Behold the “Holiday Hawg.” Click on the image for big-screen view.
Update – Minstrel found someone that makes an actual gun-shaped tree ornament.
Pearl Harbor Day
Today we honor the men and women who died in the attacks on Hawaii late in 1941. In the photograph below, the Officers and Crew line the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, as they salute the war memorial at the resting place of the USS Arizona.
Mars
Even though it’s going to be rainy and ugly here for the next couple of days, you might look up at night and see a bright red dot showing through breaks in the clouds. In December, Mars and Earth will pass through the parts of their orbits where the two planets are as close together as they will be this year. Read about the close encounter at Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Golden Beacon
I found this beautiful picture on SpaceWeather.com last week. Here’s the story about what you’re seeing:
GOLDEN BEACON: The sun was setting in Toronto last week when, suddenly, a golden beacon leaped up from the horizon. “It lasted a good 15 minutes,” reports Damir who took this picture:
The “beacon” is a sun pillar created by plate-shaped ice crystals fluttering down from high cold clouds. Flat sides of the crystals catch the rays of the setting sun and bend them into a tall luminous column as shown. Look for sun pillars when the sun is near the horizon and shining through high clouds–they’re a nice addition to any autumn sunset.
Click on the image for the large, majestic photo. And be sure to visit SpaceWeather.com – you’ll like it.
Sandpiper at Cabrillo Beach
On a very windy and surf’s up sorta day, Bob and I went to Cabrillo Beach to watch the waves bash up against the breakwater. While we were there we saw a sandpiper pecking for food.
The Scolopacidae are a large family of waders, (known as shorebirds in North America). Many of the smaller species are often called “sandpipers”, especially members of genera Calidris, Tringa and Actitis. Other well-known groups include curlews and snipes. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Click on the image for full-sized picture.
Fun-Filled Weekend
Man, did we have a nice weekend. During Friday’s rain, we got all of our grocery and computer shopping done.
Saturday, we drove to the beach and around Palos Verdes on a beautiful (if blustery) day. Verna and I took a lot of pictures – it was hard to pick one that we could post, so expect to see more of them here soon.
Today, we topped all the fun off by taking a trip to the shooting range and had a lot of fun there. Click continue reading to watch the video that shows just how much fun we were having.
