against predators, and cottontail rabbits rarely leave their burrows on windy days since the noise obscures this keen protective sense. Blustery conditions didn’t keep this one inside today, though, and I’ve named it “Bugs Buddy” as it becomes increasingly comfortable with my presence.
Desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii).
wandered through the back forty early this evening, part of a herd of nearly 50 individuals, increasingly aggregating as they begin to move toward the higher country as the seasons change.
Male (buck) mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).
are more technically known as cirrus uncinus clouds and are associated with an occluded front, and their presence usually signals incoming precipitation. It’s true, more moisture is forecast the next several days, beginning late this evening.
petroglyph panel in Arches National Park was the focus of an exploration yesterday, its general location in the Salt Valley near Skyline Arch.
An interesting fictitious creature or “phantamorph” that consists of the body of a sheep with bird-like feet and with a net-like pattern within the interior of the glyph.
in Arches National Park, with the sun and clouds and rain dodging in and out making for wonderful landscape photography.
View across the Salt Valley and into the Fiery Furnace. (Click on image to embiggen.)
View northward past Devils Garden with the Dark Angel monolith in the distance on the left. (Click on image to embiggen.)
The LaSal Mountains shrouded in clouds. (Click on image to enlarginate.)
on the Colorado Plateau must be the Common Raven, and I caught this individual in Arches National Park today.
Common Raven (Corvus corax).
at the bird feeder off the back deck.
so far this year, with trail conditions being nearly perfect, coupled with sunny skies, calm winds and temperature ~ 50° F. I managed two outings today, 17 miles (27 km) in the morning on the RadRover 5 and 14 miles (22.5 km) in the afternoon on the Trek Powerfly (with about a 2,800 foot (853 meter) cumulative ascent). Fantastic and energizing day!
a dude with a backhoe. New gravel for the driveway is being spread by my always helpful down-the-lane neighbor who is a maestro with his loader. Thanks, Darr, this is much appreciated!
Dawn over a new driveway, the following morning. Sublime.
as winter wanes and spring approaches. Castle Creek is experiencing pre-runoff base flow and one can feel the energy emanating from Round Mountain! The trails are rideable and in good condition now, with wind and warmer temperatures finally drying out the mud bowl. Here are a couple of shots from my afternoon ride.
across the axis of a collapsed salt-cored anticline structure at the north end of Arches National Park, photographed on final approach to Canyonlands Regional Airport. As always, geologists get window seats!
The sandstone “fins” in the Slickrock Member of the Entrada Sandstone (Middle Jurassic), east of Salt Valley.
North end of Salt Valley showing the plunging end of the collapsed salt-cored anticline structure. The primitive Salt Valley Road follows the spine of the structure towards the northwest, with strata dipping gently outward in opposite directions. Those are the Book Cliffs in the distance composed of the Cretaceous-age Mesa Verde Group. (Click on image to enlarge.)
Densely jointed terrain in the Moab Member of Curtis Formation (Middle Jurassic), west of the Salt Valley.
View showing an escarpment of the variegated Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) overlain by the Cedar Mountain Formation (Lower Cretaceous).
make a jewel-like pair of bright evening stars, as seen through the canopy of the ponderosa pine forest in snowy eastern Washington.
this afternoon and first in line for departure on runway 21. Geologists always get window seats!
View into Mill Canyon and Bartlett Wash area shortly after takeoff.
View of the Cisco reach of the Colorado River. Westwater Canyon can be seen in the upper right.
waves a friendly hello. Or is this a warning gesture, or a funky dance move?
This portion of the so-called Moab Golf Course Panel measures about 15 feet (4.5 meters) in width. Note the opposing arm positions of the Moab Man (leftmost petroglyph) with the Moab Woman(?) at the far right.
with Jupiter and Venus setting in the west.
The view south, toward Spanish Valley, with Orion hovering at top center.
found in an outcrop of the Triassic-age Chinle Formation near Moab, Utah. Around 200 million years ago this region was a low-gradient alluvial plain, populated by large crayfish belonging to ichnospecies Camborygma eumekenomos based on burrow morphology.
Note the vertical tubular structures cutting across the bedding. Red pen for scale.
Architectural morphologies of different ichnospecies of Camborygma with respect to position on the floodplain and depth to the water table (from Hasiotis and Honey (2000)).
toward the gathering storm, this large and flamboyant sparrow is wondering when will winter be over?
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).
UPDATE: More than three inches (7.6 cm) of snow fell overnight from another winter storm, confusing more birds at my feeding station.
Frowning Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), not enjoying the new snow.
before hitting the local trails again, still a muddy and rutted mess from all the moisture we’ve received this winter.
The RR5 after yesterday’s challenging trail inspection.
by the vulgar outdoor lighting at the Red Cliffs Lodge located 14 miles northeast of Moab, Utah. The owners/operators are apparently completely oblivious to the beauty and majesty of the night sky.
Guests staying at that lodge will miss spectacular night skies such as this seen from my desert retreat this evening.
from Castleton, Utah on a lovely mid-winter’s day.
