For years, I’ve hiked and backpacked into the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park. This is the only mountain range totally contained within the boundaries of any national park in the U.S., so it’s no exaggeration to say it’s an isolated habitat. That said, I’ve gone years between black bear sightings there, and it’sContinue reading “The New “Normal””
Author Archives: texasflashdude
The Perseid Meteor Shower
The Perseid meteor shower peaks in the early-morning hours. This is the finest meteor shower of the year for northern stargazers, with 40-60 meteors per hour visible at the peak in the hours before dawn on August 13. Once called the Tears of St. Lawrence, this meteor shower occurs as the Earth moves through aContinue reading “The Perseid Meteor Shower”
August in the Desert
At summer’s midpoint, it seems appropriate to post a couple of images representative of the environment of the Big Bend region of Texas at this time of year. First, an iconic critter with a badly maligned nickname of “horny toad.” Another name for his animal, taken from the 1887 yearbook of Texas Christian University andContinue reading “August in the Desert”
Comet Neowise Has Returned
After making its debut in the morning sky, as noted in my previous post, Comet Neowise disappeared for a couple of days, only to reappear in the evening sky, now in the northwest, if you’re in the northern hemisphere. Here are a few images taken Saturday night around 10:30, looking northwest from Marathon, TX, overContinue reading “Comet Neowise Has Returned”
Comet Neowise
Comet Neowise is paying us a visit. If you’re up before sunrise (about 6-6:30 a.m.) and look to the northeast, just above the horizon, you just might be able to see a real rare treat…a comet. Information about comet Neowise can be found at this link: https://earthsky.org/space/how-to-see-comet-c2020-f3-neowise. Here are a few pics I took thisContinue reading “Comet Neowise”
Family Ties Finale
Our red tail hawk youngsters have been growing, and growing, and growing during the past two weeks, and testing their flight feathers by going airborne above the nest whenever a good gust of wind blows across the plains. It’s been seven weeks since the first of two eggs were hatched, and both parents have doneContinue reading “Family Ties Finale”
Family Ties Update #2
It’s been over two weeks since our last update to a previous post about a family of red tail hawks and the care and feeding of two fluffy white chicks in the nest. Well, in that short time period, those chicks have been growing, and today they appear nearing that time when they are fullyContinue reading “Family Ties Update #2”
Family Ties Update
A week ago, I posted a story about a family of red tail hawks that had just hatched a little one and were tending the nest just outside of town. A return visit to the nest today begged for an update to the story:
Family Ties
Spring has always been a time of renewal of life, a busy time of birth, new growth, and an awakening of all species. Nothing is more representative of that than a family of raptors nursing eggs to life, and caring for new youngsters. Just outside of town we’ve been watching a pair of redtail hawksContinue reading “Family Ties”
Happy 50th. Earth Day
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. To recognize its importance to those of us who cherish the natural beauty of this tiny planet we call home, I got out at 4:00 a.m. this morning to capture the Milky Way, including the galactic center which is now visible after its long winter nap belowContinue reading “Happy 50th. Earth Day”
texasflashdude 