Now that the cactus flowers are gone, the fruit remains. These prickly pears are ripening on a large cactus up the road from here. Click on the image to enlarge.
Environment
Sun Rays
We stepped out to walk the dogs this afternoon, when I looked up and saw these sun rays. I finished with the dogs and ran back indoors to get my camera. We have had a lot of interesting skies during the summer of monsoons. Click on the image to enlarge.
HESS Telescope
I was tooling across the web on Friday at my usual web stops when I ran across this behemoth telescope on APOD. It’s the High Energy Stereo System (HESS) used not for looking into space, but to analyze the light emitted by cosmic rays striking the Earth’s atmosphere.
When I first saw the picture of this 32×24 meter cherenkov telescope I immediately thought of the giant contraption in the film “Contact” where Jody Foster takes a trip to the Vega star system. Click on the image to enlarge.
Feeding the Critters
Once in a while, we toss some of our leftovers up into the wash behind the house. We have thrown stale bread, unused tortillas, rice (had a bug in the bag) and so forth. I had some left over celery (which usually goes into the compost) and decided to toss it into the wash. Later, we saw a cottontail rabbit munching on a piece. Click on the image to enlarge.
Global Climate Change – Except It’s Not Global
We hear all the greenbats proclaim that the current heat wave and drought throughout the US is due to “global climate change.” News media blames all this heat and dry on greenhouse gasses ostensibly emitted by us humans.
Well, consider this contrary little factoid: in London, where the Olympic Games are starting today, there will be high temperatures in the 60’s and lows in the 50’s with rain. Funny how the hot and dry reports here fail to include details about cool and wet weather someplace else on the globe.
As we say in the title, “Global Climate Change – Except It’s Not Global.”
The Little Casandro Wash
Well, maybe that’s not the official name, but it is near “big” Casandro Wash and it runs right in front of our little house. When the monsoons come, runoff from the local hills all collects and runs down the little river that serves as our access road.
I took this panorama during the aftermath of the monsoon downpour of July 22. The gatepost featured in Damsel’s sepia photo from a few days ago is near the right edge of the panorama. Click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized panorama.
More Weather Brewing
This evening looks like a repeat of last evening. Afternoon cumulus followed by wind/dust storm and steady evening rain. We don’t need the dust, but the rain helps to settle it.
This is a cholla growing over the RV drive and a palo verde behind it with a cumulus stage thunderstorm building up in the distance. Click on the image to enlarge.