Akkana Peck

Linux/open source/Python geekette, mapping/GIS enthusiast (with FOSS tools), photo fiddler (mostly with GIMP), astronut, hiker and mountain biker, writer, speaker, LWV. Northern New Mexico. She.

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akkana@fosstodon-org.mostr.pub

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nprofile1qqst9yjeg2zk35wke3zk0herafq083yf2aaueuyq6za3346wc34846qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dspzxa7m

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Last Notes

2026-05-13 21:20:43 UTC

I'm always amused driving by here: a Tesla dealership right by a gas station. (Gas prices have gone up since I took the photo. Not that Tesla drivers need to worry about that.)
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/569/349/178/490/359/original/92ab0b8dd84ada28.jpg

2026-05-07 17:07:46 UTC

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@nprofile…dx63 I've seen that but wasn't sure if it was also true on Linux, or where it would be. I don't currently have a weights.bin anywhere, but I don't use chromium very much.

2026-05-07 16:44:03 UTC

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@nprofile…8xww On Linux, if I need a chrome-based browser, I use #chromium, the open-source fork of chrome. (It's available for non-Linux platforms too.)
As far as I can tell, chromium doesn't have the AI download because the AI blob isn't open-source:
https://adsm.dev/posts/prompt-api/#which-browsers-support-the-api
But I'd love to find a way to confirm that for sure. Anybody know how to tell?
#browser #browsers

2026-05-02 14:33:17 UTC

This spring we have a flock of chipping sparrows. I just counted 10 in my feeder area, along with two mourning doves. I've never seen more than one or two of these sparrows at a time before.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/505/456/549/484/448/original/46f899fc02cc64b2.jpg

2026-04-30 21:04:57 UTC

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By the way, if you're #privacy minded, you don't have to use your home address in Vote411. Just use an address that's close enough to you that it's in all the same districts. I use the address of our public library.

2026-04-22 20:16:47 UTC

Amazing: there are still a few pasqueflowers blooming on the Mitchell trail.
#bloomscrolling #wildflowers
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/450/190/065/834/777/original/e3722a40f4eb4a99.jpg

2026-04-19 19:16:24 UTC

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@nprofile…x8ql @nprofile…6kue Last night we had a fire starting at 20:00. I started recording at 18:30.
The sensor gives "particles", "standard" and "env" for various sizes. I can't find anything written about what these numbers actually are or what the units are, though "particles" are apparently per 0.1L of air. The "env" numbers are almost all zero, for all sizes. The "particles" show a modest spike around when we started the fire, and a bigger spike around when we stopped burning.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/432/945/487/174/444/original/e7136ae7a1333047.jpg

2026-04-17 21:12:41 UTC

Latest hardware project: a particulate air quality sensor, to see how dirty our fireplace actually is, and also to monitor air quality during wildfire season.
Popsicle sticks make a great hardware case!
https://shallowsky.com/blog/hardware/particular.html
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/422/102/853/438/527/original/4d0436227476e363.jpg

2026-04-13 16:07:36 UTC

Driving toward Hite, with the Henry Mountains in the distance for #MountainMonday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/398/217/461/461/227/original/fce2b87cc34daa41.jpg

2026-04-08 22:30:37 UTC

A couple of locals are curious where we're going on today's Ghost Ranch hike. Pedernal visible in the distance.
#NewMexico #hiking
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/371/438/155/300/837/original/123491580dea3475.jpg

2026-04-06 16:22:19 UTC

Sandia mountain #MountainMonday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/358/661/534/288/242/original/66763c199179191a.jpg

2026-04-05 21:15:42 UTC

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@nprofile…ljd8 Blooming ocotillo is so pretty. I wanted to try planting it here but apparently it doesn't like to grow this high.

