I spend a lot of time driving in the country, looking at the winter landscape, wondering how to translate colors that could appear dismal and depressing into knitting that is as beautiful as the landscape.
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It is is 2024, so maybe we can make it. We live in Marble Falls, about 45 miles west of Austin, so pretty much in the middle of the eclipse. Only problem is that that time of year, about a 35% chance of cloudiness. And the first week or two of April is the peak of wildflower season here. This year we have really been dry, so may be an off year for wildflowers.
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Well that makes it mandatory then. Are there good places to view wildflowers near Marble Falls? Maybe we should book a suite of rooms in a nearby hotel for all all your BioLogos friends? I hear nothing but good things about Austin and that whole region. Now to get my astronomy loving brother interested so he’ll want to come too.
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We are pretty much in the heart of the wildflower section of Texas. Will keep an eye on what extra beds are available at that time.
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But as for surviving another two years, should be a cinch. I’ve done that heaps of times. knocks on wood
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Accept nothing less than totality.
I was in Idaho for the 2017 eclipse. Photos do not capture the full dynamic range you get with being there. The streamers of the sun’s corona projected far from its surface, the stars came out, and there was a sense of a veil being lifted and revealing that we are standing on a rock travelling through outer space.
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Completely agree now that I’ve seen one. My baby brother worked on me a long time to get me to follow him to South Carolina for 2 plus minutes of total eclipse Not just the visuals but feeling the chill was … chilling too.
If you took that photo my hat is off to you. The only decent photos I got last time were of the echo’s shadows of the disc on the ground and things.
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I knew this was a wolf spider and a species of wolf spider I was not familiar with. It was identified as Hogna lenta ( group ). Was burning off some leaves and they were trying to crawl deeper into the bundle towards the fire. Finally finished doing that earlier. Back to watching the 1960s Japanese show “ Ultraman “. Similar concept to power rangers. Alien being and their power merges with a human hero to fight galactic evils. Sp far this year 90% of what I’ve watched has been from the 40s-60s. About 50/50 on color vs black and white. Tubi is free with commercials and on most smart TVs as a app and has hundreds of older films and shows. I enjoy good stories regardless if they are Hollywood box office or forgiven b horror. Though with the exception of the 60s Batman series everything has been sci fi or horror.
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We usually get one or two snows that stick each winter.
I live at about 750 ft. elevation, the local rivers are at 650-600, the higher local hills are at ~900. The nearest ocean is about 190 mi away. I live at about 35.25, -81.5
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These aren’t nearly as stunning as @Paraleptopecten’s photos, but here are some examples of how mud and gray can be really stunning on nicer spring day in Michigan. Went for a walk yesterday in the way back and found some really lovely mud and dead leaves and buds.
Critter trails turned into streams:
A low spot at good advantage:
These plants never seem to die or go dormant:
The neighbor’s pond pays little attention to property lines:
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Youngest daughter learning how to rabbit hunt from our lounge lizard cat:
Red winged black birds declare emphatically “get off my property” and "it’s spring, dummy, " while I listened to sandhill cranes in some field far away:
Yes, it’s tree pollen season (silver maple)
Catalpa will look like this for a few more months:
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The Red-Winged Blackbirds and Silver Maples (at a comparable stage, but starting to produce leaf buds) are around in our neighborhood as well.
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A quote from “Lord of the Rings,” as the sun brought out the colors of Fangorn for Pippin and Merry, before they met Treebeard, the ruler of the forest:
The light grew broader as they went on, and soon they saw that there was a rock-wall before them: the side of a hill, or the abrupt end of some long root thrust out by the distant mountains. No tress grew on it, and the sun was falling full on its stony face. The twigs of the trees at its foot were stretched out stiff and still, as if reaching out to the warmth. Where all had looked so shabby and grey before, the wood now gleamed with rich browns, and with the smooth black-greys of bark like polished leather. The boles of the trees glowed with a soft green like young grass: early spring, or a fleeting vision of it, was about them…
“The wind’s changing,” said Merry. “It’s turned east again. It feels cool up here.”
“Yes,” said Pippin; “I’m afraid this is only a passing gleam, and it will all go grey again. What a pity! This shaggy old forest looks so different in the sunlight. I almost felt I liked the place.”
“Almost felt you liked the Forest! That’s good! That’s uncommonly kind of you,” said a strange voice. Turn round and let me have a look at your faces. I almost feel that I dislike you both, but do not let us be hasty."
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Randy, that is precisely it.
I was thinking to myself, “The Living Marshes” “Tiny Fangorn” “White Tree”
We have such beautiful light here in the fall and spring.
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Today has been a bit rough. At 630 am was starting to trench 800 feet at 16 inches deep. Machine was used for about 650 feet of it. Only about 50 feet of the hand trenching was really rough as it was in a boggy area with lots of grass roots. Took lots of axing and even then a lot of thst was just 12 inches deep. Then ran and glued 1100 feet of piping and ran everything not trenched under a pier where the muddy water gradually built up to 4 feet deep and about another foot of mud you sunk in. Done now though. Getting ready to head to check out a remodel and hike. Seen a lot of cool stuff but fairly quick my phone was back in my van to avoid being damaged.
The fern is the royal fern. The bird is a Osprey that was relating its next.
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The last photo appears to primarily contain littorinids and mytilids, as would be expected for a rocky coast.
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And a couple of crabs, as you might expect on the forum.
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