2025 · Autumn

My Scandinavian Autumn Gnomes/Tomte Nisse (1)

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Kevin bought me a set of Autumn Tomte Nisse (Scandinavian Gnomes) a few years ago. I was so excited and could barely wait for Autumn. I remembered that I wanted to take some photos with these little guys. Here are the results of the first shooting. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I do. Either way, I had a lot of fun with Sven, Christopher, and Gunnar. Yes, I picked some Swedish names for my gnomes as well.

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2025 · National Day Calendar

Spalding Baseball Day 2025 ⚾

Baseball is one of the most popular American bat-and-ball games played between two teams. Each team consists of nine players, and they take turns batting and fielding. The game ensues with a pitcher, a player on the fielding team, throwing the ball. A player from the batting team tries to hit the ball with a bat. Baseball is a game where we can see thrilling moments like a flashy home run, a super grounder, and shocking strikeouts. Dramatic moments and fascinating statistics make each game worth watching.

When we talk about baseball, Albert Goodwill Spalding is a person that we cannot ignore. His contributions to the game are beyond words and worthy of being celebrated. He played baseball throughout his youth and played his first competitive game with the Rockford Pioneers. It was a youth team when he joined in 1865. After seeing his impressive 26–2 victory over the Mercantiles, Rockford Forest Citys approached him. Spalding was only 15 years old at that time. He played for Rockford Forest City for five years.

In 1871, Spalding joined the Boston Red Stockings after the formation of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. The Boston Red Stockings were a precursor club to the well-known modern Atlanta Braves. He was highly successful there and won 206 games. He retired from the game in 1878 at the age of 27. Even after retirement, he continued as the president of the White Stockings, in which he was also a part-time owner. He was a major influence on the National League. Spalding’s career-winning percentage is the highest ever by a baseball pitcher.

:https://nationaltoday.com/spalding-baseball-day/

2025 · Travel Tuesday

From Schaippach To The Rieneck Castle In Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany ~ 1986

Rieneck Castle (German: Burg Rieneck) is a hill castle in the town of Rieneck, in Bavaria, southern Germany. It was built by Ludwig I, Count of Loon and Rieneck, around 1150. It is today used by the German Christian Guide and Scout Association. Rieneck Castle sits on a hill in the town of Rieneck, overlooking the Sinn River. It is located in the Spessart hills, in the Main-Spessart district of Bavaria, about 80 km east of Frankfurt.

In 1150, Ludwig I, Count of Loon and Rieneck, ordered the building of the castrum Rinecke on the northeastern boundary of his territory, intending to safeguard the lands of this aristocratic family against the neighboring lordships of Mainz, Würzburg, and Fulda. The little hill in the Sinn valley offered excellent conditions. There was only one direction where the castle required additional protection by a defensive ditch and offered as narrow a front as possible to attack. The latter can be clearly seen in the ground plan of the keep, the 19-meter-high “Thick Tower”, which is outwardly an irregular, seven-sided polygon, whose tip points towards the nearby hill. The castle complex initially consisted simply of a courtyard surrounded by defensive walls and the keep, with its 4 to 8-meter-thick walls. Inside the walls, half-timbered buildings were constructed as living quarters, store rooms, and stables. Of these, only what we now know as the “arched cellar” survives.

: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rieneck_Castle