Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:26 and sunset 8:16 for 14h 49m 16s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 84.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1675, Fr. Jacques Marquette (1636-1675) dies near Ludington, Michigan, at the age of 39. After the famous voyage down the Mississippi that he made in 1673 with Louis Joliet, Marquette vowed to return to the Indians he’d met in Illinois. He became ill during that visit in the spring of 1675 and was en route to Canada when he passed away. His diary of the trip is online in the Wisconsin Historical Society’s American Journeys collection.
On this day in 1963, the New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 71. Sunrise is 5:40 and sunset 8:02 for 14h 21m 51s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Equal Opportunities Commission meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1915, Babe Ruth, then a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, hits his first major league home run.
Varied bunting spotted in Grafton, first documented sighting in Wisconsin history https://t.co/f0pE2WE2Zl
GRAFTON – Birds were active about 6:35 a.m. Saturday as Bob Dohr of Pewaukee walked on a gravelly path atop the bluff at Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve in Grafton.
A pair of northern cardinals, the brilliant red male and the tawny female, foraged near the trail. And nearby a smaller, darker bird but with a cardinal-like shape also showed.
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What they at first thought could be an indigo bunting, a bright blue songbird that nests in Wisconsin, turned out to be a close (genetically) but distant (geographically) relative.
The men scrutinized images of the bird on their cameras, shook their heads at the improbability of the evidence but had no doubt what they were seeing.
It was a varied bunting, a species mostly found in Mexico.
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The sighting was confirmed as the state’s first record of the species, said Mark Korducki of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. The organization is the official keeper of state bird records.
Moreover, it is the farthest north the species has ever been documented, according to eBird, an online bird reporting system run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Only two other varied bunting sightings, one along Lake Erie in southern Ontario and one in Pennsylvania, have been recorded in eastern North America.
There are yet new discoveries to be made in Wisconsin, and far beyond.
Thursday in Whitewater will see scattered showers with a high of 53. Sunrise is 6:05 and sunset 7:41 for 13h 35m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 75.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets at 5:30 PM.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 77. Sunrise is 6:12 and sunset 7:37 for 13h 24m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 2003, the Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
The West Bluff Trail is one of the best at Devil’s Lake State Park located near Baraboo, Wisconsin. This beautiful landscape has been carved by ice sheets from the last ice age and an awesome blue lake remains. Part of the Wisconsin State Park system, Devil’s Lake is one of the most popular in the state and for good reason. Swimming, hiking, rock climbing, and photography are just a few of the activities one can enjoy. Devil’s Lake include two sandy beaches named the North Beach and South Beach. Swimming, kayaking, canoeing, scuba diving is popular at these locations. A 2.4 mile hiking loop can be combined from the West Bluff Trail and the Tumbled Rocks Trails.
Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 40. Sunrise is 7:22 and sunset 4:24 for 9h 01m 40s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 70% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Ethics Committee meets at 5:00 PM and the Community Development Authority at 5:30 PM.
On this day in 1968, Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
By NASA/Bill Anders – http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/AS8-14-2383HR.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=306267
Winter begins today at 9:27 PM and lasts until Tuesday, March 19th at 10:06 PM.
It’s this libertarian blogger’s second-favorite season (after autumn). Winter is austere, and in that seasonal austerity one has fewer distractions. Spring and summer tempt, fall rewards and then cautions, but winter alone denies. Winter is the economic principle of scarcity plainly manifest. She limits and by limiting imposes choices: What will you do, from what will you refrain, and why? What matters to you, and what doesn’t? She will expect — and within her power compel — an answer.
Winter in our part of the world is cold, but she is beautifully cold.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:16 and sunset 4:21 for 9h 04m 24s of daytime. The moon is new with 0.1% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Public Works Committee meets at 6 PM.
The presentation started in late November and will wrap up on Christmas Eve, according to the American Meteor Society. Interestingly, the show will peak and end on the same dates as last year.
The moon won’t act as a spoiler during the peak of the shower because it will illuminate at 1 percent the evening of Dec. 13, according to the American Meteor Society. That means darker skies for viewing.
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Since the Geminids originate from the constellation Gemini, which rises near sunset during this time of the year, skywatchers could start to see “shooting stars” clearly around 10 p.m., Rice said. But the best time to view is between midnight and 2 a.m.
