We celebrated with beef tenderloin (filet mignon) steaks on the grill and a nice quiet dinner on the patio. Last night, we saw the fireworks from Sunset Park just to the west of us, followed by some awesome summer monsoon thunderstorms in the area.
Bob
The Neighborhood
I spoke with an old friend on the phone yesterday. We were getting caught up on all the latest events since I talked to him roughly six months ago. One of the topics (naturally) was the new house. A specific topic about the proximity of neighbors came up. I told him that our closest neighbors were just across the road, but that other neighbors were scattered around on larger parcels. In the photo, you can see our house (red circle) and our closest neighbors. Note that the aerial photo was taken before the house was finished, but the rest of the neighborhood is like it appears today.
Click on the image to enlarge. Compare this to the old neighborhood where you need “house floss” to clean between the houses.
Wide Angle Panorama of the Property
Verna got out the wide-angle lens for her Canon EOS camera today and walked across the road to capture this panoramic image of (most) of the front property line. You can see the RV drive-thru on the left and the concrete driveway on the right. Most of the landscaping is already in place but we expect to acquire an ocotillo to be placed near the courtyard gate. Next summer, the little plum tree by the gate should be a lot larger and fuller. Click on the image to enlarge.
Santa Maria Tri Tip
I felt sorry for vegetarians and vegans as we enjoyed this delicious grilled tri-tip roast with cinnamon squash and mixed veggies on the side. Delicious! Click on the image to enlarge.
Ice Moon Helene in 3D
When I surfed over to the Astronomy Picture of the Day this morning, I saw this 3D image of Helene, one of the moons orbiting Saturn.
I grabbed my pair of 3D glasses and saw what this moon would look like if you could see it in stereo. I thought it would be nice to archive it with the 3D stuff and to share it. Of course, if you don’t have a pair of 3D glasses handy, you can view the 2D image here.
This is the technobabble blurb from APOD:
Get out your red/blue glasses and float next to Helene, small, icy moon of Saturn. Appropriately named, Helene is one of four known Trojan moons, so called because it orbits at a Lagrange point. A Lagrange point is a gravitationally stable position near two massive bodies, in this case Saturn and larger moon Dione. In fact, irregularly shaped ( about 36 by 32 by 30 kilometers) Helene orbits at Dione’s leading Lagrange point while brotherly ice moon Polydeuces follows at Dione’s trailing Lagrange point. The sharp stereo anaglyph was constructed from two Cassini images (N00172886, N00172892) captured during the recent close flyby. It shows part of the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Helene mottled with craters and gully-like features.
Screened Enclosure Coming Soon
This is the “before” view of the back patio taken on the eve of the beginning of construction on a screened enclosure. Verna and I thought about it for a while and decided that this would be a good, if not necessary, improvement.
First of all, it would keep the dogs, Bear and Cabela, from wandering off. We currently have to keep the little one on a leash, or she will give chase to every bird, rabbit and squirrel that frequent our back lot. Conversely, it keeps most critters out. Neighbors have reported rattlesnakes and Gila monsters in the area, so keeping those out of the patio seems to be a real good thing, not to mention insects.
I should be able to post a photo of the completed enclosure next week. Click on the image to enlarge.
