Success!!

I've lost track of the amount of times we have gone looking for the comet Neowise. Tonight it was found.  We thought we saw it right as the sun was setting.  I don't know.  I mean, it looked like it could be the comet and it was in the correct part of the sky.  However, it wasn't supposed to be visible until much later.  Since this initial sighting didn't stick around for long TF and I drove farther west.  We found a couple parked aside the road who were there for the same reasons.  We parked behind them and watched and waited.  Eventually we could hear that they had seen the comet.  We moved closer to them to get the scoop.  They found it using their binoculars.  We hadn't found it yet, even with the binoculars.  We followed their directions and eventually we found the comet with our binoculars.  After finding it, I could sort of make it out without the binoculars.  Honestly, I expected it to be a tad brighter to at least find in the sky before the additional magnification.

We also saw some deer and an animal I can't quite identify.  At first I thought it was a fox.  The body shape isn't quite right though, unless it is very sick.  I'm going to make a photo album from today to share again.  Since I haven't taken the time to figure out how to caption the pictures in the link, key photos are here.  My happy for today is finding the comet.  ☄  Also, we heard a whippoorwill.  

I took a three mile walk this morning.  The first few pictures are from that.

This tree just needs a vulture sitting atop it to be perfect.

A pond along the way.

Flowers in a field.

Another flower in a field.

A tree with seeds.

The remaining pictures are from the ride and time spent comet chasing.

A dino.

A bike on a sign.
Why not?

Apparently the dinosaur likes their oats.

Sunset.

There is a big lake,
Lake Buchanan

TF with the lake behind her.

The mysterious comet shaped object in the sky.

Sunset.

More sunset.

The people that we met had camera equipment
and this is a picture of their picture.

Deer

Unknown fox-like animal.

The shape just doesn't seem quite right.
In other pictures I think, yes, fox.  🤷

Edit:  Most likely a grey fox.
☮

Stay Safe.

103 Million Kilometers Is Really Far.

Sitting in traffic caused not just by construction but a vehicle accident, too, TF and I are convinced that the universe doesn't want us to see the Neowise comet.   Every distant street lamp could be the comet, but none are.  We arrived at our destination just as the comet should be setting, we did not see it.  It has been quite the journey.   Our destination now is a grocery store for ice cream to freeze away our disappointment.  Of course we can't be certain that we would have seen Neowise had there not been an accident, but who knows?

We started making masks today.  Mine has llamas.  I plan to finish it in the morning.  I still don't know when we are leaving.   I'm planning for tomorrow or Friday,  but it could be another week.  There is an anticipation that I get before a road trip that I can't seem to shake.  The adventures TF and I are having to find the comet are a glorious release for some of that energy.   

K sent me pictures of green beans that are ready to pick from our garden today.  There are also spaghetti squash and tomatoes that are growing.  Most likely they won't be ripe before I get back.  My happy things for today:

• Seeing some of the food we are growing.
• Laughing with TF while chasing a comet.
• Mask making-because it gets my creative mind going.
• Ben and Jerry's Salted Caramel Core ice cream.

There is a bird in the planter on the right.

It was a very angry bird.

Until it landed in the plant on the left.  
Then, I believe, the little bird found food.

Sunset.

Tree in the dark.

☮

Keep your distance.

Cometless

Yes, as the title suggests, TF and I went looking for the Neowise comet gain and did not find it.  We did find a place to go that might have the amount of horizon and lack of light pollution to catch it another time, but we aren't sure if another time will be possible together or not.  Plans still aren't final though, so maybe.  

Yesterday I posted some pictures that I have been told were difficult to see.  I mean, I take pictures with my phone of the stars and they aren't easy to see, but sometimes, it works.  I took some tonight as well.  I also took some short video during my walk this morning.  I have a hard time posting video on here as well.  Because of these two things I created a link to an album instead that I will post at the end of the blog under the sunflower.

