Rethink Recycling Sculpture     High-schoolers were up to the challenge of Maryland Department for the Environment’s 11th annual Rethink Recycling sculpture contest. Students in 22 high schools from across Maryland imagined new uses for everyday waste, from rusted machines to aluminum foil to water bottles.

The deer hunt is on, for firearms at least, until December 8. Bow season follows from the 10th to the 14th. Hope the hunters steer clear of Santa’s sleigh.     With its dark, earthy flavor, venison can be used as steak, stew meat, sausage or as a replacement in any protein recipe. It is a lean meat and certainly sustainable. Novices, prepare for a gamey taste.

A waning gibbous moon brightens much of our nights this week, reaching last-quarter Wednesday, December 6th. But as of Thursday, the near-full moon rises amid the shadows of twilight, around 5:30pm, with golden Jupiter roughly 10 degrees higher, about the span of your closed fist at arm’s-length. Look the same distance behind the moon for the star Betelgeuse, which makes the third point with the moon and Jupiter to form a nice equilateral triangle.

Did you get enough to eat at your Thanksgiving feast?         Yes, thank you.     For most Americans, enough is not the problem.     We live amid abundance so great that, try as we might, we can’t eat it all up.