Cross-bedding in Owens River sediments

Today, we take a look at an outcrop of young, basically unlithified sediments east of Bishop, California, on the way out Poleta Road, toward the White Mountain Research Station’s Owens Valley Lab, where you can get a nice view of the Coyote Warp Relay Ramp. These photos were taken just west of the bridge over … Read more

More M.A.G.I.C.

A new suite of GigaPans, all in this case by the prolific Robin Rohrback. link link link link link link Team MAGIC is presenting a talk and demonstration of our work next week at the U.S. Geological Survey, in Reston, Virginia. It’s going to be a great semester for making lots more cool images like … Read more

Monday macrobug: Orange wasp

Saw this one on the Neoacadian Inner Piedmont field trip before GSA in the fall… I guess it’s something of a break from tradition to show you a bug from any place other than my yard, but this one’s pretty enough to justify the excursion… Yes, that’s the Walker Top Granite that it’s resting on.

Friday fold: Up on Opequon Creek

I got a call last month from Rebekah Wiedower, a landowner up in Frederick & Clarke counties (her family’s property includes pieces of both), inviting me to come up and look at some anticlines and synclines that Dan Doctor (USGS) had identified on the bank of Opequon Creek. I was glad to do it, though … Read more

Upturned Paleozoic strata on Highway 16, Bighorns, Wyoming

Here’s a terrific outcrop to start off the new year at Mountain Beltway. We’re back in the Bighorns of Wyoming here, on highway 16, traversing the southern portion of the range en route from Buffalo to South Pass City. Click to enlarge Annotated, expanded, and Easter-egg-embedded: Click to enlarge From a different perspective (uphill a … Read more

2012 Yard List

Here’s our “yard list” of birds since we moved to the new place in June: Pileated woodpecker Red-bellied woodpecker Eastern phoebe Great blue heron White-breasted nuthatch Scarlet tanager Whippoorwill Chipping sparrow Ruby-throated hummingbird Tufted titmouse Black-capped chickadee Indigo bunting Chimney swift Red-eyed vireo Turkey vulture American crow Great crested flycatcher Louisiana warbler Broad-winged hawk Eastern … Read more

Vulture petroglyph from Castle Gardens, Wyoming

Happy new year! Time marches on – and here’s a reminder of times past… Check this out – a couple of what appear to be vultures, etched by native Americans into the siltstone at Castle Gardens, Wyoming: Diameter of the outer circle is probably 1.5 or 2 feet. My annotated (and generally embelished) version: I … Read more

Monday macrobug: Katydid

Happy New Year’s Eve! Here’s a katydid seen on my porch back before it got really cold: Can you tell if it’s a male or a female? (Hint: look for the ovipositor!) This one’s out of focus, but I like it anyhow because of the character lurking in the background: Happy New Year!

5-year blogiversary

Half a decade ago today, I wrote my first blog post. A lot’s happened since then. Blogging is fun, and it’s brought me a lot of great opportunities and new friendships. Any thoughts on the material I’ve produced since that initial foray? Want more of something or less of something? Thanks for reading…