On this somewhat disturbing day, especially in the US, there was a very, very nice sunset in LA.
(Click image to see it in full-sized and in all of its gloriosity!)
A bit after quarter moon up there on the left above the semi-shredded tree, all the way around past 180º to the pink, cotton candy puffs above the garage.
Thanks, powers that be! I needed that today.
Tomorrow’s another day to be brave, even if we don’t feel brave.
Filed under Panorama, Photography, Sunsets, Weather
So much time being spent looking backwards this weekend.
Forty years ago, in 1984, so many classic movies came out. Blade Runnier. E.T. Poltergeist. The Wrath of Khan. The Thing. Tron. Ghostbusters. The Last Starfighter.
Eighty years ago tonight and tomorrow morning, the largest armada in world history left England and hit the beaches in Normandy. Omaha. Sword. Utah. Gold. Juno.
I’m wondering if I’m thinking so much about the past because there’s so much about the future that’s so scary.
But face it we must.
The clouds? They don’t care.
Filed under Paul, Photography, Weather
All this week we were getting warnings about the heat wave coming.
Okay, maybe. But it’s either not here yet or it missed us completely. We’re at the Ahmanson again tonight (“Come From Away” tonight, really looking forward to it) and out here on the plaza having dinner before the show I’m freezing my ass off!
It’s 64° and breezy, which is fine if I’m dressed for 64° and breezy, but if I’m dressed for 85° or 90°, not so much.
Stay warm, enjoy your Saturday night folks!
Filed under Entertainment, Los Angeles, Weather
Taking a breather to watch the clouds and feel the breezes, here comes Hawaiian Airlines Flight #5 from Las Vegas to Honolulu, climbing up from the horizon like a bat out of Hell at 40,000 feet and 437 knots.
Then it’s back over the top, past the moon, off toward the Western horizon.
Filed under Flying, Photography, Weather
Cliched, but “Thank God It’s Friday!”
Today was a successful day, a couple of big things moved forward significantly at work.
There’s a lot to be said for busting your butt, maximum effort, pedal to the metal, and having it pay off. That feels good.
There’s also a lot to be said for getting some sleep. And not waking up at 02:00 and 04:00 every night thinking about that project.
And now it’s necessary to keep the brain from starting to obsess over the other tasks and deadlines that were put on the back burner and which will now require a maximum effort come Monday.
Let’s spend the weekend breathing. Maybe just laying in the yard and watching clouds. Like these!
Wouldn’t it be amazing to soar up there like the hawks or ravens, spinning on the thermals, weaving in and out of the whispy white strands, diving down at maximum speed just because you can?
Monday morning will still be there in fifty-seven hours, two hours, and forty-nine seconds.
Make the world a better place. Relax.
Filed under Photography, Weather
And so it was. After almost a week of 90°+ temperatures, it cooled off quite a bit yesterday, and tonight it was downright brisk, mid-50’s. With some coastal clouds and fog rolling it, it was lovely, and would have been more lovely if I had a sweatshirt or jacket instead of a T-shirt on. Good thing I wasn’t out there long, I’m not a fan of being cold.
I hope your upcoming work week is pleasant, or at least tolerable. Even when we have jobs which we enjoy and find fulfilling and people to work with who we find to be complementary teammates (a position I am fortunate enough to find myself in), there are still going to be days when you have to grit your teeth and just power through.
May your teeth this week be ungritted!
Filed under Photography, Sunsets, Weather
Fog rolled in last night, this morning it was cool, misty, and for all you could tell from the back yard we were at the top of a 100,000′ cliff
Which would actually be pretty cool! The opportunities for hang gliding would be excellent!
I haven’t quite worked out how I would get back up from the bottom, but that’s just engineering, not world building.
See you in the thermals!
Filed under Photography, Weather
Something I’ve mentioned in the past is having a secondary monitor or two on my home office computer setup and liking live webcam feeds running on them when I’m not using them. Hummingbirds, jellyfish, volcanoes, Venice, whatever.
Lately I’ve been watching a LOT of feeds from Virtual Railfan cameras, set up in train stations and train museums all over the country and just watching the freight trains and Amtrak passing by. For example, tonight:
(Image from Virtual Railfan)
My favorite site, Fort Madison, Iowa. LOTS of trains, plus the swing bridge over the Mississippi River. Plus the river, and wildlife, and birds.
(Image from Virtual Railfan)
Kearney, Nebraska. Lots of long, fast freight trains passing through every day.
(Image from Virtual Railfan)
Quincy, Illinois. I actually spent a lot of time in Quincy as a kid, my parents had good friends there from college and we would go visit them a couple times a year.
All of these images were captured tonight, either just before or just after midnight local time. Essentially, all on March 31st.
What’s wrong with these pictures?
The end of March. Places in the part of the country where I grew up. And it never, EVER was snowing heavily at the end of March.
Meanwhile, it was 70°F above normal in Antarctica this week.
Meanwhile, there were brush fires this week in Colorado and California, where we now have 12-month fire seasons.
Meanwhile, there were massive tornado outbreaks across the south, Texas and New Orleans, last week, months earlier than normal.
Good thing that climate change is all fake, huh?! Otherwise we might just be in some deep shit!
Filed under Entertainment, Weather
The squirrels again came out on the soggy side this morning.
They seemed less than thrilled about it. Californians, on the other hand, loved it.
It rarely rains in LA in March, but we’re grateful for it, especially this year, which is quickly turning into the third (fourth? fifth?) drought year in a row.
Meanwhile, our two regular soggy squirrels brought friends.
I was told there was a fourth out there as well, but I never saw all four together. Plus, there was lots of running around, chasing, hopping, up the tree, down the tree, and so on. Lots of that springtime, barely concealed squirrel lust stuff. For all I know there were six or seven of them in a regular squirrel bacchanalia and in 38 to 46 days we’ll be hip deep in little squirrels.
Whatever.
In between all of the other shenanigans they were cleaning out the bird food that had been thrown out, so I threw out a couple of handfuls of the bigger, “critter” food for them. Gotta keep your strength up…
It’s raining again, even though it’s the tail end of the storm and expected to stop soon. We’ll take what we can get and ignore the opinions of the squirrels. I mean, really, they have brains that are only theeeeeeeeeeeeeese 🤏🏻 big.
You know – like politicians. (Ba-DOM-dom!! 🥁 I’ll be here all week! Tip your waitress!)
Filed under Critters, Photography, Weather
Behind me to the east, the front that passed through with scattered rain and hail, snow down to 2,500′ in the mountains.
Ahead of me to the west, rolling in from Ventura County, a cold fog bank.
Caught in between, the three-day old moon, 7% illuminated, the other 93% glowing softly in Earthshine.
Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Space, Sunsets, Weather
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 