“We’ll have a nice dark sky that will show meteors. The fact that it’s so close to the new moon means less light pollution,” Rice said.
If you can’t wish upon the shooting stars on Dec. 13, don’t fret! The show will go on for over a week after the peak — there will just be fewer meteors to see.
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Look for darkness — this may be in a rural location, or if you can’t get to a rural location, look to the darkest part of the sky wherever you are.
Patience — just because there is an average count doesn’t mean that you’ll see that many meteors per hour.
Leave your phone inside — looking at a device before turning to the sky may ruin your innate night vision.
Get comfortable — bundle up and drink something warm if necessary while you wait for the show.
Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:15 and sunset 4:20 for 9h 05m 48s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 6.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1864 during his March to the Sea, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union Army troops reach the outer Confederate defenses of Savannah, Georgia.
Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail is now a part of the National Park System, a change that will allow for more resources as organizers push to complete it.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and National Park Service Director Chuck Sams announced the change, heralding the 1,200-mile-long trail that traverses some of Wisconsin’s best natural features, from St. Croix to Janesville and back up to Door County.
“The Ice Age trail also tells an important story about the history of Wisconsin and the abundant natural resources that have shaped our great state,” Baldwin said. “Literally running through the great north woods, over rolling hills and prairies, past inland lakes and waters, and finally winding up along Lake Michigan. This trail showcases some of the best that our state has to offer. “
The Ice Age, New England and North Country National Scenic Trails were all folded into the parks system, meaning each will remain part of the national scenic trail system but with more access to funding and other resources the system provides, such as official trail maps and brochures designed by the service.
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The Ice Age Trail was started in the 1950s and is still under construction, with the Ice Age Alliance purchasing land along the trail’s winding path to fully connect it. It runs through both rural and urban areas, along the natural features created by glaciers during the last Ice Age.
Embed from Getty Images Christine Dell’Amore writes Ocelots once roamed the U.S. Can we bring them back? (‘Ocelots are a quintessentially American cat—yet a single tropical storm could wipe them off the U.S. map. Will a pioneering new partnership make a difference?’): Only a few centuries years ago, the northern ocelot was a quintessential American…
Sunday in Whitewater will see morning flurries with a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:08 and sunset 4:21 for 9h 12m 50s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 65.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1947, the first TV station in Wisconsin, WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, is established. The seventeenth television station in the country, WTMJ-TV was the first in the Midwest.
Wisconsin’s Scenic Treasures: Northwoods continues the celebration of our state’s natural landscapes. This exploration of Wisconsin’s northern forests, lakes, parks and natural areas takes the viewer to widely cherished locales as well as lesser-known secluded spots. Experience this panoramic compilation of our treasured ‘Up North’ wonders.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 61. Sunrise is 6:47 and sunset 4:31 for 9h 43m 50s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 5.6% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Park & Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.
Dini Dowd is a social media influencer and in her words “a stay-outside mom.” She travels the state with her husband and their daughter exploring Wisconsin’s lakes, parks and trails. She shares their trips on social media, helping other families plan their own expeditions and encouraging everyone to get outdoors.
Alaskan outdoor educator and ice rescue instructor Luc Mehl says an unusually cold and dry transition to winter created a rare ‘ice window’ in October on Rabbit Lake in Alaska.
Monday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 65. Sunrise is 6:36 and sunset 4:40 for 10h 04m 30s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 39% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1947, Meet the Press, the longest-running television program in history, makes its debut on NBC Television.
M. Afi Lake is an avid gardener and naturalist who forages for food and medicine from unlikely plants. She can turn a nasty weed into a delicious dish.
For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it.
Good morning. Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 59. Sunrise is 7:11 and sunset 6:08 PM for 10h 57m 22s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 7.6% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM. On this day in 1814, eight…
Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 6:57 and sunset 6:28 PM for 11h 31m 19s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 60.7% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Landmarks Committee meets at 6 PM. On this day in 1813, The Army of the…
Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with nighttime showers and a high of 77. Sunrise is 6:45 AM and sunset 6:48 PM for 12h 02m 59s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 69.2% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in…
