Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Environment

Asterism

Asterism

Last evening, Damsel and I went out to watch a flyover of the International Space Station. The conditions were right for it to be a very bright and spectacular pass. As a bonus, we were also treated to a beautiful conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus in the western sky.

The flyover was everything we expected with the ISS appearing in the twilight to the north northwest and flying overhead at sixty degrees above the horizon. The magnitude of the spacecraft was very bright and registered at minus 3.6 according to SpaceWeather.com. We watch it until it winked out crossing the terminator (Earth shadow) well to the southeast of here, about three minutes after the initial sighting.

I was intrigued by the asterism, however, and went back inside to get my camera and a tripod to attempt to capture the stellar event. I got set up and experimented with various camera settings. The image above, even though slightly overexposed, shows the positions of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus as they appeared to us. When you click on the image to enlarge, you can see the earthshine-illuminated darkside of the Moon.

Canon SL1, 1/20sec., F4.0, ISO 6400 and 75mm focal length.

21 Jun 2015 by Astronomy Environment Photography

The California Drought

Drain The Delta

Anyone who has actually looked into the reasons for the current drought in California will understand that occurrences of dry spells have been common for the area over the course of eons.

It is left-wing politicians and the complicit media that have fanned this drought into a sh*t storm that they quickly blame on man-made (anthropogenic) climate change. In their book, the adage of “never waste a crisis” is repeated loud and often.

Image: One of many similar signs posted near I-99 and I-5 in Sacramento Delta country.

In a case of actual science, the folks at CO2 Science reviewed a paper entitled “Assessing the Uniqueness of the California Drought of 2012-2014″ which concluded that, as noted before, droughts have repeatedly hit the current drought area long before the evils of man-made carbon emissions. The review conclusion is ” . . . it would appear the answer is not so unusual, unprecedented, or unnatural, and there is no evidence to ascribe it to rising atmospheric CO2/global warming.”

We all know (and the left knows it too) that the issue is very poor water management in California. In the name of saving the endangered “Delta Smelt,” a two-inch fish, the politicians have steadfastly refused to allow water from the Sacramento River to flow to places where it is needed. The URLs of organizations visible on the sign in the image (click to enlarge) link to groups who know this and are working at the grassroots level to promote water flow.

As an aside, did you know that CO2 Science is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization? Donations to this anti-anthropogenic global warming organization are fully tax deductible. We donate to their organization not only to promote the truth about AGW, but to piss off the IRS, the Obama administration and all the Greenbats in general by getting a tax deduction for doing so.

There are others that fit the 501(c)(3) piss-em-off category. The Second Amendment Foundation, numerous Christian organizations, Military and Veteran support organizations and so on. We no longer have mortgage deductions, so to offset that, we tend to donate what we can to good charities who will promote our values.

11 Jun 2015 by California Environment Global Warming Greenbats

Rainbow Over the Big Saguaro

Rainbow Saguaro

There has been the possibility of rainfall most of the day, but I’m glad it waited until late afternoon. The sun, getting ready to set in the west, was not obscured by clouds and shone brightly toward the rainfall to the east of us making bright rainbows visible.

It rained hard here for a while before the clouds moved off to the east where it continued to rain. The desert always needs rain, so we’re thankful for this little storm.

The rainbows varied in intensity and were double bows occasionally. I stepped outside the courtyard gate and captured this nice shot of a full arc over our big saguaro out front. Click on the image to enlarge.

05 Jun 2015 by Arizona Environment Photography

Global Warming Resources Update

We have been maintaining a Global Warming Resources page on this website since 2005 or so. I recently went through and checked some of the links and found that some things have disappeared over the last seven or eight years, so I deleted them from the page.

Clicking on the animation above will open the resources page in a new tab or window (browser dependent). The page contains a list of our favorite posts on the topic of climate change, a number of other climate-related websites (cleaned up to eliminate dead links), some favorite articles on other sites plus a complete scrolling repository for all climate-related posts written on this site.

Finally, there is a “Sage Quotations” feature that enumerates a handful of insightful things uttered by a few of history’s smartest people, reproduced here for your viewing pleasure:

Sage Quotations

“Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory.”
   — Leonardo Da Vinci, Artist, Inventor

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
   — Galileo Galilei, Astronomer, Philosopher

“Scientists best serve public policy by living within the ethics of science, not those of politics. If the scientific community will not unfrock the charlatans, the public will not discern the difference; science and the nation will suffer.”
   — Philip Handler, National Academy of Sciences

“Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had.”
   — Michael Crichton, MD, Author, Film Maker

01 Jun 2015 by Environment

Sunset

Sunset

Today was the first triple digit temperature day for us since last fall. We enjoyed watching some NASCAR and MLB on TV today despite the warmer temperatures outside because we decided to run the A/C to keep the puppies cool (and us, too).

Some high thin cirrus clouds appeared over the western horizon to provide us with a simply lovely and colorful sunset. There will be a passage overhead of the International Space Station in about a half hour. There seems to be plenty of moonlight this evening as Venus is setting in the west for us to watch the ISS streak overhead before winking out as it crosses into the Earth’s shadow.

It has been a gorgeous day. Click on the image to enlarge.

30 May 2015 by Arizona Environment Photography

Gambel’s Quail Spring Chicks

Gambel’s Quail Spring Chicks

Spring has sprung loose a lot of new wildfowl near our Arizona home. A breeding pair (or two) brought their brood(s) up on the hill behind the RV drive where I have my bird feeders. There are always a lot of seeds that make their way to the ground from the feeders and these birds were there to take advantage of the spillage.

The two birds in the image were with a group of several little guys being herded around by a couple of adult quail. According to Wikipedia, females usually lay 10 to 12 eggs at a time. When the chicks hatch, they leave the nest within hours and follow their parents as they forage.

It’s always so cute when these little chicks are seen scurrying here and there behind or in front of the parents. I hope to have more photos of them going to and fro this late spring. Click on the image to enlarge.

28 May 2015 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Desert Gopher Ground Squirrel (See Comments & Update)

Pocket Gopher

I’m told that these are rarely seen and I believe that since this is the first time in four years that I have seen one. We think it’s a pocket gopher or similar critter according to a wildlife pamphlet we consulted after I took this photo.

I went up on the hill behind the RV drive to refill the bird feeders and saw the gopher near the base of the garden poles where the feeders hang. It went back into its hole and disappeared, so I went about my business with the birdseed block and bell I brought up with me. When I opened the packages, there were a few loose seeds that I threw down close to the hole where I saw it a few minutes before.

After I finished, I retreated down the hill a bit where I could see the hole. By and by, the birds started to come back to the feeders and shortly after that, the gopher stuck its nose out of the hole and started eating some of the seeds I had tossed its way. Eventually, it came all of the way out of the hole and I was able to get this photo of it.

At present, I don’t consider the gopher a varmint, but just another of the wildlife critters in our desert. I reserve the right to reconsider its varmint status if it starts to devour some of Damsel’s cacti and veggies. Click on the image to enlarge.

UPDATE: Thanks to the keen observation skills of reader and friend Crotalus, we have determined that this is not a gopher at all, but rather, a Round Tailed Ground Squirrel.

19 May 2015 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Categories

Archives