2026-04-04 18:02:37 UTC

I saw a jackrabbit in the open space south of White Rock a couple days ago! First time I've seen one since moving to #NewMexico, though Dave saw one at Redwash, near Abiquiu, last year. Very cool to know we have jackrabbits (well, at least one) in the neighborhood. No photo, alas; it was running when I saw it.
#hiking

2026-03-31 22:58:59 UTC

Two people complained to me that they couldn't download the .doc registration form on lwvnm.org. (Don't look at me, .doc is what I was given and told to post. I don't use that format!)
At least one of them is using chrome on mac. When I google "chrome doesn't download" I get hundreds of hits from people saying their chrome just does nothing when they try to download a file, and indeed, that's what chromium does here.
Bizarre! Such a basic function that apparently doesn't work in chrome.

2026-03-31 16:10:53 UTC

Madrone bark on #TextureTuesday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/324/645/804/779/767/original/f9fc916dffe4d03d.jpg

2026-03-27 16:33:03 UTC

Looking through old photos for a good #FootpathFriday entry. How about the Rings Trail at Joshua Tree? That was fun #hiking
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/302/083/935/904/755/original/e46234ea53579dc9.jpg

2026-03-23 14:33:27 UTC

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@nprofile…e5dz @nprofile…tlwd Okay. I admit I've been confused by the relationship between them. For instance, as far as I could glean from web searches, the only way to get a GUI to look at the current PipeWire setup was to use pavucontrol, the PulseAudio tool, and to do much with the commandline required pactl, both of which required installing pipewire-pulse, some kind of compatibility layer between PW and PA. So the PA layer seems like a separate thing.

2026-03-22 23:33:48 UTC

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@nprofile…tlwd That's part of it, but a bigger part is people in major distros who insist on introducing something new and shiny and forcing it on everyone.
PulseAudio was crap when it was first forced on everyone. But over the years, they finally got it working really well. And once it was finally working well -- they added the untested and buggy PipeWire on top of it, so now sound is broken again, for who knows how many more years.

2026-03-22 22:42:56 UTC

I've been fiddling with #PipeWire and WirePlumber, #Linux's latest #audio system, trying to make my sound more reliable. I'm still not a fan, but I did finally find a way to get it to (most of the time) use my built-in speaker instead of its three imaginary HDMI audio outputs.
https://shallowsky.com/blog/linux/pipewire-output-sinks.html

2026-02-28 17:18:46 UTC

A hoodoo at the Valley of Dreams.
#SaturdayScenery #NewMexico #hiking #geology
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/149/368/747/182/220/original/1bc7722733b59f50.jpg

2026-02-21 23:46:14 UTC

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So, I can't monkeypatch the datetime class, but at least I can write a replacement that's more tolerant: https://github.com/akkana/datetime_tolerant
But it's going to be a big job finding all the datetime uses in the BillTracker and making sure they create a tolerant version every time..

2026-02-21 17:38:02 UTC

The Colorado River at Hite, #Utah for #SaturdayScenery.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/109/815/825/027/279/original/964f3e2b45c8c160.jpg

2026-02-21 16:09:22 UTC

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Had what seemed like a great idea this morning: monkeypatch #python datetime's __lt__ and other related functions to be timezone tolerant. Quickly shot down: turns out the datetime class is immutable so it can't be monkeypatched. Darnit.

2026-02-20 19:25:13 UTC

In datetime hell again. I just hate #Python's datetime SO much. Any given datetime object might or might not have a timezone. Any given function might or might not return a timezone-aware datetime. If you ever mess up and call a function that returns a timezone when you didn't expect one, or vice versa, or a function you call changes in that respect, now you have a hidden time bomb that will crash your program the next time you do a comparison with or subtraction from another datetime.

