This story begins Friday night when I learned that a large coronal mass ejection (CME) sent a burst of solar radiation from the sun headed toward Earth. It was predicted to intercept our atmosphere on the evening of the 8th, producing auroral activity in the high latitudes. Given the size of this solar storm, as described by spaceweather.com, I was a bit suspicious that the auroras migh be big enough to see all the way down here in northern Idaho. So, I kept a watch looking for evidence of such activity. On the evening of the 8th, I checked…
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything here. The purpose of this post is the reassure you that I’m still alive and kicking. There haven’t been many adventures and photo outings this winter for a number of reasons, the least of which is that it’s been a pretty lackluster winter in terms of snow fall. But I’ve also been busy with school and work and raising a child, and those add up. But as the snow melts and spring takes over the Palouse, I hope to get out more and stay active. So stand by and keep watching…
My trip to the Redwoods had a profound effect on me. I can’t really explain what it was or why. I’ve been to many amazing and beautiful places never come back as humbled and rejuvenated as I had on this last trip. But everything about it just put me at ease and at awe. It was a combination of spending time with the kids while experiencing a mature old-growth forest among some of the oldest and tallest trees on the planet. I came back to Williston ready to take on the world and maybe inspired to leave in search of…
Three months ago, we had some pipes leak in our kitchen that caused some damage to the flooring and the cabinets and resulted in us basically getting a brand new kitchen. We contacted State Farm to see about getting any coverage, and thankfully, they agreed to help cover some of the damage. So, we set about getting a contractor in to look at the damage and give us an estimate. We ended up using one that works directly with State Farm, a decision that may have caused us more strife that we were hoping to avoid, but after several delays,…
I’ve been spending a lot of time finishing up my dissertation proposal, which is due in a little over a week, and that has kept me from taking time to enjoy the outdoors. We got some considerable rain over the past weekend which lead to some dramatic skies and really clear views on Monday and Tuesday, but I just wasn’t able to take advantage of the nice conditions. I did get out for a little bit yesterday afternoon to check out the fall foliage in the arboretum on campus. In Idaho, we don’t see very much fall color. There are…
On Mount Moosilauke Originally uploaded by mineral2. I’m in Illinois now and will be here for a good majority of the year. While I’m living 40 miles in the Chicago suburbs, I’ve already taken a trip to the Mississippi River to see the Bald Eagles and am planning a weekend to Nebraska to watch the mass of Sandhill Cranes as they stopover on their migration north. As the spring approaches, I hope to go south to some terrain that is reminiscent of Alabma. I also plan to go northward to view the waterfowl and the flowers of the North Woods….