Washington Post Writers Group has announced that Berkeley Breathed’s Opus will end syndication on November 2. "With the crisis in Wall Street and Washington, I'm suspending my comic strip to assist the nation" Breathed declared. "The best way I can help is to leave politics permanently and write funny stories for America's kids. I call on John McCain to join me."
After a morning at Mom-in-Law's house (starting the process of getting new storm doors) we took a long loop out east and checked in at the Observatory. Good thing, too, the dehumidifier tank was about to overflow. That's no mean feat, either… I have it set up with a tank that can handle about 20 gallons! It was a nice drive out and back enjoying the early fall colors. After lunch we headed west and, following some light shopping, took a stroll on some of the trails at the Cleveland Metroparks' Rocky River Reservation. It's a beautiful wooded area with wetlands and was so busy, this sunny Sunday afternoon, that we were lucky to find parking a half-mile away. Still, we were there for the hiking and the spot we found was actually quite nice.
As we walked the paved path approaching the Reservation's visitor center, we saw a Great Blue Heron glide in for a landing in an adjacent wet area. We watched the big bird as it began fishing, silently wading along a submerged tree trunk. Saw it catch a small fish or two. Shot many photos of the quiet beauty of the bird and its surroundings.
After a relaxing walk, including a decent workout climbing a crazy-high set of stairs up along a cliff, we set off for the car. The heron was still fishing so we paused to capture a few parting shots (my best of the day, seen above) and stopped again at the entrance to the paved path. There were beautiful yellow flowers glowing against a background of deep green foliage. The last blooms of the season are sometimes the most lovely.
During a Public Night at the observatory not long ago, I noticed a young boy picking at the blistering paint on the curved wall that supports the dome. Had it gotten that bad, so bad that you could see the flakes in the darkness? Yes, it was that bad. So I spent a good amount of effort wire brushing the flakes from the wall, applying a primer coat –in some places bare concrete stucco had been exposed– finishing with the color coat. In a reverse-order move I noticed that the capstones supporting the dome rotating mechanicals looked pretty bad with their yellowed gray paint. So I wire brushed them, applied primer, and painted the capstone faces. Had to clean up a few drips that fell on the newly painted wall below but I'm glad I did it anyway. So here, in living color, is a photo of the Cooley Telescope surrounded by a non-gray wall, capped with stones painted to look like stone… their own native sandstone to be specific.I'm sure some antique observatory folk will be shocked when they see it. I, however, think it looks splendid. I'd have done the inside of the dome too, if I'd have been able. Next I must find a way to refinish the telescope in situ.
Much to my surprise the Saturday night Public Night at the Observatory went very well indeed. The late afternoon skies were light to heavily clouded and I thought if we were lucky we'd have poor views of Jupiter and that's all. After sunset, however, the sky grew clear and steady. First visitors arrived at 7:30 — a full half-hour ahead of starting time — so as soon as I had the telescope uncovered and the dome open, we began. Early viewing of Jupiter was best and, for my first time ever (somewhat embarrassed to say) I saw the Great Red Spot. As the night progressed people came and went. I shared views of Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the double cluster in Perseus. We took a break just before 8:30 to adjourn to the front yard to watch for a passage of the International Space Station. A group of about 20 of us watched as the brilliant star-like light of the ISS appeared through neighboring trees, moved in stately fashion west to east high over our heads, sinking and finally disappearing into Earth's shadow. The show took three or four minutes and was very popular amongst our visitors. The last of our 50 visitors left just after 10:00 PM as Jupiter sank behind the trees. Most memorable to me was that Red Spot sighting — not all that distinct but I'll always remember finally spotting the spot!
Note: The photo here came from the NOAA Web page describing Jupiter but fairly represents what I saw.
I got several good images from my brief visit to Hinckley Lake yesterday before a very, very long work "day." Some shots were, of course, better than others. Some have been deleted –just no good– and a few got away. I'm pretty happy with this shot of a Great Blue Heron starting its day in the shallows. I watched as it preened its expansive wings, stretched, and then stood as if to begin warming up for a morning of fishing. A hunter of another sort had laid a trap that I found all covered with dew. The droplets and low sun angle combined to create a shimmering rainbow on, what for insects, is a deadly snare but what, for the spider, means life. Needless to say, mornings at Hinckley Lake are my favorite time there and I feel calmed just recalling the scenes and sensations from my visit.
There are some who fear the start-up of the Large Hadron Collider –a mammoth atomic particle accelerator– saying it will create black holes that will, with a giant sucking sound, consume the Earth and all we hold dear. A NASA scientist I was listening to last night reassured his audience… sort of. When someone asked when was it that the LHC was supposed to begin operations, he replied, "oh, it has been started. And we're not really here."
It was a beautiful morning at nearby Hinckley Lake where I went to enjoy the quiet early day. It's a needed respite which will help me prepare for the long day ahead; a day which will include working til about midnight on a computer server that is on its last legs. Here we see the early sun shining through mists rising from the still surface of the lake. How I would have loved to spend more time there and how I would love to go out tonight — the skies should be wonderful for astronomy. Alas, I must work to earn an income. Money may not buy happiness, but it helps!
I spent Saturday afternoon applying the color coat the the walls of the observatory dome room. It's a deep sky blue color the paint company calls "Pacific Panorama." It's a radical departure from what has been seen there in the past and I hope traditionalists aren't going to be too upset. Because they now look so drab (faded yellowish-gray) I'll next paint the facing edges of the capstones –the stone slabs at the top of the curved dome wall upon which the dome rails are mounted– a shade of terra cota.I'll post a photo when I've finished.
Today She and I spent the afternoon on a quick trip to West Branch State Park — an Ohio park with a large lake and reservoir as the focal point. Beautiful drive out and a rather nice woodland hike of about a mile and one-half according to the GPS. The cloudy skies made photography difficult but we both managed to capture some nice views of nature. I had many that "got away" but used my brand-new 50mm macro lens to record a rather nice shot of some Queen Anne's Lace along the roadside. I didn't know until later that there's a single, tiny set of red petals at the very center of the complex collection of tiny blooms! (Look at the photo "full-size.") The macro checked out just fine and will be a lot of fun to use but, on darkish days like today, the depth of focus is practically nil though sharpness of the new lens is superb — really can't ask for more from it. I may post another photo or two from our little walk at a later date.
PhotonStopper 