Happy first day of fall!

Today is NASA’s 50th Anniversary. This is a good one from Google. I’ve always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid and still do. I even went to Space Camp quite some years ago and loved it.

Here’s a brief snippit about NASA from Wikipedia.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation’s public space program. NASA was established on July 29, 1958 by the National Aeronautics and Space Act.

In addition to the space program, it is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research. Since February 2006 NASA’s self-described mission statement is to “pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.”

According to Google, today is Beatrix Potter’s birthday.

Who is Beatrix Potter, you say? Well, here is a snippet from Wikipedia.

Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who was best known for her children’s books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.

Born into a privileged household, Potter was educated by governesses, and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District developed a love of landscape, flora and fauna, all which she closely observed and painted. As a young woman her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology. In her thirties Potter published the highly successful children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and became secretly engaged to her publisher Norman Warne causing a breach with her parents, who disapproved of his social status. Warne died before the wedding could take place.

Potter eventually published 23 children’s books, and having become financially independent of her parents, was able to buy a farm in the Lake District, which she extended with other purchases over time. In her forties she married a local solicitor, William Heelis. She became a sheep breeder and farmer while continuing to write and illustrate children’s books. Potter died in 1943, and left almost all of her property to The National Trust in order to preserve the beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers.

Potter’s books continue to sell well throughout the world, in multiple languages. Her stories have been retold in various formats, including a ballet, films and in animation.