Day 17.279: And just like that…

This happened before work this morning:

Not some strange broken glass situation, just a circle of ice from the bird bath. So I spent a few minutes getting the heater plugged back in. 

And just like that, we’re back into winter mode. 

Day 17.278: On a Tuesday in October

Not yesterday, but thirteen years ago. Google Photos decided I needed to be reminded today of whatever this was:

Honestly, I have no idea. 

Day 17.277: Comet

After an early dinner, three of us went out onto the cold evening to see if we could see the comet known bit as C/2023 A3 and Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. We did rather well.

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Day 17.276:Owl: barred

We were only allowed to record bird species observed from inside our 17 foot circle so this one didn’t count. On a short walk away from the circle at one point I surprised a large bird that flew a few feet away and landed on a branch a little way into the woods. I could hardly believe my eyes. Fortunately I had my camera with me so I didn’t have to tell a “one that got away” story. 

Barred owl

Barred owl giving me a hard stare

Day 17.275: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #495

Exile #2 writes...

Exile #4 finished their first term of the new academic year on Friday, so today we went to pick them up and bring the home for a week. It was fun to see how their room had become cozier since we last saw it, with curtains, wall hangings and a rug. It was also fun to hear the hilarity that ensued when the three young exiles were reunited!

The temperatures have taken a decidedly chilly turn. I understand the mountains of Maine got some snow today but on our way home, it was the cloud formations that caught our eye. This photo will in no way do them justice but the sky was full of wave-like formations that, it seems likely - and aptly - were “asperitus undulatus”.

Day 17.274: The Big Sit

Our birding/nature group took part in the Big Sit today - recording how many bird species we could observe during one day from a 17 foot diameter circle. We recorded from first light (6:24 am) to last light (6:31 pm), arriving and leaving just before/after those times. Several of us were there all day while others came and went (some several times) through the day.

In the end, we recorded 47 species, of which two were only heard. There were at least two surprising misses, but several surprising hits as well.

Here's a selection of photos from the day.

 

Day 17.273: Heavenly subtlety

One more aurora photo from last night. Quite a while after the more dramatic shots, I went out again and took this - stars and a subtle wash of color. Very pretty in its own right.