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FTV: Ode to a Monarch

     In the summer of 2025, we said ‘good bye’ to a Monarch.  No, not the royal kind.  I am talking about our trusty Monarch wood burning furnace.  They discontinued making these amazing units some time ago, but we were blessed to have had such a reliable workhorse of a heating unit for 46 winters.  Perhaps […]

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AstroCal – August 2025

     By mid-August, we will be halfway between the Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox.  The hours of the day will be decreasing toward the 12 hours of daylight / 12 hours of darkness that marks the Equinox (translated as ‘Equal Night’).  On the plus side, the land and water of the northern hemisphere have now absorbed […]

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AstroCal – July 2025

AstroCal – July 2025        On the morning of July 1, 2025, Venus will be shining brightly in the eastern sky in the hour before sunrise.  Shining at magnitude -4-4, it will not be hard to find.  On July 4, the much dimmer object just 2.4 degrees above Venus will be Uranus.  Jupiter (mag -1.9) […]

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From the Vaults: Air Combat

    Back in April of 2025, we presented some highlights of General Chuck Yeager’s exploits from his West Virginia childhood up through his historic flight that broke the sound barrier for the first time (FTV:  Chuck Yeager 4-23-25).  This condensed version of his story touched on his time as a fighter pilot and at the time, […]

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FTV: Knockdown Gigs

From the Vaults:  Knockdown Gigs        When my high school band, The Twig, broke up the summer after graduation, I made the conscious decision to not get into another band until after my freshman year at Northern Michigan University.  After working at the Huron Mountain Club in the summer of 1971, I knew working there […]

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