And on this holiday of holidays, remember to keep Santa in Christmas!
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Crime Scene Investigation
7:05 AM, Wednesday 12/17/2014. Patty exclaimed, "Look!".
I looked. Out the dining room window. Over the goldfish pond.
There was a cloud of feathers gently floating down.
Neither of us saw the actual event. Only the immediate aftermath.
It was actually very pretty, the feather cloud seemingly hanging in the air.
Of course, I did not have the camera setup and ready to go. So the only shots are of the results, not the incident itself.
We did spot a suspect, a hawk sitting in a branch above the yard. But it had no bird in its talons. So either it had already stashed the victim, or this was just an assault, and our victim had survived.
Nor did we find a body, just feathers. Lots of feathers.
We think the victim was a Dark-eyed Junco, a common (with upwards of forty at times) bird at our feeders.
Alas, we couldn't stay around to investigate further, as we both had other jobs to do.
It was a windy day, and when we got home the evidence was gone.
So all we have to go on are these pictures, taken soon after the incident.
The next day we had a new visitor to the yard, a female Red-Winged Blackbird.
She was perched in our crabapple tree minding her own business when something swopped down. This something:
What appears to be a juvenile Sharp-Shinned Hawk, although that ID is tentative. While it did not catch the blackbird, she has not been seen since.
An adult hawk, sporting some ankle bling. It is either a Sharp-Shinned or a Cooper's Hawk, the jury is still out on that one.
We'll never exactly what happened that morning in December. Or even if it was one of the two suspect hawks.
But we'll be watching. We'll never stop watching.
Sadly, it seems that more than one bird was killed when the hawks swept through the yard.
These two were below our dining room window.
When the hawk swoops through, the birds scatter, flying as fast they can to get away. The reflection of the trees in our window looks like a safe haven, closer than the actual trees that are being reflected from across the yard.
As I mentioned above, at times there are over forty juncos and two dozen or so titmice in our yard. So it is somewhat surprising that we've found only two such casualties. Nevertheless we will be taking steps to make the window less of a hazard for our feathered visitors.
I looked. Out the dining room window. Over the goldfish pond.
There was a cloud of feathers gently floating down.
Neither of us saw the actual event. Only the immediate aftermath.
It was actually very pretty, the feather cloud seemingly hanging in the air.
Of course, I did not have the camera setup and ready to go. So the only shots are of the results, not the incident itself.
We did spot a suspect, a hawk sitting in a branch above the yard. But it had no bird in its talons. So either it had already stashed the victim, or this was just an assault, and our victim had survived.
Nor did we find a body, just feathers. Lots of feathers.
We think the victim was a Dark-eyed Junco, a common (with upwards of forty at times) bird at our feeders.
Alas, we couldn't stay around to investigate further, as we both had other jobs to do.
It was a windy day, and when we got home the evidence was gone.
So all we have to go on are these pictures, taken soon after the incident.
The next day we had a new visitor to the yard, a female Red-Winged Blackbird.
She was perched in our crabapple tree minding her own business when something swopped down. This something:
 |
| Suspect #1 |
What appears to be a juvenile Sharp-Shinned Hawk, although that ID is tentative. While it did not catch the blackbird, she has not been seen since.
 |
| Suspect #2 |
We'll never exactly what happened that morning in December. Or even if it was one of the two suspect hawks.
But we'll be watching. We'll never stop watching.
~~~~~~~~~~
Update: Collateral Damage
Sadly, it seems that more than one bird was killed when the hawks swept through the yard.
 |
| Tufted Titmouse |
 |
| Dark-Eyed Junco |
As I mentioned above, at times there are over forty juncos and two dozen or so titmice in our yard. So it is somewhat surprising that we've found only two such casualties. Nevertheless we will be taking steps to make the window less of a hazard for our feathered visitors.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Shine On ...
... or the little lightbulb that could.
Just down the road from the lab was a fire station.
And in that fire station was a light bulb. A very special light bulb. A very old light bulb.
You can see it shining in the photo above, in the center of the image. A bare bulb with a security camera aimed at it.
The bulb has been shining for 113 years.
Someone flipped the switch in 1901. And they haven't turned it off since (perhaps it is stuck?). It has become famous. And it is one of the off beat tourist attractions listed in Roadside America (as was the lab museum and a few other places we stopped along the way). Unlike the lab they did have a small gift shop. With hats and shirts and things. (We made no purchases as we now expected free stuff!.)
Think about it. This bulb has been shining for my entire life. And your entire life. And everybody else's entire life. That's a lot of electricity. And plenty of photons, some of which have been recycled here for your enjoyment.
Just down the road from the lab was a fire station.
And in that fire station was a light bulb. A very special light bulb. A very old light bulb.
You can see it shining in the photo above, in the center of the image. A bare bulb with a security camera aimed at it.
The bulb has been shining for 113 years.
Someone flipped the switch in 1901. And they haven't turned it off since (perhaps it is stuck?). It has become famous. And it is one of the off beat tourist attractions listed in Roadside America (as was the lab museum and a few other places we stopped along the way). Unlike the lab they did have a small gift shop. With hats and shirts and things. (We made no purchases as we now expected free stuff!.)
