Satellites...or something

I was nearly asleep last night about 10:30 pm when my phone rang. It was my roommates boy, P. He was out with his friends and were looking at something really bright in the sky. They didn't know what it was. It was flashing "blue and red". Someone thought it was a satellite, but I said satellites don't flash. Airplanes flash, I told him. He said it wasn't an airplane. They didn't know what it was.

So I crawled out of bed and looked outside in the direction he mentioned - kind of south-east.

Sure enough, there was a bright something up there. My first, groggy thought was a planet - so I said "That's Jupiter."

P: "Oh really? Why is it twinkling?"

Me: "Because of the atmosphere."

P: "Wow, that's cool. Okay thanks. Sorry about getting you up."

Me: "That's okay. Night."

And off I go back to bed. But I kept thinking of that night sky. It was very beautiful and very clear. Then I thought more about what I saw, and remembered seeing Orion's belt, and that it was pointing right at that bright star I had called Jupiter. And I realized I had been mistaken. It wasn't a planet at all. It was the star Orion's Belt always points to. So I send P a text.

Me: * I was mistaken. It's actually the very bright star 'Sirius'. True story.*

P: * Ooh okay...I was wondering why it was twinkling...was it just barly found? I have never seen it before*

I had to chuckle a little with that question.

Me: * No. It's been there forever. It's just a very clear night so it stands out more*

P: * Okay...*

I know that tone of text from him. It means, "I don't really buy it, that still doesn't answer my question of why I haven't seen it before. It is so bright, how could I miss it in all the times I've been camping and out and night...but I'll just leave it at that with my doubting and wondering."

So understanding that this was probably what he was thinking I continued my explanation.

Me: *Also you only see it in the winter. That may be why you don't recognize it. You're used to seeing the summer sky.*

Whether he bought that or not, I don't know. He didn't answer after that. But it got me thinking about the night sky, and how most  people only give it a passing glance most of the time. It's there. There are stars up there. The big dipper is about the only thing most people can find. Maybe Orion's Belt. But there is usually a disconnect between when one can see Orion's belt and when they can't.

When I do astronomy programs in the summer I often get asked where Orion's belt is. To which I explain that it is a winter constellation, and isn't visible in the summer (except maybe during the wee hours of morning).

So why can't you see Orion in the summer? For the same reason we have day and night and different seasons. The earth rotates and more importantly, orbits the sun. As it orbits the sun, the view of the night sky shifts with the shifting position of the earth in space.

So go check out the winter sky. It is truly one of the best times to see the night sky. Bright constellations. Clear skies. Orion. And his Belt of three stars.

Waking World

 Come on, come on Spring! You can do it!

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go. ~Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. ~Bern Williams

Short Days, Long Weeks

The days are getting shorter, the weeks are getting longer. All day today I've been thinking it was Saturday. I generally feel done with the week after just two days at work. But maybe that's just me.

I don't mind the changing of seasons. At all. In fact, that transition time is quite invigorating to me. But I do struggle with shorter days, less sunshine, more dark. However, one thing that is great about shorter days - the stars become so much more accessible. One does not have to wait until 10 pm (or later) to have a good star viewing experience. And the stars are so much brighter and more dramatic in the colder seasons.

Still, that doesn't make it any easier to go to and from work in the dark. So here's my solution and suggestion to the powers that be: I suggest we change the length of the work day proportionally to the hours of sunlight. For example, if during the summer we have 16 hours of sunlight and 8 hours of work, then during the winter, when we only have 8 hours of sunlight, we should only have 4 hours of work. I like that idea. I'll think I'll petition for it here in my little world.

Nature Quote of The Day:

"There's no night without stars" 

- Andre Norton

Autumn Walk

I recognize that I've been neglecting myself lately. While going on walks, or taking hikes, I have not allowed my inner child to explore and look and watch and wait. I realize now how easy it is to forget how to look and see. I need to apologize to myself, and allow the wonder back in.

The changing leaves are wonderfully vibrant this year. With their help in luring me out, I took a walk to capture whatever captured me.

A small hornet's nest on a Hawthorn tree

A bumblebee supping at the flowers of a Goldenrod

Beautiful fall colors along the hiking trail

Part of the reason I went out today was just to enjoy what I could find. But somewhere inside I had the hope of maybe catching a quick view of a snake slithering across the trail, or in the brush off to the side. As I walked, I heard several small animals up in the trees, or down in leaves and grass. Then I heard the sound I was looking for - a soft, constant, rustle of leaves. And there it was, a small Eastern Racer, slowly moving along the side of the trail. 

