31 May - Bonus Catcam Programming



Here's

31 May - Historical Haberdashery



Rooting around in the Museum collection the other day, I came across this natty pair of aristos in their matching hunting outfits. It was taken in Berezova Rudka by a French photographer active in Russia,

29 May - Catwalk on Catcam



Here's a video of

28 May - Decoration Day


Unidentified Union Soldier
Albumen print, Janus Museum Collection

Les Payne of Newsday quotes a letter to the editor by Starlyn J. First in last week's Orlando Sentinal:

Last Wednesday night I was on a US Airways flight to Orlando International Airport. Forty-five minutes prior to landing, the pilot announced our plane was carrying the remains of a fallen Marine, and that he would be honored in various ways upon arrival.

I did notice a passenger in his dress blues and shiny shoes, but did not know until the pilot made his announcement the Marine was there to accompany his comrade's body, and would join the Honor Guard when the coffin was taken from the belly of the plane...

Once inside the terminal, I was struck with silence; not the usual hubbub with which one is greeted upon arriving. It was a 9 p.m. arrival, but there were hundreds of people of all races, ages and socioeconomic status, four deep, staring out the windows, watching the ceremonial proceedings with absolute respect.

Thinking about the young man's arrival, being transported in that way to his family, brought me to tears. We often have read and heard about these "homecomings" since the beginning of the war (and certainly many wars previous). But as the news stories get more horrific and mind-boggling, we tend to become numb to their effect on us.

Although this hero was a stranger to me, knowing that he was inside the same plane carrying us both home, I was slapped out of numbness into the stark reality of the difference in our individual homecomings.

Read the whole letter, and Payne's comments,

28 May - Advances in Feline Videography



The Janus Museum's Video Unit is pleased to announce our latest advance in the field of advanced feline videography - the Catcam. It's for shooting cat-level videos, you see. The images of Natasha above are drawn from our first trial - the gripping 38 second video may be viewed in its entirety

28 May - Additional Avian Photographic Find



While searching for the carte-de-visite of

28 May - Bear Report from Pecker Wood



Our old Friend of the Museum, Hank Burchard, the Squire of Pecker Wood, has had an exciting spring, so far.

The bear showed up just after I sent the previous message, strolling down the driveway as the light began to fade. He displayed none of the shy alertness characteristic of his species, looking neither right nor left as he made his royal progress. He circled the house, then came up on the deck by the (glass) kitchen door, on the inside of which I was standing with pistol in hand. Whether it was me he saw, or his reflection, he reared on his hind legs and put his front paws on the glass, at which point his head was level with the top of the door frame. If the bolt had failed or the glass had cracked I would have shot. He cocked his head this way and that, and let out a woof that left snot on the glass.

He dropped down on all fours and padded over to the picnic table, upon which aforetime he has been wont to climb to get to my suet feeders, which hang from a tree branch. He placed his forepaws on the table and sniffed at the line of rat traps on it --, with which he had been previously and painfully acquainted -- and dropped back to the deck. Then he crossed the yard to investigate the new construction the front of my shop, circled the building, and as night came on, wandered off toward the pond and out of sight. Behind him he left a heavy aura of skunk, one of which he obviously has recently dissed.

This is a big, fat, glossy, gorgeous bear, in the prime of life. And sometime, perhaps tonight, somebody will kill him, because he has crossed the line into our space. Or you might say we have enticed him out of his space. Whatever, we will not tolerate a bear who does not know his place. I narrated the bear's peregrinations to Curtis [the Squire's nearest neighbor] on the phone -- a real-time reality show. We decided not to call the game warden or the neighbors, and swore each other to mumchance. We're both willing to absorb a fair amount of damage, if only the creature will stay outside. However, I dunno how forbearing I would be if he turned out to have a taste for tomatoes.

Oh shit. Here he is again. He just went after the suet feeders, stepped into the line of rat traps and sent the picnic table and grill tumbling as he fled. I found four of the traps, dunno where the other two are and am not going looking for them in the dark. This country life, it gets a little too interesting sometimes.

