.
April 29. A punch called a glogg can be made by heating a bottle of port, a bottle of burgundy and a bottle of the caraway-flavored spirit aquavit, along with half a pound of seedless raisins. After boiling the mixture for several minutes, submerge into it a stick of cinnamon and a handful of cloves wrapped in a cheesecloth bag. Allow to cool and serve with an almond.
April 30. Walpurgis Night begins in most of Central Europe tonight. It is a celebration for witches, socialists, pranksters and builders of bonfires.
May 1. May Day, a holiday of labor unionists and pagans, is celebrated in Scotland by running naked into the North Sea at dawn. The distress call of the same name may be given at any time of year, but only under extreme threat and only if repeated briskly three times so as to avoid it being mistaken for some similar-sounding phrase.
May 2. New moon, 11:51 p.m.
May 3. On this day in 1855, William Walker set sail for Nicaragua with the idea of claiming it as a colony. He found the Nicaraguans to be entirely unfriendly to the idea. After years of minor skirmishes and failed attempts, he was deserted by his men, captured by the government of Honduras, and shot. These sort of unauthorized, quasi-military expeditions to claim another country for one’s own were, at that time, called filibusters.
May 4. In spite of allegations to the contrary, the brown recluse spider does not live in California and, as far as we know, never has. A few close relatives live in sparsely populated deserts in southern California and inflict very little harm. University of California scientists hosted a “Show Me the Spider” challenge for many years in which they offered a cash reward to anyone who could collect and send them an actual brown recluse specimen; no one ever claimed the prize. There are brown spiders; there are frightening sores that won’t heal. There are not, however, brown recluses in California.
→ post a comment
Recent north coast almanack
May 26, 2011
May 26-31
The final edition, songbirds make sense
May 19, 2011
May 19-25
chicks, basil and a dream of lost teeth
May 12, 2011
May 12-18
Serifs, dilapidated old men and lilacs
Today
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Pancake Breakfast
food / 7:30-11:30 a.m. Humboldt Grange #501, 5845 Humboldt Hill Road. Monthly breakfast.
Open Gardens
outdoors / 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Humboldt Botanical Gardens, College of the Redwoods, Eureka. Roam the 44-acre fully fenced property. $5. www.hbgf.org. 442-5139.
More →
ONE Comments
Comment / By Hap Freiberg / Today, 1:13 p.m.
Re: May Day…
It’s from the French: venez m’aider, meaning “come help me”.