The local Apple Store (Westlake, Ohio) just refused to sell me one of their ( $29 !) accessory adapters tax-exempt “unless purchased with a computer!” My local government agency forbids us to pay sales tax on any purchase made for the agency; it upsets the state auditors. The store manager (and Apple policy?) represented their own retail practices as Ohio Sales Tax law and tried to convince me he was correct. He repeatedly said, “we checked; it’s Ohio law!” Is this what they do to prevent “small” tax-exempt sales from taking up too much sales staff time? If the manager or some other staffer would have just made the sale, it would have taken way less time (and cost less) than our extended discussion about whether the “not accessories” rule originates with the state of Ohio or with Apple, Inc.! What might actually speed customer interaction is installing an old-fashioned cash register with a person to run it; I didn’t need to consult with a sales person, I just wanted to pay for a little adapter and be on my way! Store policy made that impossible. So what’s the point in us shopping at our local Apple Retail Store for accessories when I’ll have to go to Target, or Best Buy, or order online from CDW-G? The exchange took an otherwise pleasant visit to their shiny store and flushed it down the toilet. Bought the darned thing at the local (Ohio) Best Buy using my store-issued tax-exempt card, no problem… there.
Visitors enjoy white light (big telescope) and hydrogen-alpha (small scope) views of Earth's Sun. Photo by Kevin Kelley, WestLife.
I spent a fun couple of hours, August 10, sharing views of the Sun through my telescopes at the Westlake Porter Public Library. It was a sort of sidewalk astronomy event, part of “Science Week” there, and drew 53 participants. Lots of passing clouds got in the way, shoved along by steady winds, and people were surprisingly patient waiting for the Sun to return. When we had clear skies we were rewarded with very good viewing of a beautiful loop-shaped solar prominence through the 35mm Lunt Ha scope; careful viewers with moments of better seeing spied several more! Seeing wasn’t quite good enough to reliably find the two small sunspot groups present, nor was it good enough to see granulation patters that afternoon using the 90mm Meade telescope with white light filter. I did see granulation that morning during testing at home. Sadly, a very large sunspot group, visible only days earlier, was just over the Sun’s limb this day. Procrastination in these things isn’t good but it was well worth the morning’s last-minute effort of fabricating a sturdy piggyback mount to mate the Ha with my trusty old Meade 390. It took just two trips to the hardware store for less than $10 worth of parts to create an excellent mount! A newspaper reporter asked me what organizations I represented and it turns out there were three: Cuyahoga Astronomical Association, Stephens Memorial Observatory (Hiram College), and the library! And I wore three name tags.
Tasha relaxes after her followup visit to the doctor.
Tasha visited Dr. B today for her 30-day, post Iodine-131 exam and blood test. She weighed in at a healthy 7.4 pounds (just before treatment she’d dipped to a scary 5.8 lbs.) and her “Doctor’s Office” heart rate was about 120 which was way down for the 200+ BPM prior to her thyroid treatment. She’s eating well and much calmer these days. In fact, we may need to start watching her food intake since she could be in danger of becoming fat! It will be a few days before all of the blood work is back but it looks like kitty has a new lease on life and we’re glad to have her with us, “Hyper Cat” no longer.
UPDATE: Blood work came in and Tasha’s thyroid level is 1.7 (normal is 1.9 to 4.8). Her white cell count is a bit low but likely to rebound, says Dr. B. — Aug. 1.
Red dragonfly in flight over sparkling water.
Saturday night was spent at the Observatory showing off Earth’s Moon, brilliant red giant star Antares, a faint star cluster, and the Ring Nebula to a nice group of folks. The sky was mostly clear but high humidity and moonlight make for less than optimal seeing. Still, our visitors were interested and enthusiastic. Views of the Moon were exquisite and exciting with craters along the terminator showing off inky black unlit floors and brilliantly sunlit walls. Mountains cast deep shadows across the lunar seas. The old telescope was in fine form. Two couples stayed late and we enjoyed the night’s best views of the Ring as I changed out eyepieces. As they were leaving we stepped out on the front lawn talking and looking at some constellations, parting company at 11:25 PM. That meant a very late night for me but the overall experience was so positive, I didn’t mind at all!