I followed it, mostly by sound, hoping it would stop in a place where I could get a nice look without scaring it away. Well camouflaged, it did stop. And it took some time to locate it with my camera. 

I did finally find it's cute little head. Every time I moved slightly, the little black tongue would pop out, tasting the air. 

Continuing down the trail, there were more beautiful colors to enjoy.

On my return trip, to my delight, what appeared to be the same snake came into view again and stopped with it's head perfectly framed by surrounding leaves. Immediately after I took this picture it was on it's way again. And so was I.

Yard Day Postponed

I have a kitty on my lap as I type this. He is so warm and fuzzy, but it does make it tricky to type with his head resting on my hands and arms. I'm sure I'll make due; I wouldn't want it any other way. :)

I had high hopes of getting out and mowing the overgrown lawn, pulling some out of control weeds, and just cleaning up the yard overall. However, it is snowing right now. Big, fluffy, wet snowflakes. So instead I am sitting here on the couch with my warm kitty.

I had hoped that the snow would be all done falling a few weeks ago. But it seems the seasons are shifting on us. I keep saying that before too long, it will be sunny and warm in December and full on winter conditions in July.

So what to do today instead of yard work? I'll be heading to the gym with my mom in a few minutes, then off to take a load of donations to the local thrift store. It will be a day of laundry, reading, cleaning, guitar, and maybe a little TV. Or maybe I'll just bundle up and head out to look for brave, albeit confused birds along the Jordan River. That sounds more enjoyable.

Hello Sunshine

And hello pond. And hello birds!

All winter the pond here at the visitor center has been empty. It was drained so we could do a little dredging this winter. Well, we did the little dredging, and then about a week ago the pond was filled again much to my delight. Since then, large and small numbers of water and some shore birds have been stopping by.

Before the pond was completely full we had a rare visit by a Long-billed Dowitcher.

These birds are basically just migratory in Utah, and while I'm sure not extremely rare in other parts of the state, they have never, to my knowledge, shown up at the pond before.  So thank you, my little friend, for sticking around for the day.

We've also had the ubiquitous Mallard, many Green-winged Teal, a few Canada Geese, and then a smattering of Buffleads, Ring-necked Ducks, Cinnamon Teals, Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, one Lesser Scaup, and a Killdeer or two.

Every morning when I pull up to the visitor center, I take a quick scan of the pond, and if I see anything that looks like it might be unusual or new, I grab the scope and take a quick look. Generally it is the usual showing listed above (the Northern Pintails and Lesser Scaup were fun to find).

Today when I pulled up, I noticed two pale/white birds that weren't really fitting the regular round-up. And sure enough, when I put the scope on them, they were new birds to the pond.

That they were gulls was obvious enough. But what kind, that was the question. My first thought were Franklin's Gulls, as that is the only hooded gull I've had experience with. But their bills were black, and I was lucky enough to see their legs - orange, not black like the Franklin's. I considered the Sabine's Gull, nope. Again the legs were the wrong color, and the bills on these birds were solid black. Bonaparte's Gulls...maybe. Closest so far on description. Little Gull? No, the wings were too long, and black tipped. Black-headed Gull? That would be a surprise, since they don't even occur in Utah, and again, the bill was the wrong color. Laughing Gull? Nope.

So back to my best guess - Bonaparte's Gull.

Bonaparte's Gulls with a Buffledhead in the background

Then I was lucky enough to see them fly away. And my guess of the Bonaparte's Gull was more fully solidified in my mind. But I am still open to suggestions. They aren't great images, but what do some of you other birders think?

 Even with the continued snow storms here and there, it is spring, and the birds know it. Turkey Vultures are back. The Swallows will be turning up soon. The air is slowly warming, the snow is melting. The sun is shining (at least today).

What a wonderful time of year!

October in the Wasatch Mountains

The weather has been beautiful. We did have some snow early in the month, but that didn't seem to damper the beauty. There is still some great color in them hills.

My job sometimes requires (allows) me to get out on the trails to work on signs, or scout out a route for an upcoming tour. I had that chance a couple of times this past few weeks. I just wanted to share some of the beauty.





