A cloud-free sky on a chilly day...

set the scene for a nice eMTB exploration of the area southeast of Round Mountain in uppermost Castle Valley. Quite the uphill climb (1,945 foot ascent) but the views are stunning, and the downhill run is big fun.

View south-southeast towards the La Sal Mountains, with Willow Basin on the left and Bald Mesa above Porcupine Rim on the right.

View northward, down valley, with Round Mountain on the left.

Portion of GPS track showing the area explored southeast of Round Mountain (lower right in image) on Google Earth.

Occupancy has been exceeded...

in the bird bath this morning by a gang of Starlings working the neighborhood. Many, many dozens of them enjoyed the bath, during several visits throughout the day, requiring repeated refills.

Common Starling or European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris).

The Dewey Bridge area...

north of the Colorado River was explored with my neighbor today on our eMTBs, following a rough jeep track on the edge of the high escarpment. The ~13 mile ride was spectacularly scenic, sunny and comfortably warm. Priceless.

Panorama looking south, with Dewey Bridge on the Colorado River in the center of the image. (Click on image to embiggen.)

Typical southern Utah billboard.

Descending Kokopelli’s Trail above Dewey Bridge near the end of the three hour outing.

Prepping for a star party...

with friends and neighbors during the holiday week ahead. It will be certainly be cold, but the stars shine like bright crystals in the dark skies of southern Utah during the winter months. Jupiter and Saturn are particularly nicely placed for observation now, immediately after dark, so one doesn’t have to stay out late.

Celestron 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a German equatorial mount.

The tiny northern scorpion...

is not fatal to humans, but you don’t want to get nipped by one and allergic reactions are possible. Surprises come in small packages.

Northern scorpion (Paruroctonus boreus).

All scorpions fluoresce under an ultraviolet (UV) light. Cool and creepy. Toothpick for scale.

Tonight's full Moon...

is known as the Beaver Moon, and it precedes a total lunar eclipse that occurs early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: A high, thin cloud layer moved in later in the evening obscuring a clear view of the eclipse. Double dang. This is my best image, caught partially eclipsed, at 2:30 am MST.

Dusky panorama...

of Castle Valley, Utah from a high vantage point below Porcupine Rim, with a nearly-full Moon rising above Adobe Mesa in the center of this image.

A predator reconnoiters...

the feeding stations from a lofty perch, taking note of the abundant finches and sparrows on the buffet. I’m anticipating this one will be a regular visitor through the winter season.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).

One inch of liquid sunshine...

fell overnight in Castle Valley. More rain continues to fall into the day, eventually turning to sleet/hail/snow, but no catastrophic flooding has occurred.

UPDATE: A total of 1.6 inches (41 mm) of rain fell in this first winter storm of the season. An outstanding start to the water year.