I noticed on SpaceWeather.com that there are several solar flare alerts in connection with Sunspot number AR1520, now rounding the face of the sun. I went outside this afternoon and made this image of the solar plasma where a group of spots is clearly visible.
The scientists studying sunspots say that AR1520 could be capable of causing X-class flares which could disrupt power grids and radio communication on Earth. Click on the image to enlarge.
This interesting barrel cactus grows up on the back part of our Arizona lot. It is past its flowering season, but you can see the circle of flower buds around the south-pointing crown of the cactus. Many species of cacti are sensitive to their compass orientation, especially if they are transplanted. This one is growing naturally in our back yard.
Our internet service provider has notified us that there will be a short outage on Saturday, July 7, 2012 at around 10 PM, PDT. The maintenance should be complete within an hour after that.
Our fiber optic network provider needs to replace some of the hardware associated with our network connections. The purpose of this maintenance is to provide greater redundancy for a more stable network for our services. This maintenance will require the network to be disconnected for a short period while the new hardware is installed and tested.
I took a pair of photos of the wash that runs in back of and to the west of our house. I combined the pair into this 3D image of the wash and where it crosses the RV drive. I was standing by the back gate of the courtyard when I took the photos.
Image: Our Desert Wash in 3D. Click on the thumbnail image to enlarge.
If you happen to have a pair of 3D glasses, you can see the slope of the wash and drive with respect to the courtyard. When the landscaping crew placed the rocks, they made certain that water flowing down the wash would divert to the road and not into the courtyard.
Of course, you will need 3D glasses to view the red/cyan anaglyph. If you don’t have a pair of 3D glasses, you can view the 2D image here.
We hitched up the trailer, not to go on a Fourth of July vacation, but to tow it to the dealer for them to work off a couple of squawks and replace the TV video cable with an HDMI cable. It takes a bit of effort to get the four-point anti-sway hitch ready to tow, so I did the job yesterday in order to be ready to roll this morning.
We took advantage of the trip after dropping the trailer off, to do a little shopping at Wal-Mart, where we bought a TV wall mount for the trailer and took it over to the dealer for them to install. We also stopped at Lowe’s to pick up a custom patio shade we ordered a couple of weeks ago.
Now that the chores are done, it’s time to settle in for a nice Independence Day Holiday! Happy Birthday America!
We seem to have plenty of things to keep us occupied in retirement. One such chore is to replenish the bird feeders every once in a while. Today, I carried a seed bell and block plus two Nijer seed bags up to the hill behind the RV drive. I also took the “anti-squirrel” spray and treated the garden crooks so the little fuzzy feeder thieves stay away.
The left panel shows me up on the hill with the goodies. The right panel is the feeders shortly after I climbed down. Click on Verna’s images to enlarge.