Today we got around slowly and, because the day promised to be uncomfortably hot and humid, we went to the zoo early enough to arrive a little before opening. We saw some wonderful exotic animals ranging from meerkats and elephants in the zoo’s new Elephant Crossing area to flamingos, lions, giraffes, and storks. We took loads of pictures but, as these things often happen, my favorite photos were of free-flying, native dragonflies that were buzzing around a small pond on the grounds.
It was an all-too-short weekend of cosmic smoke rings and flying dragons.
Dragonfly "Widow Skimmer" (Libellula luctuosa) female pauses on a twig.
We sought out and found a couple of natural places, away from the day’s noisy festivities. We had quiet strolls in woods, fields, and around ponds and wetlands. We saw the denizens of those places: herons, white-tail deer, frogs, fish, and dragonflies. It’s turning out to be another “dragonfly summer” for me and I like that. One of the best photos of the day was a beautiful black and golden female Widow Skimmer spotted in a small township nature preserve.
Visiting can be good, but it is always great to be back home!
Tasha came home from Iodine 131 treatment today as expected. She is said to have been a fine little patient, eating and drinking (and pooping and peeing) well to keep up her strength and help eliminate the Iodine from her system. She did lose a slight amount of weight (now just under six pounds) but that’s due to the still-hyperactive thyroid. She surprised us by also not being shy towards her caretaker, showing no signs of withdrawal or aggression. The Iodine 131 treatment is a cure but her hyperthyroidism won’t be fully resolved for a while and we need to be careful about handling her for the next couple of weeks: she and her eliminations are mildly radioactive! So there will be no lap-sitting or snuggling for more than 15 minutes, hand washing is required after petting sessions, and no sleeping on the bed when people are in it! When she got home she went on an inspection tour of the place, sniffing here, rubbing there, sampling the food, and purring loudly all the while. Reassured, she began to relax and found her old sleeping spot at the foot of our bed. They treated her well at The Cat Company, but oh, it’s so good to be home!
A dragonfly captured in flight is not an easy catch!
After dropping our cat off for a brief hospital stay, I stopped by Hinckley Lake for a hike and another effort at dragonfly photography. I was quite disappointed with my efforts on Sunday, coming way from that session with only a couple of acceptable pictures. So I walked the entire circumference of the lake stopping now and again to shoot images as opportunities arose. It wasn’t until I’d nearly completed the walk –about three-quarters of the way around– that I began to see a few dragonflies. I photographed one that perched for a while on a leaf of grass. Others stayed out of reach — too small and too far away for me to image properly. I noticed a large, dark variety liked to fly in figure-eight patterns in set territories and it occurred to me to try and capture dragonflies in flight. What the heck, it’s digital so I’m not wasting film! So I tried and tried and deleted a good number of blank or blurred frames in the field. What I got back, however, was astonishing to me and of better quality than I managed shooting still-life insects Sunday!
Dragonfly in flight over the waters of Hinckley Lake resembles an unusual aircraft over an ocean coastline.
Tasha (aka Hyper Cat) peering from the window of her climbing tree "house."