The other day I wrote about my walk alone and the poem for identifying coral snakes.  It is a simple rhyme that my brain doesn't want to hold on to.  This rhyme only works for coral snakes.  As I was walking alone this morning and was by a creek I heard a plop sound.  Looking over I saw a snake swimming away.  This was not a coral snake but a water moccasin.  This is where the knowledge of TF's son becomes much more useful than the poem.  If a snake is venomous the shape of the head will be triangular, non-venomous are more rounded.  Growing up in New Hampshire we only had rattlesnakes and those are few and give a warning if they are threatened.  I didn't need to know about any other poisonous snakes.  I'm sure that I learned and forgot that triangle head tidbit some other time.

TF was very kind and let C and E come over today to do laundry.  This became time that we could all sit and watch Hamilton.  A few minutes in, E suggested we turn on the subtitles.  This made it so much easier for this older brain to understand the rap and fast talk in the show.  There were nuances that we missed and so watching it again will happen.  Now that I have seen the movie I can listen the book, Hamilton: The Revolution, and I will have more context.  Watching this and sharing thoughts about it with C, E and TF is my happy for today.  Also, in the words of King George III from Hamilton, "Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da"

Link to the album for today.

☮

Wear a mask.

Darkness

At some unreasonable time this morning TF's alarm clock went off.  It seems she learned about a comet, Neowise, that could be seen during the predawn hours.  And thus started our quest for the comet.  We tried to find it by walking a little in the neighborhood, not enough horizon.  We decided to drive a little to locate it, too much light pollution.  We went back home, did some research (I even downloaded an app), and then fell back to sleep.  One of the things that the research seemed to imply was that the comet would be visible in the sky tonight, the 13th.  Of course, the article I just found says the 14th, tomorrow night...

Anyhow, right after sunset we got in the car and drove away from the city.  Austin is not small.  I think we drove about 20 miles before we could see stars.  Eventually, we saw lots of stars.  There was still enough light pollution that there weren't as many stars as I see in New Hampshire.  So, stars, but no comet.  The app I got was very little help.  This could be user difficulty.  Perhaps we will do some more research and try again.  Even without finding the comet, this adventure is my happy for today.

Below are three pictures of the night sky.  Screen lighting and resolutions vary, but I think they look better in a dim room.

I believe these are Saturn and Jupiter, Jupiter being the brighter.

Big Dipper

Stars

☮

Stay Safe.

Not Snakes

Today I got not one, but two walks in.  This morning I walked almost 3 miles by myself and then did another walk, about a mile, with TF in the evening.  I had reached my goal for the day but wanted to push myself a little bit more.  Lack of sun helps the heat seem not as oppressive.  

On this morning's walk I let myself be reminded that there are snakes in Texas that I am not as familiar with that are poisonous.  I didn't see any.  There was a slither to the side of the trail that could have been a snake, or a lizard, or some other small creature.  That is what got my mind on my inability to remember what snakes are poisonous in Texas.  I know rattle snakes and water moccasins, but I knew there was at least one other.  The other has a poem and I can never remember the poem.  It is a coral snake and here is a link and another to some info about them as well as the poem.  An interesting tidbit is that the poem only works in specific regions of the United States.  

C, E and I also went to visit C's father, my ex-husband, today.  It was a nice socially distancing visit.  We were going to drop something off and pick up a table saw and leave.  C had been storing a bunch of tools there though and got those packed to go.  When we get back to NH there will be a table saw for K to use for whatever she wants to make.  

My happy for today is the nature along that first walk this morning.  It was a rather picturesque area.  One of the things I noticed was the smell of the plant life along the trail.  I'm not sure what type of tree was there, but it had a faint pleasant smell.  There are a few pictures (no smell) below.

☮

Keep your distance.

Old Home Day

Way back around 1998-ish we lived on the outskirts of Austin, Texas.  This is where we lived when I met my friend from Texas.  (To make my life simpler, going forward she will be TF.)  Today, C, E, TF and I drove by the house we used to live in.  The entire area has grown up.  The yard of the house seems to have many less dandelions in it.  When we lived there, I had encouraged them a little bit to try to make dye with.  It was a fun little science experiment that I am sure the owner of the property didn't appreciate.  We were only there for about a year, so most of those flowers can't be blamed on me.  I took a few pictures, but won't post them here, because that would be weird. 😁

We also looked for and found a park that had a live oak tree over 400 years old.  It was beautiful, except for the wires.  They light it up for the holidays and seem to leave the cords draped all over the tree.  The tree was one of the things I remembered about living in the area.  There are still some farms near by, but most of that area is built up in one way or another.  It was a nice little trip down memory lane.

