Happy Nameless Days!

What to do with a numerical remainder of days that do not fit with preconceived arithmetic notions of how time "should" function? This was a problem that vexed the Mayans with their 18 months of 20 days each, and the Parthians (Persian) with their 12 months of 30 days each. The solution? Five "Nameless Days" for feasting and partying!

The five Nameless Days correspond more-or-less to our time between Christmas and New Years, although the Protestant work ethic got the better of Western Civilization some centuries ago, and now these days have calendar dates and many poor souls have to work. Wassup wif dat? To their credit, the French revolutionairies tried to recover the five Nameless Days -- the Sansculotides -- with their Republican Calendar of 1793. Viva La Revolucion!

In addition to the feasting and partying, Nature beckons. Mornings are cool with frosty windshields:

But good cross country skiing despite the chill:

Friend Dave had a 100,000 mile knee rebuild a few years ago, found discretion the better part of valor, and put his skis away. But we still do a lot of hiking. Here's Dave cresting a ridge high above the Big Hole River valley:

At the top, MollyTheDog soaks up some sun and waits patiently for the human animals to catch up:

Mrs. Rover & I are dog-sitting HattieBeret, a huge, totally lovable, and (in this photo) thoroughly tired Bernese Mountain Dog:

WolfDogJack came along too, but he seldom poses for a photo unless Dave nabs him by the collar:

With three dog noses at work, we human animals were lucky to find this deer skull first. "Alas poor Yorick, I knew thee well:"

We climbed the snowy side of the ridge, descended the sunny side toward the river, and followed the railroad tracks back to the LandRover. For you rail fans, here's a nice example of a fatigued track (near a curve; this is called "spalling," I think):

We were careful to keep the dogs away from the river. In some places, water is flowing over the top of the ice before it finds its way back under:

Well, the sun is down and it's time for a pint in honor of another Nameless Day. Cheers!