Think about it. This bulb has been shining for my entire life. And your entire life. And everybody else's entire life. That's a lot of electricity. And plenty of photons, some of which have been recycled here for your enjoyment.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
At the Lab
Lawrence Livermore Labs to be precise. The place with the warning on the sinks.
While we were there we got to hang with Al.
And play a science game with a creepy video host (I crushed).
And model with a model nuclear warhead. At least I think it was a model, cause there were those warnings in the restrooms ...
It was a curious little museum. With exhibits on nuclear warheads, earthquake predicting, energy production and usage, and global warming. Along with the history of the lab. It was one big room and it took us no more than an hour to see it all. Being a physics geek I found it well worth the visit.
But they had no gift shop. So no model nuclear warhead paperweight for me. Or stickers for our bathroom sink. But we did get free t-shirts.
Here we are modeling them. The woman in charge told us that they couldn't sell us the shirts, as she was not setup to handle money. So she just gave them to us. She had a box full of them in the closet. She had been trying to setup a shop for a while, but the powers that be had yet to give the needed approval. So the shirts stayed in their box in the closet. Except for the three we got of course.
It was a nice stop to break up our trip from Yosemite and Muir Woods.
While we were there we got to hang with Al.
And model with a model nuclear warhead. At least I think it was a model, cause there were those warnings in the restrooms ...
It was a curious little museum. With exhibits on nuclear warheads, earthquake predicting, energy production and usage, and global warming. Along with the history of the lab. It was one big room and it took us no more than an hour to see it all. Being a physics geek I found it well worth the visit.
But they had no gift shop. So no model nuclear warhead paperweight for me. Or stickers for our bathroom sink. But we did get free t-shirts.
It was a nice stop to break up our trip from Yosemite and Muir Woods.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Night Visitor
Now that we live out in the middle of nowhere we are visited by many non-human fellow earthlings. Some of which only come out at night.
Our home came pre-equiped with motion sensor lights. And a game we play is "spot the visitor" any time we notice one wink on. Our most frequent visitor is the wind. Our second most common visitor is a cat, presumably belonging to one of our neighbors.
The third most common visitor is represented by this handsome beast. The image is kinda ghostly, which seems appropriate for a something that goes bump in the night.
Getting a picture is not easy. First you need to spot the creature lurking out in the shadows. Of course, the camera is never at the right window. Focusing in the dark is a bit difficult, as our visitors rarely have the decency pose in the light cone of our spot lights. And those lights have a habit of going out just as you get the camera lined up. And as soon as they notice us the critter is off into the woods.
Still it is fun to try. And sometimes you get good "bad" shots, like this artsy one of this Virginia opossum.
Our home came pre-equiped with motion sensor lights. And a game we play is "spot the visitor" any time we notice one wink on. Our most frequent visitor is the wind. Our second most common visitor is a cat, presumably belonging to one of our neighbors.
The third most common visitor is represented by this handsome beast. The image is kinda ghostly, which seems appropriate for a something that goes bump in the night.
Getting a picture is not easy. First you need to spot the creature lurking out in the shadows. Of course, the camera is never at the right window. Focusing in the dark is a bit difficult, as our visitors rarely have the decency pose in the light cone of our spot lights. And those lights have a habit of going out just as you get the camera lined up. And as soon as they notice us the critter is off into the woods.
Still it is fun to try. And sometimes you get good "bad" shots, like this artsy one of this Virginia opossum.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Not Something You See Everyday
How often do you see peafowl in your neighborhood?
On a neighbor's roof?
Ok, now how often is that peafowl all white?
Probably not that often.
Yeah, this is the only time it has happened to me as well. Ok the second time. But it is the only time I had my camera with me.
On a neighbor's roof?
Ok, now how often is that peafowl all white?
Probably not that often.
Yeah, this is the only time it has happened to me as well. Ok the second time. But it is the only time I had my camera with me.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Look, Up In The Sky ...
I'm in the habit of looking up. And sometimes I see things like this.
If you look closely you can see two "V" shaped rainbow-ish looking things in this image.
They are two "arcs" that result when sunlight passes through ice crystals. The crystals act like prisms, refracting the light. The shapes of the arcs are also dependent on the crystals.
The lower "V" is an Upper Tangent Arc. This is a relatively common phenomena that I've had the pleasure to observe on a number of occasions. As I noted I like to look up. And as a wise man once said, you can see a lot just by looking.*
The upper "V" is called a Sunvex Parry Arc. And I don't know that I've ever seen one before. And I've certainly never photographed one.
You can learn more about such arcs, and other atmospherics at the wonderful Atmospheric Optics site along with the OPOD. Click either link and enjoy your visit.
--------
* Yogi Berra
If you look closely you can see two "V" shaped rainbow-ish looking things in this image.
They are two "arcs" that result when sunlight passes through ice crystals. The crystals act like prisms, refracting the light. The shapes of the arcs are also dependent on the crystals.
The lower "V" is an Upper Tangent Arc. This is a relatively common phenomena that I've had the pleasure to observe on a number of occasions. As I noted I like to look up. And as a wise man once said, you can see a lot just by looking.*
The upper "V" is called a Sunvex Parry Arc. And I don't know that I've ever seen one before. And I've certainly never photographed one.
You can learn more about such arcs, and other atmospherics at the wonderful Atmospheric Optics site along with the OPOD. Click either link and enjoy your visit.
--------
* Yogi Berra
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