2026-02-02 22:06:47 UTC

Morning stroll down Cañada del Buey to Overlook, where the #waterfall is running nicely today.
#hiking #NewMexico
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/003/294/099/070/728/original/99029809088b31a1.jpg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/116/003/294/233/734/483/original/10ba7087286047c6.jpg

2026-01-29 21:57:03 UTC

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@nprofile…6xag True, but I wish there were better options. Konqueror is really for people already running inside the KDE ecosystem; installing it on my non-KDE Debian system would pull in 188 (!) additional packages I don't want and would never use. Vivaldi is tempting, but I have a bias against closed-source that I'd have to get past. I did use Pale Moon for a while, but there were several things about it that irritated me and the community seemed unfriendly, so I switched back.

2026-01-29 19:26:17 UTC

Disable all #AI in #firefox:
https://www.askvg.com/how-to-disable-and-remove-all-ai-features-in-mozilla-firefox/
That's a ridiculous number of preferences! Mozilla is really making it hard to disable AI. Fortunately the article gives you a text block you can paste into your user.js file to disable them all at once.

2026-01-20 17:18:13 UTC

A rock wall in White Rock Canyon for #TextureTuesday . I think all the rock shown here is basalt, though I know the red stuff doesn't look much like it.
#geology #hiking #NewMexico
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/928/543/993/538/511/original/9393a4839ed36bd1.jpg

2026-01-13 00:27:56 UTC

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@nprofile…y3pr That was the product being advertised, extra strength saline nasal spray, for "stubborn nasal congestion".

2026-01-12 23:22:30 UTC

I just heard a commercial (on a podcast) for "extra strength saline".
It has more salt?

2026-01-12 18:59:24 UTC

#MountainMonday #hiking #NewMexico #FallColors
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/883/656/585/499/791/original/5647cb828d5f7340.jpg

2026-01-04 17:09:18 UTC

#SilentSunday #NewMexico
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/837/918/671/356/925/original/4110023d676bf056.jpg

2025-12-24 22:00:48 UTC

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@nprofile…z635 eek! I hope not. I certainly didn't see anything about that on the BeWell website, or mentioned in any articles I read.

2025-12-24 21:31:45 UTC

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@nprofile…z635 I guess they didn't quite make that 16th date. :/ Hopefully in January it will be easier. I hope they get auto-pay working.

2025-12-02 18:23:44 UTC

I've been wanting a CO2 monitor for a long time. (As a virus monitoring proxy: my heart condition is most like a result of #COVID, and I'm fairly anxious to avoid getting it again.)
I finally got around to ordering a sensor (SCD40) plus some CircuitPython microcontrollers, and got a basic monitor up and running in a few hours. Fun! Now I just have to build some sort of case to make it easier to carry around.
#Maker #esp32 #CircuitPython #Python #COVID19 #CovidIsNotOver
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/651/322/072/376/464/original/7e1fb773a6e00806.jpg

2025-11-21 18:53:42 UTC

So, looks like keeping this year's health insurance plan next year will cost me $1,634/month (vs $542/mo in 2025), or $19,606/year. So the cost is tripling.
Just some numbers for folks who aren't on #ACA insurance and have been curious what all the fuss is about.
#healthcare

2025-11-09 18:22:16 UTC

Hooray, finally fixed the low-zoom problem in PyTopo!
I got a little crossed up with the Mercator projection and coordinate-to-tile-number code, so I decided this was a perfect opportunity to try an AI coding assistant. #Claude did a surprisingly good job, coming up with nicely structured and commented #Python that was easy to plug in to PyTopo. I had to revise the prompt a few times, and needed to fix a sign error and an off-by-one bug, but still, it was quite helpful.
#vibe_coding #map
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/521/084/838/466/267/original/3e59dbfa994a1493.jpg

2025-11-04 17:44:29 UTC

Tafoni at Redwash Canyon, where our hiking group is going tomorrow.
#TextureTuesday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/492/653/158/436/368/original/8dae20ab97bcccf2.jpg

2025-11-01 16:23:25 UTC

#Skull (coyote?) in the Rocky Mountains.
#HappyDayoftheDead
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/475/348/147/604/298/original/94823a164ec63ee5.jpg

