It started off a little ominously. The morning was dreary, with a foggy overcast that threatened rain. We had assembled a team of 6 new backpackers, one with a few trips under his belt, and three experienced leaders, including myself. One of the crew lost a split ring off a cotter pin on his older…Read more Pond Run (or… What Happened to Those New Backpackers)
Morning in the Valley
The best views are those where you can see for miles, and it's ALL nature! Looking west from Mill Mountain, off the Tuscarora Trail in West Virginia.
Saturn Joins The Party (Astronomy: Week of 6/24/18)
Not so long ago, we had no planets in our evening skies. Now Venus hangs in the west, Jupiter is bright and high in the south, and starting tonight, Saturn will be joining the party. Saturn is at opposition - directly opposite the Sun, rising as it sets - on June 27, just as the…Read more Saturn Joins The Party (Astronomy: Week of 6/24/18)
A Group of First-Time Backpackers
It's been a while since I've done a full-on backpacking plan for a group of more than, say, four. This weekend, I've got 10 people headed out, many first-timers hitting the trail for the first time. It's a whole different dynamic when you can't rely on singles or pairs being self-sufficient and just sharing the…Read more A Group of First-Time Backpackers
Red-Belly on a Snag
One of our local neighbors hanging out in a stiff breeze. A Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Summer?
Around here, meteorologically at least, spring has been sort of hard to get a grip on. We've gone from weeks of rain (very spring-y), to cold dreary late-winter holdouts interspersed with days of mid-summer 90-degree temps and high humidity. It's been a confusing time -- and so it's hard to really get a grip on…Read more Summer?
Filters
There's a great segment in Douglas Adams's Mostly Harmless, the 5th book in the ever-increasingly misnamed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, about the limitations of human perception. In it, the latest version of the eponymous Guide is an intelligent cyborg-type creature resembling a bird, and it tries to explain the nature of reality by shining…Read more Filters
Spring Rain
I love how a spring rain makes everything look so green. It sets off other colors very nicely! Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Blue Angels
This is out of character (some), but I AM a "Flying Squirrel" for a reason. A little intersection of my outdoors, space and aeronautical interests sometimes just lets me sit back and appreciate engineering and, in this case, precision teamwork. Thanks to my lovely wife for the photos!! Taken at the Pax Air Expo, NAS…Read more Blue Angels
Broad-Headed Skink
I was surprised to learn that there are only 6 species of lizard in Maryland. This is the largest, a male broad-headed skink, at almost a foot long. They spend most of their time in trees, so catching this one on the ground was a lucky find!
Twisted
Nature isn't easy - this limb was wracked by wind and weather (including ice) high on a mountain in the central Appalachian mountains. It's a testament to strength and flexibility. This is posted in response to the Daily Post's Weekly Photo Challenge - "Twisted". See more entries here. Get Out There Troy http://www.flying-squirrel.org
Binaries (Astronomy: Week of 5/27/18)
Zubenelgenubi!! If you're inclined to say "Bless You", or "Gesundheit", I thank you. But this particular outburst comes from the name of a star. Together with nearby Zubeneschamali, Zubenelgenubi form the "Claws of the Scorpion", and mean, respectively, just that - these awesome and fun-to-say names are derived from the Arabic word, Zubana (Scorpion), and…Read more Binaries (Astronomy: Week of 5/27/18)
Sentinel
He looks like a lookout. He'd actually just chased everybody else away from the feeder. But either way, standing his ground against all comers!
Masked Bandit
Well, at least we now know why the birdseed keeps disappearing so fast. Sorry to all the squirrels who were wrongfully accused.... Get Out There Troy http://www.flying-squirrel.org
Liquid
"Liquid" - I was tempted to reference the week-plus of non-stop rain we're having, but sky, river and the Sun melting between the two is a nicer reflection of the theme. This is in response to the Daily Post's Weekly Photo Challenge - "Liquid".
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 