Aurora Borealis: dancing pretty lights Since moving to Duluth, MN in 2017, I have yearned to see the Northern Lights. I joined the Great Lakes Aurora Hunters Facebook Group. I downloaded the SpaceWeather Live app. I allowed push notifications for anything Kp4 or higher, which could signal aurora activity is visible in my area. I've studied the Kp-indices, solar flares, solar wind speed and interplanetary magnetic field. I learned about not only the moon phases but moon rise and moon set times as optimal aurora viewing requires a minimal amount of moonlight if possible. I've bookmarked the NOAA graphical forecast page to check the sky cover for cloudy weather. I've scouted out a couple viewpoints that are unobstructed, northern facing away from the city lights. (One is a large soccer field complex, the other is a dog park without too many tall trees or buildings blocking the view.) Auroral activity: https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity.html Sky cover: https:...
Postcards from 2025 January: A postcard from the land of recovery and road trips Greetings from Duluth, where we thawed out from Nutcracker season, packed away the Department 56 villages, and immediately hit the road again for basketball tournaments two hours away, again (and thankful for the extra bedroom at John and JoAnn's). Theo made his percussion debut at his first band concert. Katie launched a New Year's Resolution to try a new art medium each month. January's was printmaking. Wish you were here (to help clean up). Basketball wins Ice skating in January February: A postcard from Snowy Utah Hello from Park City, Utah, where we saw moose and only misplaced one child. Ski patrol searched everywhere, but he eventually strolled into the condo after skiing to the base, putting his skis in the rack and walking a full mile in his ski boots - because he was mad at his sister. We now understand why parents use Apple watches as kid-tracker...or leashes. Right after that advent...
Sometimes life give you lemons and so you make lemonade. A great weekend at Sugar Lake Lodge, Grand Rapids, MN COVID-19 continues to spread. Declared a pandemic in March 2020, it remains a significant cause of death worldwide and is stressing the hospitals and nursing homes across the country as a new wave begins. If there is one thing COVID-19 has taught us is that we need to be flexible. We started with the alpha variant and now the delta variant has taken over. While break through infections in those with prior immunity does occur, the vast majority of those hospitalized and dying currently chose not to get one of the three FDA "approved" vaccines. Over half of eligible Americans aged 12 and up are vaccinated, yet globally we are no where near that percentage, which sadly means there is lots of tinder for the COVID-19 wildfire and this pandemic is going to be a lot worse before it gets better. Speaking of wildfires, our much anticipated trip to Duncan and Rose lakes in t...
Comments
Post a Comment