Cabela was resting on the guest bed when I snapped this picture of her. She has the prettiest face, don’t you think? Click on the image to enlarge.
Nightfall After a Beautiful Arizona Day
We had a beautiful weekend featuring warmer weather and gorgeous food days. As we were strolling down the road with the puppies this evening, I turned around to capture this image of our little castle in the fading daylight under a waxing gibbous moon. Click on the image to enlarge.
Sampling the Mac ‘N’ Cheese
I had grill duty with some pork loin chops, so Verna brought out a spoonful of the delicious macaroni and cheese she had just prepared in the kitchen. Man, this was TASTY stuff. š Click on the image to enlarge.
Breaking In The New Fire Hydrant
A few weeks ago, the Town removed and replaced the fire hydrant 100 feet or so down our road. Yesterday, Beethoven found it and did what every boy dog does. He re-hydrated the hydrant with Verna looking on. Click on the image to enlarge.
Obsessions
Bay Bay wants to get to the Mama (holding the camera) and Cabela wants to chase a lizard she saw on the rocks by the driveway. Both leashes are taught with both dogs straining to get to their obsessed quarry. Click on the image to enlarge.
Large Sunspots
One of the biggest sunspots in years is crossing the center of the solar disk, putting Earth in the way of potential eruptions. The sprawling sunspot contains dozens of dark cores, the largest big enough to swallow Earth three times over. This makes it an easy target for amateur solar telescopes — or even regular cameras.
I took this photo this morning using my Canon SX40 camera with a Rainbow Symphony solar filter. I added the sunspot group designations to the original photo. Click on the image to enlarge.
Update from NOAA/NWS:
2014-01-09 00:03 UTC S3 (Strong) Solar Radiation Storm In Progress
The ongoing S2 (Moderate) Solar Radiation Storm has intensified to an S3 (Strong) event as of 2320 UTC (6:20 p.m. EST) today, January 8. Protons should stay at this same approximate level for the next few hours, then likely take another jump with the passage of the shock ahead of the CME, expected to occur around 0900 UTC (4:00 a.m. EST) tomorrow, January 9. However, this increase is not expected to exceed the S3 level. The CME is forecast to set off G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm activity through January 9 and 10. Aurora watchers should be ready; updates here as things unfold.