2025-10-19 22:27:14 UTC

#SilentSunday #FallColors
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/115/403/179/273/651/670/original/019723d631051e2f.jpg

2025-10-14 21:06:17 UTC

Great moments in #GNOME #UI: evince no longer has any way to quit the app. It uses mandatory client-side decorations (so ugly!) which offer no "x' button to close the window, there's no quit option in the hamburger menu, and Q and Ctrl-Q do nothing.
Even better, dialogs like Properties also have no way to close them (and no, Ctrl-W doesn't do anything) so once you call one up, it's up until you kill the app.
Good thing there's xkill.
#Linux

2025-08-20 00:05:38 UTC

Wish I could figure out what program on this new #Debian #Linux #Trixie install keeps creating an empty ~/Documents directory that I don't use or want.

2025-08-09 17:05:52 UTC

A small collection of tent rocks in Guaje Canyon.
#hiking #NewMexico
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/999/873/632/096/685/original/8aece90f183c4c10.jpg

2025-08-05 16:53:07 UTC

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@nprofile…5thu I *think* that turning off Sample Merged, then cloning back to the original layer rather than a new layer, does what you want. Though it does lose information (the part of the original layer painted over) ... so you might want to duplicate the original layer first, before cloning, and keep it as an invisible reference in case you ever want to undo the clone.

2025-08-05 16:24:23 UTC

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@nprofile…5thu Might you have "Sample Merge" checked in the clone tool options?
Without Sample Merged, if I middleclick the original layer as the source layer, then create a new layer and clone-draw there, I see the original layer before effects are applied. So what I paint looks different from its source, because the source has effects but the clone-paint on the new layer does not.
If I turn on Sample Merged, then I get the combination of all layers and effects.

2025-08-05 15:34:28 UTC

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@nprofile…5thu Clone currently takes its source from the source layer before any effects are applied, which I think is what you want, though apparently there's a current merge request to add an option that will take effects into account.

2025-08-05 15:33:03 UTC

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@nprofile…5thu I'm probably still misunderstanding the goal, but it seems like, if you want to end up with the cloned bits on the original layer before effects are applied (so the effects will be applied on the cloned part too), you could just clone from the original layer to itself, rather than creating a new layer then trying to merge that layer.

2025-08-05 14:58:17 UTC

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@nprofile…5thu I don't have an answer off the top of my head, but I might be able to find out. But to be clear what the question is:
When you say you merged down, you're merging with the merge button in the Layers dialog, or with Layer->Merge Down?
And what you want is that the top painted layer will merge to the original layer, before any effects were applied, keeping the effects so they apply to the merged layer?

2025-07-27 19:36:08 UTC

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@nprofile…73ay It's a bit more driving on dirt roads, but I don't remember the roads as being that bad. I think they'd be doable in a passenger car if the occupants were okay with a little adventure. 🙂 (But we were in a Rav4, so admittedly I wasn't watching for obstacles that would have stopped a street car.)
My #1 goal was to see the Alien Throne, and it was as impressive as I'd hoped, and very much worth the trip. And of course lots of other great hoodoos besides the Throne.

2025-07-27 19:27:10 UTC

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@nprofile…73ay Yes, but the Valley of Dreams section, not the main one.

2025-07-27 18:20:58 UTC

#SilentSunday #hiking #NewMexico #Bisti #ValleyOfDreams
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/926/565/872/300/627/original/057942cdf81920c0.jpg

2025-07-07 01:44:18 UTC

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@nprofile…7hjs @nprofile…79a5 In truth, most websites aren't a big problem over DSL. But it's marginal for:
- zoom and other conferencing, especially if we both need to be in different meetings at the same time
- uploading videos, e.g. to youtube
- probably high-def streaming, but I wouldn't know since we only have a low-def TV

2025-07-06 18:45:25 UTC

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@nprofile…79a5
I'm not disagreeing, and I'm no fan of Starlink's light and debris pollution, but ... every now and then I look at my 12/0.8 Mbps DSL connection and think wistfully how nice it would be to have broadband-speed internet, like Starlink. I get why people want it.
Some day, some years from now, there may be fiber where I live; but it's not certain, and some areas will never get fiber.
Is there a solution for rural broadband that doesn't involve excessive numbers of satellites?

