February 7, 2025

REMINDER: YOUR SUBMISSIONS ARE ENCOURAGED

HAPPY FEBRUARY!

Overview for this week.

1. This past Sunday was Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil was awakened from his burrow and saw his shadow when he emerged, forecasting six more weeks of winter.

2. Valentine’s Day is next Friday. I want to send out my love to my hubby Mike and our beloved children Violet and Mikey G. I also have a Valentine for all of you Flock readers: a special dance that you can learn with your loved ones.

3. In this week’s Around Town, the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Shows run through the sixteenth. For many Tucsonans, this is the highlight of the year.

4. Madame Pele is making herself heard on the big island again this week. I have the news on Kikauea’s most recent eruption.

5. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory hosted an Art & Poetry contest last month. I have the winning works and haikus.

6. February’s full moon, the Snow Moon, is next Wednesday, the 12th.

7. Tariffs have been in the news lately; I have a deep dive into who pays them.

8. The University of Arizona’s Spring 2025 College of Science lecture series commences the first week in March. Enjoy these free lectures in person in Tucson, or stream them online from anywhere.

9. Stand Together has developed skills-to-jobs educational programs that allow workers to earn while they learn and hone their skills for an evolving job market.

10. In Wellness this week, I look at the nutritional value of eggs and a new study showing their positive effect on cardiovascular health.

Now, to this week's Flock.

This past Sunday, February 5th, was the 139th Groundhogs Day festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Over 40 thousand Punxsutawney Phil fans made the annual pilgrimage to witness Phil emerge from his burrow to predict the coming spring. Phil cast a shadow this year, forecasting six more weeks of winter. If you are interested in the history of Groundhog's Day, check out last year's Groundhog's Day post from the Flock Archives.

From: Newsweek, By: Rachel Dobkin, February 2, 2025

Punxsutawney Phil made his annual prediction in Pennsylvania on Sunday as America's most famous groundhog saw a shadow, meaning the United States is set for six more weeks of winter.

Are Punxsutawney Phil's Predictions Often Correct?

The first Punxsutawney Phil correctly prophesized six more weeks of cold weather for the state, but his successors' attempts have been hit and miss.

According to statistics compiled by Stormfax Weather Almanac, which tracks Phil's predictions, the groundhog has guessed the weather correctly only 39 percent of the time since the tradition began. Although there are nine years of records missing from the total number of celebrations, that figure is unlikely to sway the count in the animals' favor.

Don't forget that next Friday is Valentine's Day. This year, I'm sending out my love to my hubby Mike and our beloved children Violet and Mikey G. I also want to express my love to all Flock readers and share the following special video tutorial so you can learn to dance with the ones you love.

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean Dance Tuturial

The Annual Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Shows are in town through February 16th. The shows feature vendors and exhibitors from all seven continents and 42 countries as far away as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand, exhibiting at 52 venues throughout Tucson.

From: Visit Tucson

Winter Showcase Returns February 1 - 16, 2025

Every year the world-renowned Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase is like a time portal, a trip around the world, and a treasure hunt all rolled into one. Every winter, more than 65,000 guests from around the globe descend upon Tucson, AZ, to buy, sell, trade, and bear witness to rare and enchanting gems, minerals, and fossils at more than 50 gem show locations across the city. If you're planning a winter visit to Tucson, you won't want to miss this three-week-long event filled with shows, related events, a free day at the gem & mineral museum, and much, much more!

Whether you’re looking for a $5 shimmering crystal necklace or a show-stopping $200,000 crystallized rock from an exotic location, the Tucson Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Shows have something for everyone.

Tucson Gem Show: Uncovering Magic

Madame Pele is making herself heard on the Big Island. The Kīlauea volcano in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island has had eight eruption episodes since it started erupting again in December after a brief period of inactivity. The most recent eruption began Monday, February 3rd.

From: The Associated Press, February 4, 2025

A fountain of lava was spewing from a Hawaii volcano Tuesday in the latest episode of an eruption that has paused and resumed.

Fountains from a vent of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island grew to more than 250 feet (76.2 meters) high Monday night, according to the latest status report from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

On Tuesday morning, a webcam showed vigorous streams of red lava.

The eruption began Dec. 23 in a crater at the summit of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

This marks the eruption’s eighth episode. Small, sporadic spatter fountains began Sunday, which grew more intense, the observatory said. The fountains grew from 50 feet (15.24 meters) high to 250 feet (76.2 meters) high in an hour on Monday night.

The eruption is happening within a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park without posing a threat to homes or infrastructure.

Adult Division Winner: Kīlauea Welcomes Christmas 2024, by Linda Hansen from Pāhoa.

From: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, January 30, 2025

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) spearheads Volcano Awareness Month each January on the Island of Hawaiʻi. This year, in addition to in-person talks and walks around the island, we hosted an Art & Poetry Contest.

