Category: Science Geek Blog
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Forecast was for an inch, soon to melt off
A brave, or foolish, magpie looks for a meal. I’m just really impressed that it built up as it did. Evan a little breeze will tip snow this deep over. Evidently, it was a really calm night. Thirteen and a half inches of very heavy, wet snow. Pretty, though. And we’re always glad for the…
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Monarch Butterflies Overwintering In Mexico
I remember the day in the 1976 that I ripped open the butcher paper wrapper to the National Geographic Magazine to see the cover of the woman covered in Monarch Butterflies. She had just tracked down where they went every winter, and shared that information with researchers in Canada. For me, that moment represented was…
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Riders on the Storm …
As usual, I heard them before I saw them, a “churring” call echoing off the low clouds. There they were, a ragged line high above me — sandhill cranes running before the storm. The High Plains, including the Front Range, are going to get our first major winter storm starting tonight — and it’s shaping…
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2023 Pika Pilgrimage
My husband and I headed back up to the high country this week to count pika. I’ve been asked if we get bored doing the same site every year. My answer is — it’s not the same site. There’s something new every time. This chipmunk has just jumped up from the rock beneath it to…
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You Otter See the Otters!
Last week, my husband and I took a long-delayed vacation in Monterey, California. The highlight of the trip were the sea otters that live in the kelp beds fifty feet off the beach. Before over hunting decimated them in the 1800s, sea otters ranged from Japan to Baja California, Mexico — 150,000-300,000 of them. But…
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DRAFT Creativity — Pattern Recognition
One of the biggest strengths of neurodivergent people, including dyslexics, is their ability to see patterns where the rest of us see static. But I want everybody to be able to see at least some of the patterns that I present. What do you see?
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DRAFT Creativity — Gist
The ladies in my writing group tell me that the last four pages (two spreads) are a little confusing. Is it confusing for you? What can I do to make them more clear?
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Bunch of unusual birds this morning
Last night, another thunderstorm came through and brought our total precipitation amount to an even 6″ for May — fully one third of what we can expect to receive in an entire year! It’s been a wet month after a cold, wet winter. And evidently, these conditions are good for a several birds we don’t…
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Surprises at Main Reservoir
Earlier this week, I went on a walk around Main Reservoir with my friend Monika from Tails Around the Ranch. We had a fabulous time, looking at the birds and talking about dogs. As we walked, we saw some lovely white flowers on the side of the trail. I went back yesterday to get some…
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New Friend
For the last several years, I have been hearing a new bird call, a kind of “TEerup” call, (It’s always so hard to put a bird call into language, isn’t it?) but I could never figure out what was making it. Enter Cornell University’s Merlin bird identification app. This spring, when I heard the call,…
Amy Law, Science Geek 