2025-07-01 14:30:58 UTC

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@nprofile…5thu I don't have a Mac handy right now, but try setting
export LC_COLLATE=en_US.UTF-8
in the environment from which you run GIMP. At least on Linux, that makes the GTK file chooser ignore case for sorting.

2025-06-19 20:49:44 UTC

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@nprofile…lneq That explains why some people like it, but not why it's called a "mullet".
I've seen the word used for a type of haircut, and I think there's a fish (checking wikipedia, there are quite a few different fish called that) but nothing that would explain its use for bikes. None of the other mullets in the wikipedia disambiguation seems related (and the bike use isn't there).

2025-06-18 19:58:23 UTC

Lovely ebike ride this morning, early enough to beat the heat, on my Specialized Turbo Levo SL Kids (yes Kids!) ebike. Which reminded me that I never finished writing my review of it, so now I've done so.
https://shallowsky.com/blog/bike/turbolevo.html
#bike #BikeTooter #eBike
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/706/129/346/171/980/original/40d9c3ab276d6805.jpg

2025-06-15 17:21:54 UTC

#SilentSunday #NewMexico #pueblo
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/688/482/189/990/527/original/5b779b73dfeb3049.jpg

2025-06-01 21:10:32 UTC

#SilentSunday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/610/140/562/141/023/original/1798cf00b0611128.jpg

2025-05-31 18:20:05 UTC

The doctor convinced me to get a pneumonia shot yesterday even though I'm low risk, and today I'm feeling sore and headachey and good for nothing from the shot.
But at least there are flowers to look at. Two more blossoms open on the big hedgehog, and the other hedgehog has opened its solo bud. Plus one blossom on the prickly pear nearby, but it doesn't look very impressive so far, so I'll save that for a later post.
#cactus #BloomScrolling #NewMexico #WildFlowers
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/603/793/743/549/576/original/09d880dde7ba7478.jpg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/603/793/726/638/309/original/ab992391a64c903c.jpg

2025-05-28 20:14:07 UTC

A hike up to Cerro Grande with the irises blooming.
#hiking #NewMexico #WildFlowers #BloomScrolling
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/587/258/186/811/739/original/439106bb748fa2f5.jpg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/587/258/371/855/728/original/504408e23849de2b.jpg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/587/257/949/199/921/original/90288868f874bd8b.jpg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/587/258/185/556/008/original/8b71e6b84b86251e.jpg

2025-05-28 00:39:25 UTC

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@nprofile…zyjy Agree, same here. It has to be a pretty impressive sunspot complex to show up well in H-alpha. On the other hand, if one is big enough to show up, it shows a lot of detail. The prominences are my favorite, though.

2025-05-27 19:48:11 UTC

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@nprofile…zyjy Thanks for the alert! It's pretty great in H-alpha too. I wish I had a way to photograph what I see in the PST.

2025-05-18 00:07:05 UTC

Dave's little glider flew off this morning -- he was flying it in too much wind and couldn't get it back to the field before it got too small to see. We spent 2+ hours beating the bushes searching for it. I finally found it by scanning the far cliffs with binoculars from atop a hill: I spotted a white thing with black marks that I thought might be the wing, and we hiked up to it and it was!
"She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true" (well, after some gluing).
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/525/887/986/138/497/original/005c98a2c32a8a6c.jpg

2025-05-12 20:47:43 UTC

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@nprofile…dcqj Interesting! Ours never get a black head. The adults look just like the babies here, only bigger. They do keep the white eyeliner. Here's an adult vacuuming up birdseed.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/496/816/373/044/064/original/9f8e744dc5d6c470.jpg

