It didn't take long...

for this greedy varmint to enter the trap, having set it only 15 minutes earlier. The lure of the peanut butter was too great for the first deportee of 2026.

Rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus).

UPDATE the following day! Two more volunteers for deportation.

Well behind schedule...

and over-engineered as well, the community is still patiently waiting for the new arch culvert over Castle Creek to be completed. The size of the rip-rap being used here is absolutely absurd for the size and energy and sediment load the stream possesses in this reach, even in flood.

Viewing pictographs under different wavelengths...

of light reveals hidden details not seen by the naked eye when observing rock art under the visible part of the spectrum. Here are three pairs of comparative images of several sections of the wonderful pictograph panel in Buckhorn Wash in the San Rafael Swell, a small portion of which is seen below.

The following pairs of images first show an unretouched raw image followed by an enhancement filter applied by DStretch software.

The software is available at DStretch.com.

The two day-long launch event...

this weekend at the state line was unfortunately cut short by high winds on the second day, but not before getting several high flyers off the pads early Saturday morning to a maximum apogee of 41,000 feet above ground level!

The high power launch pads and rails were set up shortly before sundown on Friday night. The FAA has granted the club a special waiver to fly to 50,000 feet this weekend where we are normally limited to flights no higher than 12,000 feet.

Ignition of the CTI L2375 rocket engine during an early morning launch.

The heavy metal pad collapses under the powerful thrust at liftoff! The CTI L2375 rocket motor produces 2,451 N-sec (551 lb-sec) of total impulse.

The new arch culvert...

being constructed on Castle Valley Drive is six weeks into the project, with formwork for the upstream and downstream wingwalls taking place today. The old culvert has been demolished and Castle Creek is in its new bed beneath the new corrugated steel structure, but considerable work still needs to be completed before the road reopens.

An interesting discovery along Castle Creek...

by an archeological survey crew, excitedly shared with me yesterday, only a short distance off a singletrack that I frequently ride. Cool beans.

Boulder mortar or bedrock metate on a sandstone slab.

Note the fine detail on inner surface showing linear striations consistent with wear marks created by a back-and-forth grinding motion.

Winter finally arrives...

in Castle Valley with nearly five inches (~12 cm) of snow falling overnight. What a difference a day, and night, makes.

Given the shock and hardship this is presenting the local birds, the daily grain allotment has been doubled at the feeding stations.

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta).

AFTERNOON UPDATE: The sun comes out after an additional several inches of snowfall. It’s very nice to have a helpful neighbor with the proper tools. I’m certain he’s having fun.