I’m truly honored to have been nominated for the “One Lovely Blog Award” by Kay of Kay-Kay’s Bird Club. It’ll be a great opportunity to honor some good folks whose blogs I appreciate, though I’ll admit I’ve hardly even had time to read my own lately! But keep watch for my own nominations. Speaking of [...]
Archive for the ‘Wildlife’ Category
Sun, Moon, and Venus on May 9 and 10, 2012, with bonus gregarious goslings and darling ducklings
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, Community Education, G. K. Chesterton, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Moon photos, Sun photos, Venus photos, Venus Transit 2012, Visual phenomena, Wildlife, tagged Ducklings, G. K. Chesterton, Goslings, Moon, Sun, Venus, Venus Transit on May 10, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Ducks and Geese On a Misty Morning, with bonus First Quarter Moon, March 30/31, 2012
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Moon photos, Wildlife, tagged Astrophotograpy, cell phone camera astrophotography, ducks, First Quarter Moon, geese, Moon on March 31, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Above: 9:16 AM, March 30, 2012. Our unusually mild winter has given way to an early spring, for which I’m truly thankful! Below: 1:03 AM CDT March 31, 2012 (6:03 UT). 8″ reflector telescope, 25mm eyepiece, LG VX8360 cell phone camera. Click for larger view.
Venus Transit T-Minus 176 days, with bonus woodpeckers and post-eclipse Moon
Posted in 2011 lunar eclipse, Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Moon photos, Venus photos, Venus Transit 2012, Wildlife on December 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
On Saturday, December 10, 2011, the friendly neighborhood Downy Woodpeckers were hard at work, in the neighborhood park (look on the trunk of the middle tree): … and in the neighbor’s backyard (these photos taken with 7×35 binoculars): … and the planet Venus was slowly but surely drawing closer to Earth, 178 days ahead of [...]
Duckprints in the snow, with bonus Yellow Submarine
Posted in Birds, Humor, Music, Music I like, Pets, Wildlife on November 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
About 2:30 PM November 21, 2011: Our first lingering snow of the season has fallen, but a nearby warm water discharge keeps ducks and geese in the neighborhood all winter. Pluto investigates signs of webbed-feet activity. To my eye these duck footprints in the snow are creating a multistable perception effect. How about for you? [...]
16-year-old Pluto, a blue heron, and other creatures
Posted in Birds, Pets, Wildlife on September 25, 2011 | 2 Comments »
We recently celebrated the 16th “birthweek” of our venerable dog Pluto, who was born in mid-August of 1995 and continues to enjoy life, and we continue to enjoy him. Here are three candid shots as he enjoyed napping outside our living room window on September 5: All photos in this post clickable for larger view, [...]
Astronomy Evenings June-July 2011, with Update on Moon, Saturn, and Ducklings; Vesta Preview
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Moon photos, Saturn photos, Wildlife on June 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I haven’t seen much of the Wood Ducks this year, but this nice looking drake was serenely swimming near our neighborhood park on the morning of 5-29-11. Taken with 7×35 Bushnell binoculars. Meanwhile, many Mallards have been raising their ducklings this spring: At a different park in town, 5-23-11. At our own neighborhood park, 5-30-11. [...]
Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Playful Goslings and other birds, May 18-19, 2011
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, Humor, Jupiter photos, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Moon photos, Venus photos, Wildlife on May 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
4:58 AM CDT 5-18-11 (9:58 UTC), 8″ reflector, 25mm eyepiece. The Moon was riding low in the south as viewed from my northerly location, and was already sinking into the ground clutter as viewed from my backyard. Interesting shot through the leaves, though! It was more easily seen from the neighborhood park. Nineteen minutes later [...]
May 2011 Planetary Dance 5-16-11, with bonus egrets
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, Jupiter photos, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Mercury photos, Venus photos, Wildlife on May 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
At long last, a perfectly clear morning, with the hope of more to come this week! Jupiter is a little higher each morning, soon to dominate the predawn sky once again: 5:21 AM CDT (10:21 UTC) 5-16-11, 60mm refractor with 25mm eyepiece Venus soon follows. In the following two pictures Venus is on the lower [...]
My best Saturn photo yet, with bonus Moon and water birds, April 14, 2011
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Birds, Jupiter photos, LG VX8360 cell phone camera, Moon photos, Saturn photos, Wildlife on April 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Saturn at 3:23 AM CDT April 14, 2011 (8:23 UTC), using 8″ f8 homebuilt reflector telescope, 17mm eyepiece, and 2x Barlow. That optical configuration yields about 191x magnification. Saturn recently passed opposition on April 3, and remains at a favorable distance for viewing. During the upcoming months it will be well-situated for evening viewing. This [...]
Early in the morning, while it was still dark
Posted in Astronomy, Astrophotography, Devotional Articles, Moon photos, Pets, Saturn photos, Venus photos, Wildlife on December 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I’m happy to report that I completed my paper for the Dead Sea Scrolls course at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. [*Big sigh of relief*] This article was first published in the West Douglas County Record on November 25, 2010: Many people enjoy hunting this time of year, not just for the sport or [...]
