Despite its volcanic appearance...

resembling a cinder cone, Round Mountain is most certainly NOT volcanic in origin. It does indeed consist of igneous rock, but in an intrusive body that cooled and crystallized while still under the cover of sedimentary strata, now being exposed by the subsidence of the Castle Valley salt-cored anticline and through erosion.

Hand specimen of the trachyte porphyry found in Round Mountain. Note the large, white crystals of sanidine feldspar, evidence of its igneous origin.

Oh, yeah, it was a very nice afternoon for a ride.

November's Beaver Moon...

rises behind, and nearly silhouettes, Castleton Tower at dusk this evening.

Click on image to embiggenate.

Twelve hours later, early the following morning, the full Beaver Moon sets behind Porcupine Rim.

This annoying woodpecker...

likes to hammer on stucco and I hope it gets a splitting headache as it does so. It’s an attractive bird, though.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). More than 100 informal common names are known for this bird, including yellowhammer, clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird.

Excitement guaranteed for the second flight test...

of the largest rocket ever launched, brought to humanity by SpaceX early this morning from south Texas. (Images below from the SpaceX webcast on X.)

Propellant loading underway of the Super Heavy Booster and Starship 25 with super-chilled liquid oxygen and liquid methane.

Successful liftoff! All 33 Raptor engines ignited with the capability of lifting 150 tons into Earth orbit.

Excellent slow-motion high resolution video of the launch: NASASpaceflight.

Midnight at the oasis...

around the birdbath, caught by the ever-seeing trail camera. I’ve suspected as much since I have to refill the birdbath every morning with several gallons of water now that the irrigation system is turned off for the season.

Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis).

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).

There’s also a heating element in the bath to keep it from freezing through the winter, so it’s a reliable water source for birds and other wildlife.

UPDATE 16 November 2023: They’ve become regular nocturnal visitors.

My sharp-looking companion is back...

on patrol at my feeding stations this season. Here are the first shots I’ve managed to capture under horrible lighting conditions and through dirty glass, using my back door as a blind. I feel confident there will be many future sightings of this handsome bird through the winter ahead.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).

Nearly an hour of hang time...

was enjoyed by this skilled paraglider on this calm and lovely afternoon in Castle Valley. I was out cranking on my eMTB and caught these with my smartyphone.

Note the silhouetted climber rappelling the standard descent route on Castleton Tower, left of center.