I was listening to an NPR broadcast about the need for play in the lives of children. Without it they loose their sense of wonder, curiosity, and imagination. I think that is one reason I love being out in nature - because there is always something wonderful to see or discover. It's okay to let yourself become lost in wonder.

A Day Out

I was out a lot today with three separate school groups. The day was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the leaves are amazingly bright and vibrant.

We looked at seeds, trees, scat, tracks, picked apples, learned about history, took hikes...It was a great day.

A couple of fun photographic finds:

A Rock Squirrel

What? I don't have anything.

And a Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar on its Milkweed plant. The kids thought that was pretty amazing. Heck, I thought it was pretty amazing. It's not everyday we see monarch caterpillars.

Summertime

So if anyone is still following this rather inactive blog, I apologize for my lack of posting. It's funny to me how very slack I get in the summer with keeping up my musings on nature. Summer is when there is so much to do, and see. So much going on. Maybe that's why I'm a Summer slacker.

I generally do really well with blogging in the winter. And I guess I just have more time, and less going on at work and in my mind.

But I don't like that pattern. There is so much going on in the summer.

For example, I was outside this morning fiddling with a sprinkler and came face to toe with a lovely garter snake. It slithered away. I watched it. But in a few minutes, there it was again. It had come back for another look I guess. It was fun to watch for a minute or two.

A week or so ago I went camping with some friends. There was so much cotton in the air it was almost magical. We saw snakes, slugs, birds, plants a plenty, spider's webs, rivers, rocks. We enjoyed the pitter-patter of rain on the tent. We enjoyed beautiful hot coals after a nice campfire.

The abundance of rain we've been getting has made this normally dry, hot area very green and lush. It's just now starting to get up into the 80's and low 90's. But we're still having thunder storms, and enjoying the moisture, the thunder and lightening, and that wonderful after-rain smell.

Summer really is a wonderful time. So, to keep myself from missing it completely with everything else going on, I am going make a goal for myself, and share it all with you. I will be posting at least one picture a day through July - beginning today of course. And since I missed yesterday, I'll post two today.

If I miss a day, please give me a hard time about it. Thanks. :)

Nice shot! This just makes me laugh. I wonder how long the golfer looked for this ball. It wasn't even within sight of the golf course. ::chuckle, chuckle::

This little one was hanging around the same area as the golf ball. He had found something tasty to much on and so was still long enough for my first good non-feeder picture of a chickadee.

I can't wait to see what I post tomorrow!

Hanging on

I like snow. I do. I love how the world looks after freshly fallen snow. I love how the blanket of snow insulates the ground, keeping the frost from driving too deep into the soil, and freezing out the little critters that live below ground.

It is now April. April means spring. And my soul longs for warmth. My hands are yearning to dig into moist dirt. However, Winter continues to hang on. Snow continues to fall. These pictures were taken this morning from the visitor center.


Of course as snow continues to fall, water fills our streams, rivers and lakes. And that is a good thing.

1st Day of Spring

The Sandhill Cranes showed up today to welcome the coming of Spring! I was so pleased. :)

And as a bonus, on Wednesday, three White-winged Crossbills came to the feeder area just long enough for me to get a good look at them. That was a first for me, and as far as I know, for the park as well.

Spring

Next week, March 20, is the first day of Spring. I am looking forward to the warmer weather. As it is, we still have snow here at the park, but it's melting pretty quickly.

Yesterday I followed some mouse tracks as it tried to find a way back under the thin layer of snow. It meandered for quite a while across the snow, when the tracks suddenly came to an end at a place where a bird's body mark intercepted it. Then just a few feet away, a small blood spot with marks from a bird's wings told the end of that mouse's story.

Today as I arrived to work, there were sounds of spring everywhere. Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, Collared Doves and more, were singing out, hurrying spring along.

I have what I think will be my last snowshoe tour this morning. We'll have to go up the canyon a few miles to get some good snow. When I took a group up that way last week, we came across a well scavenged deer carcass with coyote tracks coming into it from all directions.

Life. Death. Nature in Balance. It's a good thing.

Helpers

I have two little helpers running around my house. They help with making beds, folding laundry, reading, organizing papers and boxes of stuff, and of course setting up Christmas decorations.

T-Spoon and Phineas

Making sure everything checks out and is safe to be in the house.