27 May - Old Abe the War Eagle



Back in December, whle gassing about

26 May - Your Poor Almanac Fix



Here is the

26 May - Recent Acquisition



Friend of the Museum Rebecca Richters has very generously given the Janus Museum this superb

26 May - Foliage in Full



Cats Leroy and Natasha take a breather at the Olde Footbridge during a recent catwalk. The Janus Museum Forest Preserve is now is full leaf; contrast it to

26 May - At the Catshow



Cat Cosmo is scrutinized at a recent catshow we attended in nearby Gaithersburg. Cosmo was our favorite in a very strong field. Museum Cats

26 May - Kathleen the Great


Kathleen Ewing,1983
Ambrotype (collodion positive on glass)

The art gallery caper isn't an easy one, especially in Washington DC. So to keep at it for 30 years is to show a laudable amount of spunk, grit, and get-up-and-go-ness. And when it's a photography gallery, there's also a touch of the miraculous attached to it. Anyway,

19 May - Festival Snaps


Grumman Albatross, Middle River

Here's a Grumman Albatross at the Middle River Waterfront Festival near Baltimore last Saturday -

Delicious.

19 May - Your Poor Almanac Fix

17 May - Straw Candidates



Old Friend of the Museum and eminent photographer Tico Herrera (brother of Dr. John Herrera of

15 May - Straw Hat Day



Get out your panamas, boaters, sailors, Amish straws, leghorns and shantungs - it's

14 May - OMG, a Unimog



I recently came upon a neighbor, Dennis Opfermann, poring over a vintage

It's a 1964 Unimog 411.119, with optional PTO [Power Take Off, a drive shaft that runs from the transmission to the front, rear or side of the Unimog to drive an implement such as a winch, snow blower or pump], crawler gears, air compressor, and 3-way tilt bed. 6 forward, 2 reverse gears, but the crawlers work on 1st & 2nd so there are really 10 forward and 6 reverse settings.

How I bought it is I keep googling Unimog in English. Not much on them. The Rocky Mtn Moggers site isn't very good and most of the ones for sale on ebay are tired 404s (ex-Swiss, Belgian, French army). This one just turned up on a private site. It was an estate sale, in Calgary, Alberta. Gudrun did a private site so she didn't have to sell to just anyone. She didn't want to sell it to someone who wouldn't keep it original. Shipping from Canada was a nightmare (and expensive).

Why I bought it - I've wanted one since I got a Matchbox Unimog (but that's a bigger 406 model). Also, I intend to use it - Unimogs don't like to just sit around and not run. We'll use it on the farm for cutting grass, hauling water to the orchard during drought, digging post holes, and plowing snow. Don't have attachments for that stuff yet, but I'll get them.

It does need some work - I knew about the problems because I called the Canadian Automobile Club and they gave me the name of a certified inspector. It was worth the CA$65. Nothing major - mostly rubber gaskets and hoses that need replacing after 42 years. I can get everything I need from Mogparts. The first project will to replace the axle hub seals. Front brakes don't work very good with oil splashed all over them.

The biggest problem I've had is finding the proper oil. It takes 43 quarts of SAE 20W HD oil (27 of those are in the hydraulic system). Rare stuff, but while I was writing this email, NAPA in Greencastle PA called and said they found the oil and it will be in on Monday.

Joe Kalish, the brewmaster [of the Olde Towne Tavern Summit Station, Gaithersburg, but soon to have a new name], wants me to bring it down here to use a float in the Labor Day Parade. If I can get the oil leaks & brakes fixed and borrow a trailer, I think I will. Afterward the parade, I plan to cook a hog maw and celebrate.

12 May - From the Collection



While toiling the other day on the Museum's historic Wallingsfurt Collection, I came across this fascinating shot of

There's a boy across the river

With a bottom like a peach -

But alas, I cannot swim...

9 May - A Thrilling Catwalk



We experienced a particularly thrilling catwalk last Saturday - climbing, scamperage, ambuscades, digging - the whole catly program. Above, Natasha looks quite wild, up a tree.




Leroy also does some climbing. He's not quite as dashing in the ascent as Natasha, but his dismount is a bit more skillful.

Cat Peake suggests something quite alarming to Natasha - notice her ears laid flat. She objected, and there was a brief tussle with loud cries, during which...

... Leroy wisely took cover behind

7 May - Foggy Morning



A foggy morning, early on, in Wallingford Park; kind of hauntingly beautiful, and stuff.

6 May - Lothar?



Leafing through Chris McNab's

6 May - Down by the River



I went for a hike with one of the ALTGEM participants along the Potomac at

6 May - Hideous Forest Carnage



Here comes Leroy, galumphing down the path in the Janus Museum Forest Preserve. Aiee! There's Natasha, cleverly concealed in a shadow, ready to spring.

5 May - Your Poor Almanac Fix



Here, as a public service, is your link to Saturday's hilarious installment of