Earlier in the day TF and I went for a walk.  We ended up walking around three and a half miles.  My water ran out when we were almost back to the house.  There is a point when out walking that a person may feel that they can keep going and sometimes at that point they forget that they still need to turn around to return home.  We turned around at the right time.  

It was a good day.  I think my happy is finding that park with the tree.  I'm not sure why I wanted to see it again.  For some reason that tree stuck in my memory and I wanted to find out if it was still there.  It was a nice short walk from the cool car into the heat to see it.  There was also some very fun grass nearby to walk barefoot through.  TF said it was tifgreen grass.  Only C and I took our shoes off.  It was like walking on a cushion, only with the occasional twig.  

The first group of pictures are from the walk.

TF and me.

This next group of pictures are from the trip to the park with C, E & TF.

☮

Stay Safe.

Sew Hot

This morning, when I stepped out the door,  the humidity was almost crushing.   I went out anyway.   The temperature read 83 when I left, 86 upon return.  The humidity makes it feel seven degrees warmer (I did some math).  I got out before the heat of the day, thankfully.  The rest of the day was in the cool of the AC.  In New Hampshire, home heating is required; in Texas, air conditioning is.  With humidity it was over 100 today.

My friend has been wanting to make masks to wear during this pandemic.  Today we watched some YouTube videos to decide which pattern she liked best.  We were going to hand sew one up because her machine was broken.  I asked if I could look at it.  After much Googling, research, tools and time, I fixed it.  This made for a happy friend which in turn made for my happy for today.

This morning's moon.

Ever want to see some of the insides of a sewing machine?

☮

Wash your hands.

Ice Cream

It was another stay at "home" day.  Home being my friend's house in Texas for now.  We watched a movie (Knives Out) and made ice cream.  We modified this recipe by cutting the cream with some half and half and adding peppermint extract as well as vanilla.  We also added crushed peppermint candy.  Peppermint stick ice cream is a favorite of mine and it is a difficult flavor to find--unless it is Christmas time or you live across the street from the shop that carries it.  😉  That ice cream is my happy for today.  It was yummy.  The creams had separated a bit while freezing, but that didn't change the flavor.  We have ideas so that may not happen next time.  Creamy, sweet, deliciousness.  

This is a different hair style that I tried today.
The braid that is coiled up fell during the day and hung over my shoulder.
I need to work on balancing, but it was fairly easy and comfortable.

My friend let me play in dirt!
A year ago I wouldn't have thought that I would miss a garden.
Things change in unexpected ways.
That is the story of most people in the world today.

☮

Stay Safe.

Goals

Today I got in two walks and actually made my 10,000 step goal.  C & I had a short walk by their apartment and my Texas friend and I walked over by the school and went around and around on the track there.  The day we left for Texas is when my new Fit Bit arrived and I have been trying to figure out the options and such ever since.  One of the things it does is remind me to walk every hour.  If I haven't done 250 steps during an hour it will let me know at ten before the hour so I have time to pace.  These goals are adjustable, but I haven't reached it every hour of a day yet, so that should happen first I guess.  When I wear it to bed, it monitors my sleep.  Getting out to walk twice are my happy things for today.

While E was in NH, these onions didn't get watered.
When we got back to Texas they just had that dead white sticking up.
A little green poked out of one and so C & E started watering them.
The appear so much more happy now.

This picture was taken while C and I were walking.
There is a small creek and the trail between two apartment areas.
I'm not sure what the green carpet is.

I want to just say this is a rock.
It is, but I am not sure which type.
I love how it has holes and seems porous.
It might be some kind of limestone, just not sure.

☮

Stay Safe.