Sky Watch Friday

As much as I'm not ready for winter, it sure makes for beautiful landscapes! This is a view just outside the visitor center, looking out over the pond to the snow-covered mountains and the blue sky beyond!

Visit other SkyWatch blogs and see the beauty all around.

Not Yet!

I work at an elevation of 5,900 feet for the most part. That's the elevation where the visitor center sits. The park does reach to right around 10,000 feet. So to say this is the first snow the park has received, wouldn't be quite accurate. But it is the first snow that has dipped below the 7,000 foot level.

Click on the images to see the snow flakes falling. I'm not quite ready for snow. Good thing I'm off to Southern California on Monday.

Autumn Dragonfly

I took an exploratory hike today to look over a trail we use quite a bit in the winter for snowshoeing. When the snow piles high, trees and branches that are quite out of the way in the summer, tend to hang low and make it a bit difficult to pass in the winter. So I walked it today to locate potential trouble areas. I took my bins, and camera knowing if I didn't I'd regret it. Despite the added bulk these things created, I'm glad I had them.

I love the color of this dragonfly, quite rusty, set against the backdrop of autumn colors. This particular species (Flame Skimmer, Libellula saturata) were everywhere. It was the most abundant animal along the trail. Beautiful, though, so I didn't mind seeing them time and time again. Click the images to enlarge.

Birds seen were black-capped chickadees, one stellar's jay, robins, and dark-eyed juncos.

There were other cool discoveries made along the trail. But I'll wait and share those in another post.

Bird Photography Weekly - Crane Migration

This is a re-post from a year ago. But it is still appropriate today. Enjoy.

Sandhill Crane nesting season is over. The little guys have learned to fly, and the birds are gathering in large groups in fields, eating and fattening up for their upcoming southern flight! These birds are the coolest. They are huge. Sometimes when I drive by a field and glance over, I think there are deer in the field. Then I realize those deer only have two legs, and realize they are cranes.

Here are a few pics I snapped earlier today.

They are naturally gray in color. But they have a tendency to turn a rust color because for some reason they like to spread mud all over themselves, and that mud has iron in it. So eventually they take on a reddish color. That is, of course, until they molt and get lovely new gray feathers.

Fishing Club

This is the third year the park has sponsored a youth fishing club. We always get a great turn out. Usually we begin the club that last week in May. We decided to hold off a few weeks and make today, June 11, our first day.

I arrived to work this morning and it was raining. The kids still came. They practiced casting... in the rain, which soon turned to snow. Yes, it's still June 11. They divided into their groups and headed out to the pond to do a little...uh...ice fishing. The fish were biting, kids were catching, and having a great time. It was sill snowing. Most froze before we ended the morning of fishing and went back inside to warm up. Some stuck it out to the end.

We cleaned many, many fish...in the rain and snow. It was cold.

I promised the kids that next week it would be warm and sunny. It should be. It will be June 18. Right?

Oh, and I saw my first Western Tanager of the year on Saturday. Beautiful, beautiful birds.

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May Days

May is half way over, June is right around the corner. Busy season in the park. Having a long winter, and virtually no spring has, in effect, allowed summer to sneak up on me. I'm surprised to be looking forward so soon to summer activities, and bypassing what would have been spring preparation.

But I'm certainly not complaining. Even though the calendar doesn't agree, it is spring in this mountain valley. Trees are beginning to bud out. Frogs are singing their chorus. Birds are building, mating, and hatching. I think some may be new in the home-making arena.

This is a Brewer's Blackbird nest built haphazardly on a Barn Swallow nest. Not sure this is going to survive long. I wonder what the swallow thought of this arrangement.

Maybe this is him, confused about the situation and wondering where to build now.

The park is beautiful right now. Most of the early spring birds have come to the pond, spent a few weeks, and have now continued on their way. Occasionally a wandering bird will find his or her way over and spend a day bobbing along. And when I look out the window at just the right time, I'm sometimes lucky enough to spot 'em.


I've never seen a Wilson's Phalarope on the pond before. Yesterday we had three. Two males and a female. This was the only guy cooperative enough to come over for some pictures.

Today promises to be another beautiful, warm, welcoming day. I can't wait to see what today will bring to the park.

Spring

A friend of mine posted this today. I thought I'd share it with you all, especially for you who don't live in Utah, and even more especially for those of you who don't live in Utah and think you might some time very soon. :)

Spring in Utah

I'm so glad my days off are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.