Participants were invited to submit a poem in haiku format or art recognizing Hawaii’s volcanic landscapes in the following age divisions: elementary (kindergarten–5th grade), middle (6th–8th), high (9th–12th), and adult. Nearly 60 entries were received, most from kamaʻaina. 

Beautiful depictions in words and art highlight the diverse range of geologic processes and hazards we experience as residents in Hawaii, including the most recent episodic eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit caldera of Kīlauea. Many entries also reference Pele, the Hawaiian elemental forces associated with volcanic activity, highlighting the cultural significance of Hawaii’s volcanic history.

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates.

Left | High School Division Winner: Volcanic Activity, by Añaza Nielsen from Kaʻū High and Pāhala Elementary School.

Right | Middle School Division Winner: Lava Flow, by Andrea Yanga from Kaʻū High and Pāhala Elementary School.

Elementary Art Division winner: Lava Pond, by Milunaizarra Peltier from Volcano School of Arts & Sciences

In the elementary school category, Sunny Mallams, a 4th grader who lives in Honolulu, won with her haiku, “Mahalo Pele:”

Lava shining bright

Giving birth to Hawaii

Mahalo Pele

“Pele’s Domain,” a haiku by 6th grader Austin Kesterson, who lives on Oahu, won in the middle school category:

Boom! Pele is here

Her hair rises through the sky

Fiery lava flows

Ella Hillstead, a high schooler from San Francisco, California, won the high school haiku with “The Harmony of Hawaii:”

Waves lap, sun sets on

Board basalt plains of land forged

By Pele’s fire

Travis Paradea won the adult haiku category with the haiku below:

You take your shoes off

When you enter someone’s home

Even for Pele?

The February Full Moon is named after the snow on the ground. Some Native American tribes named this the Hungry Moon or the Bear Moon.

Some North American tribes named it the Hungry Moon due to the scarce food sources and hard hunting conditions during mid-winter, while others named it Bear Moon, referring to bear cubs being born this time of year. Celtic and Old English names for the February Full Moon are Storm Moon and Ice Moon.

Black Moon in February

About once every 19 years, February does not have a Full Moon. This is known as a Black Moon. Because of time zone differences, these Black Moons may not happen all over the world.

There has been lots of talk and confusion about tariffs in the news lately, especially about who ends up paying them. The following is a deep dive into the issue.

From: The New York Times, By:Ana Swanson, February 2, 2025

President Trump is moving forward with extensive tariffs on America’s closest trading partners. Beginning Tuesday, companies bringing products into the United States from Canada and Mexico will pay a 25 percent tariff; importers bringing products in from China will pay an additional 10 percent on top of existing levies.

The president has insisted that these tariffs will not increase prices for American consumers and that if anyone pays the cost, it will be foreign countries.

But a simple review of how tariffs work suggests that is not the case. Here’s what to know about who pays.

Who pays for tariffs up front?

A tariff is an extra surcharge put onto a good when it comes into the United States. It is the so-called importer of record — the companies responsible for importing that product — that physically pays tariffs to the federal government.

The tariff fee of 10 percent or 25 percent is often charged not on the full sticker price of the good you see at the store, but a lower import price that companies pay to buy a good from abroad, before they mark up the price for sale at a store.

Many importers of record are enrolled in the government’s electronic payment program, and have tariff fees automatically deducted from their bank accounts as they bring products into the country. Tariff revenue is collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, though Mr. Trump has floated the idea of creating an entirely new agency to deal with money earned from his tariffs.

Importers of record can be of any nationality. They can be U.S. companies or foreign companies with or without a U.S. presence. They can also be customs agents who work on behalf of other firms to handle their imports and exports.

But Richard Mojica, a customs lawyer at Miller & Chevalier, said that importers of record are typically owners or purchasers of goods, and are “usually U.S. companies.”

The University of Arizona’s College of Science lecture series starts its Spring 2025 lectures on March 6th. These lectures are free and open to the public; all you need to do is RSVP through their website. Follow the link below for the full schedule. I’m sure you’ll find a topic that grabs your interest.

From: University of Arizona College of Science

Join us for the 20th annual College of Science Lecture Series at Centennial Hall!

This year's series will explore the fascinating science behind communication and the integral part it plays in our everyday lives — from communicating with dogs, to bilingualism and how it shapes how we think and connect within our communities, to the communication challenges facing humans, computers, and AI, and how we would begin to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. Scroll down to learn more about our guest speakers and their lectures.

• All lectures are free and open to the public. RSVP here.
• Doors open at Centennial Hall at 6:15 p.m.
• The lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. and last approximately one hour.
• The lectures will be livestreamed on the UAZScience YouTube channel.
• We look forward to seeing you at opening night on Thursday, March 6, 2025!

March 6, 2025 | Emily Bray and Evan MacLean

Sit, Stay, Speak: Unleashing the Science of Dog-Human Communication

Dogs have lived alongside humans for tens of thousands of years, occupying roles ranging from hunting partners to couch companions. What is it that allows dogs to thrive in a human world and how do humans and dogs seemingly communicate so effectively across the species divide?

