On Friday, SpaceX made the news again with the successful launch and recovery of their upgraded Falcon 9 booster, the Block 5, this time carrying a Bangladeshi telecommunications satellite into orbit. Like many tech breakthroughs, the success of the Falcon 9 series has almost become routine to the point that it doesn't get any attention…Read more Rocket Science (Astronomy: Week of 5/13/18)
Prince William Forest
A nice lunch spot along Quantico Creek, Prince William Forest Park, Virginia.
Nailed the Start!
It's that time of year again! My view from the bow looking down the line at the start. We nailed the committee boat end of the line.
“Bright Spring”
We have just entered the fourth season of the year, and it's one of my favorites! This is based on the 8-season model I wrote about earlier in the year, where we consider both temperature AND sunlight. In "Bright Spring", we enjoy some of the longest days of the year - at my latitude we…Read more “Bright Spring”
Black Locust
Black Locusts are often thought of as "trash trees", covered with thorns, growing on waste ground and forest edges. This time of year though, they're beautiful, profusely flowering with sweet smelling white blooms (flowers that are, by the way, edible)!
Spring Peepers
Instead of publishing a picture tonight, I'm going to share the sounds of spring. This was recorded about a week and a half ago (late April), just down the street at a cattail-lined drainage pond in the neighborhood. Hundreds of little frogs about the size of your thumbnail, calling to each other from dusk until…Read more Spring Peepers
Jupiter is Back (Astronomy: Week of 5/6/18)
A lot has happened in the two weeks I've gone silent... spring has sprung, the evening peepers have given way to Chuck-Will's-Widows and both screech and barred owl calls. Trees have leafed out (and flowered, as copious pollen can attest), and I've watched redbuds, dogwoods, wisteria, and locust trees bloom. In the meantime, I've been…Read more Jupiter is Back (Astronomy: Week of 5/6/18)
Dogwood Flowers
As a kid, I was taught that dogwood flowers were symbolic of the crucifiction. A crown of thorns in the middle of the cross, and blood stains on each petal. They're a little late for Easter this year!
Wisteria
Normally hiding in plain sight, draped over trees, wisteria is in full bloom, with huge cascades of purple flowers. The bumblebees love it!
Every Day is Earth Day (Redux)
(Note: I've been dealing with some nasty illness over the past few days, and my muse has entirely abandoned me for more sterile environs. That said, I really didn't want to let Earth Day go by without some sort of comment - but I realize that my post from last year is still pretty darned…Read more Every Day is Earth Day (Redux)
Redbuds
Spring is finally here! Eastern redbuds are in full bloom, and the dogwoods are not far behind. This is posted partially in response to the Daily Post's Weekly Photo Challenge - "Prolific". See other submissions here.
The Lyrids
I was reminiscing yesterday, and realized that time spent as a kid, laying out in the street with my dad searching for meteors, was probably what got me interested in astronomy. Seeing Saturn in a telescope definitely set the hook, but the bite came from meteor showers. More than stargazing, the meteor search was, for…Read more The Lyrids
Layers of History
The stripes on these cliffs show different layers of sediment laid down at the bottom of an ancient sea, between 3.5 and 5 million years ago. As the cliffs erode, fossils from that era are released and wash up on the beach.
C’mon Spring!
Spring is trying, REALLY hard, to get here.
Fossil Tooth
Fossil tooth from an extinct tiger shark, find at Westmoreland State Park, on Fossil Beach (of course!).
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 