Our cat Tasha was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a couple of months ago. She’d probably had it for quite some time before diagnosis but we’ll likely never know that for sure. At any rate we tried the usual medical treatment –methimazole– with some success but giving two tablets a day to a cat isn’t fun for anyone. So we tried a trans-dermal gel compound which, while effective, may or may not have led to a sudden case of vestibular “dizzy cat” syndrome. So we switched back to tablets. Soon after switching back to tablets poor Tasha’s irritable stomach began acting up and she couldn’t keep food down. What to do? Dr. B. recommended treatment with Iodine 131 and referred us to The Cat Company — a place where staff have the training and confinement facilities to deal with radioactive isotope treatment. Tasha was admitted for treatment today, in good health but for her hyperthyroidism starting to show up again: racing heart, increased appetite, weight loss, hyperactivity. Dr. Mann, there, said she’s a pretty typical case and, as he observed her behavior in the examination room, thought she had a “very good attitude.” She’ll have received her single small dose of radioiodine by now and should be resting in interesting, soothing surroundings where she’ll spend the next few days. We may well miss Tasha more than she misses us. She is now, also, radioactive! I suppose we shouldn’t expect her to emerge from treatment with super-powers, like a spider-bitten Peter Parker, or a radiation-exposed lizard from one of those ’50s monster movies. Given feline habits, armament, and inclinations, it’s probably best Tasha not have super-powers. So we eagerly await the return of our mildly-radioactive kitty and look forward to her being cured of hyperthyroidism — no pills, no gels needed. Super-powers aside, perhaps we’ll nickname her Hyper Cat!
A tiny Eastern Amberwing dragonfly rests on a bright green leaf.
Don’t worry, I’m not sure how to pronounce it either! I believe it’s “Show-fel” but hesitate to say the name out loud. What I can say is that it’s one of the gems of Northeastern Ohio parks. Located in Lorain County and part of the parks system there, Schoepfle features large formal gardens, paved and earthen walking trails, ponds and a river, along with woodlands to explore. On a whim we took off Sunday morning and paid a return visit to the place spending an unusual and welcome time quietly watching and photographing the grounds and, in my case in particular, the dragonflies that flit around the ponds. I saw and photographed several varieties. We saw many thin and tiny blue-headed damselflies in the act of mating! Dragonfly copulation is an interesting hook-up (literally) and you can read about it elsewhere. At any rate I’m sorry to report that many of my photos did not live up to my expectations — and I wasn’t seeking dragonfly porn but beauty shots of the various gossamer-winged creatures. She Who Must Be Obeyed often bemoans her humble all-in-one pocketable digital camera but yesterday managed to out-do my digital SLR and its top-of-the-line close-focus telephoto. It’s a great little camera she’s got so I wasn’t too surprised. I’ll just have to learn from my mistakes and try again… maybe today!
A Great Blue Heron with a fish it has speared with its lower beak.
I’d taken the day off in order to deliver Tasha to animal hospital for iodine 131 treatment … a cure for hyperthyroidism. Yesterday I received a call from the hospital informing me of their need to postpone admission. It seems there is a shortage of iodine 131. Without the treatment, and because of her apparent sensitivity to methimazole, Tasha would remain untreated until the rescheduled date for the procedure; her thyroid levels might return to their formerly dangerous highs. So I decided to take advantage of my scheduled day off. I would pick up a prescription of methimazole gel for trans-dermal dosing (less trouble for Tasha) at the compounding pharmacy which has very limited mid-afternoon hours. My morning was open so I headed to Hinckley Lake for the first time this season or even this year. It was a comfortable but hazy morning with thin to moderate overcast as I began my little hike along the lake. On the walk “out” I saw no large wading birds at all –unusual, I think– but was content to look around at the quiet beauty of the area. Low rumbles of thunder began but seemed to be to the north and west of me. As the skies darkened I felt I’d better turn around and so began a somewhat faster walk back around the lake. As I approached one of my favorite spots for finding herons I did, indeed, spy one. It was wading slowly through the shallows, apparently looking to spook a fish and find a meal; that’s just what happened. The Great Blue Heron struck lightning-fast and hauled a writhing fish from the muddy waters. The big bird had speared the fish with its lower beak. It held its prey aloft for a bit, lowered it into the water briefly, and repositioned the fish so it was head-first in its mouth. Then it lifted its head high and in a few gulps swallowed the fish. In less than a minute it was all over. The fish was gone and the heron was again wading slowly through the muddy waters, seeking another meal. It’s the way of nature: life and death, death and life.
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