In this lecture, we will explore what dogs really understand about human communication and whether dogs have evolved unusual abilities for success in this domain. We will similarly consider what we as humans understand about the communicative world of dogs and how a better scientific understanding of dog behavior and cognition can enrich dog-human communication in the future.

With the increasing cost of traditional universities and an ever-growing need for continued training and skill development in the workforce, "earn while you learn" is the future. Here’s how to do it.

From: Stand Together

or the last few years, something strange has been happening in the American job market. There are 9.5 million unfilled jobs and 6.5 million unemployed Americans.

“What’s going on?” asked Parminder Jassal, a social entrepreneur on a mission to bridge this gap by rethinking higher education. 

Jassal is the CEO and founder of Unmudl, an innovative skills-to-jobs marketplace for working learners — that is, people who are working and learning simultaneously. They have families and full-time jobs. The idea of spending four years away from work and other responsibilities to attend a traditional university simply isn’t feasible for them. 

Our current education system wasn’t designed for working learners. “If you rewind even 50 years ago, [higher education] was really for an elite class,” Jassal said. “It doesn’t work for working learners, who are juggling so much more than most of us. Essentially, you can’t catch up.” 

Four-year degrees don’t line up with employers’ rapidly changing needs, either. “What is being taught in schools today is very different than what is needed in the workplace,” she said. “We’re just in a new age.”

Jassal’s solution? Create a marketplace that aligns education offerings with what businesses need. Unmudl works with some of the world’s largest employers to design courses that help working learners build skill sets for specific jobs in their organizations. Classes are flexible, inexpensive, and relatively short — empowering workers in this rich, untapped talent pool to pursue meaningful employment. But Jassal isn’t building this marketplace from scratch. She has found a familiar infrastructure to use: community colleges. 

If this works, could the United States be looking at an entirely new pathway for every person to reach the jobs they want?

Employers are designing new degree programs so students graduate job-ready

Eggs are the original superfood, packed with proteins, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. A recent study at a university in Australia found that incorporating eggs into an already healthy diet can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults. 

From: Monash University, February 5, 2025

Regular consumption of eggs is associated with a 29 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death in relatively healthy older adults, new research from a Monash University-led team has found.

Published in the Journal Nutrients, the researchers found that for relatively healthy older adults, consuming eggs 1-6 times per week was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (death from any cause) and CVD mortality compared to those who rarely or never eat eggs.

The study involved 8756 adults aged 70 years or older, who self-reported the frequency of their total egg intake: never/infrequently (rarely/never, or 1-2 times/month), weekly (1-6 times/week), and daily (daily/several times per day), as part of the *ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP) sub-study.

First author Holly Wild, a PhD candidate and lecturer from the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said compared to older adults who never or infrequently ate eggs (up to to twice a month), those who ate eggs 1-6 times a week had a 15 per cent lower risk of death from any cause, and a 29 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death.

“Eggs are a nutrient-dense food, they are a rich source of protein and a good source of essential nutrients, such as B vitamins, folate, unsaturated fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins (E, D, A, and K), choline, and numerous minerals and trace elements,” Ms Wild said.

Vitamins and Minerals of Chicken Eggs

credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team

Butterfly emerges from stellar demise in planetary nebula NGC 6302

These Flock regulars are always here for you:

Cita Scott for paintings, photography, and culinary art. Cita will be in and out of town all summer. Don't hesitate to give her a jingle. (520) 404-1551

Kimberly GomER, MS, RD/LDN

Registered and licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist. Find me on my website at KimberlyGomer.com for information about nutrition coaching.

Sarah Smallhouse & Make Elections Fair ArIzona

– Sign the petition here

Sensitive & Specific: The Testing Newsletter by Mara G. Aspinall and Liz Ruark. Mara is always here to help in understanding testing knowledge and how it's being applied.

Kyria Sabin of Fletcher Pilates,

(520) 323-7070

The Fabric Jeanie!

Tap to learn more. 

(520) 245-0589

Linda Collazo, mezzo-soprano

for piano and voice lessons

Andres Valbuena, drum selection, drum basics, and more.

Dr. Hayward M. Fox, Ph.D.

The institute of Personal andTranspersonal Knowledge

Tucson Village Farm:

Vegetaable growing in the summer heat.

The Physio Shop,

Elite physical therapy services and more.

Icebox Cryotherapy,

Icebox Tucson’s unique enhancers allow you to be your best version! 

Nathan Anderson of Catalina Acupuncture

(520) 999-0080

Don't Be Shy: Share Your Stories!

I'm looking forward to sharing more of your personal stories - oral, written, or otherwise, as we enter our third year. I'd so love to present them to The Flock, hit a mailbox below to share your story.

Holualoa Ed Fit Wellness & Culture 2

520-818-4433

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