is the colorful highlight at the end of the shortest day of the year, though sunrise won’t occur earlier in the day until 2 January 2025. Still 12 days away.
The new off ramp to Interstate 70...
is coming along nicely in Castle Valley at Placer Creek. What folly.
Any one of these lower cost and more environmentally friendly low-water crossing designs would have worked just fine at this small and usually dry stream crossing: Chapter 5 - Low-Water Crossing Types.
A mild autumn season...
comes to a close in three days on the winter solstice and the extended forecast is for continued dry conditions with moderate temperatures. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting that “precipitation and snowfall will be average or above average throughout the Intermountain Region. The snowiest periods will fall in mid-November, early and late January, and mid-March.” We shall see.
Another vibrant sunrise this morning above the La Sal Mountains. It’s good to be a morning person.
The snow water equivalent in the snowpack has flatlined since late-November, now just 121% of median.
A window into the Honaker Trail Formation...
can be found below Deadman’s Curve on the old highway grade west of Arches National Park. This Upper Pennsylvanian-age (~300 Ma) carbonate unit crops out as a cliff former in very few places in the Moab area, seen in the image below as the grayer strata beneath the paved bike trail across the canyon, captured from a high vantage point on the Rusty Spur mountain bike trail.
Jupiter precedes the rising Full Cold Moon...
that strongly silhouettes the Priest and the Nuns on the eastern skyline tonight.
Jupiter is the bright object above and to the right of Castleton Tower. Other bright stars in constellations Auriga and Taurus are also seen in this twilight image.
A view into Arches National Park...
from the Moab Brands mountain bike trail system. That’s South Window Arch in The Windows Section of the park, about seven miles (11 km) distant. It was an absolutely magnificent afternoon for a ride.
Neither deterred by snow flurries...
nor by my active presence on the back deck, Sharpie is becoming a dependable daily visitor to the feeding stations. Good hunting.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).
Icy crystals of hoarfrost...
develop and are sustained in deeply shaded areas, seen here nucleating on blades of grass. It’s a frigid microscopic crystalline wonderland.
Click on image to enlarginate.
The Culebra Cut of Castle Valley...
is being excavated at the Placer Creek dry stream crossing. Methinks this is a grossly overengineered and expensive solution to an erosion problem that no longer exists, but that’s just 40+ years of experience as a fluvial geomorphologist talking.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the community, the drainage ditches that are choked with sediment from summer flooding go largely unattended. Pure negligence.
Having enormous patience...
for the right opportunity and fast off the mark, this tiny hawk is quite tolerant of my presence nearby while it hunts around the house for unsuspecting prey. One of these days I’ll capture the actual strike on its target.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).
Click on image to embiggen.
Luna and Venus...
setting above Porcupine Rim this evening. Seventeen days to go until the winter solstice.
Adding a bit more insulation...
to the winter nest as nighttime temperatures fall below freezing.
Female House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).
Meanwhile, another flashy little sparrow works the feeding station.
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis).
Standing at the vanguard...
of our bucolic high desert community, Smokey the Bear wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving and a safe holiday season. We are all very grateful and sleep better at night knowing that Smokey is tirelessly on the job.
In constant orbit around the house...
while patrolling the various feeding stations, this bird of prey knows where the Horn of Plenty occurs in Castle Valley.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).
An outstanding early start...
to the water year in the high country thanks to a pre-Thanksgiving winter storm that dropped 1.5 inches (38 mm) of rain on Castle Valley yesterday.
SNOTEL time series showing this year’s snowpack (black line). Green line represents the median and the orange line is the previous water year for comparison.
Link to NRCS Snotel network.
Seemingly constantly hungover...
with its bloodshot red eyes, this large, striking sparrow is one of my favorites at the feeding station.
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).
Plucked as clean...
as an upcoming Thanksgiving turkey, this cow carcass has been laying out on the range for only about two weeks. There are some well-fed wildlife at Round Mountain this holiday season.
A warm pre-dawn glow...
reflected by clouds above the La Sal Mountains slowly expanded and flared to a vibrant display across the southeastern sky early this morning. Wow.
A regular evening ritual...
is developing where a small herd of muleys pays a visit to the birdbath. First come, first served.
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).
Look who's lurking in the rabbitbrush...
with its head on a swivel, scanning for a free meal this afternoon. This is the second pass today at the fly through buffet.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).
Note the different sized pupils, or anisocoria, due to the difference in lighting.