2025-05-12 16:29:11 UTC

There's a litter of baby rock #squirrels living under our back-door deck. We think there are seven of them, though five is the most I've been able to photograph together at one time. So that's why the birdseed has been disappearing faster than usual ...
#NewMexico #wildlife
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/495/782/049/823/812/original/65d10392dca188e8.jpg

2025-05-10 16:37:04 UTC

Sunset cloud over the Sangres, with full moon, from Thursday night.
#SunsetSaturday.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/484/500/744/840/125/original/7cd7ed3e7bc1c9cb.jpg

2025-05-09 16:04:59 UTC

Two Friday memes in one! From Bandelier.
#FensterFreitag #FootpathFriday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/478/713/678/709/145/original/9a330d432c9e53db.jpg

2025-05-08 18:52:53 UTC

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@nprofile…nxap Neat! The only time I've seen a hawk eating a kill was a Cooper's hawk, quite likely this same one, plucking and eating a bird. The yard was silent -- nobody scolded the hawk, they all got out of there as fast as they could.

2025-05-08 16:29:47 UTC

We're having big mourning dove flocks this spring, though not many other birds. The other day I was counting doves as they suddenly all startled and flew away. That's not unusual -- doves are the biggest cowards, EVERYTHING frightens them -- but this time they had a good reason, as the local Cooper's hawk promptly landed on the fence overlooking the feeding area, and obligingly stayed there long enough for me to grab the camera.
#birds #BirdfFeeder #NewMexico #hawk
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/473/111/707/350/765/original/78da5c8f6a77d98c.jpg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/473/111/604/150/972/original/2f5238d23a17936f.jpg

2025-05-07 20:29:45 UTC

Photo by Katie Sayre of our lunch spot on a Bayo Canyon hike. Conditions were perfect, not even muddy despite all the badly needed recent rain. I call the rock in the left background "Monk Rock" because it looks like a hooded monk. I'm the one at far right petting Maile the dog.
#hiking #NewMexico
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/468/412/873/948/329/original/50f38dc18df4472a.jpg

2025-05-07 01:17:45 UTC

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@nprofile…6d5a That's a good one!

2025-05-06 21:51:41 UTC

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@nprofile…73ay So true -- they don't last long at all, do they?

2025-05-06 20:45:38 UTC

Just realized it's #TextureTuesday
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/462/828/686/235/834/original/dafad65e58e36a06.jpg

2025-05-06 16:42:54 UTC

I never got around to watering our hedgehog cacti, to encourage them to bloom this year. But the 1.50" (!!) of rain over the past couple days should make them very happy. I hope it's not too late for hedgehog flowers, and that my hedgehogs will look a little like this one that I saw on a hike last week.
(My hedgehogs aren't claret cup like this photo; they're Fendler's hedgehog and nylon hedgehog, with pink and yellow-green flowers respectively.)
#cactus #WildFlowers #BloomScrolling #NewMexico
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/461/860/601/460/399/original/badcda24072039c9.jpg

2025-05-05 16:39:07 UTC

Sleeping Ute Mountain from the Sand Canyon trail.
#MountainMonday #hiking #Colorado #cairn
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/114/456/192/488/401/702/original/58b84a40e5d976e8.jpg

2025-05-04 15:57:33 UTC

#SilentSunday #hiking #NewMexico
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2025-05-03 15:43:25 UTC

We used to see #bats regularly in the summer, but for the last 2-3 years we've seen fewer and fewer. I miss seeing them, so I made a bat box, hoping that might make our yard seem more hospitable. It's amazing what a small space bats like (at least according to the various online directions I found). We'll see if it works.
#maker
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2025-05-02 15:59:27 UTC

Mica window at Acoma #pueblo. Mica was used for windows before the easy availability of glass.
#FensterFreitag #NewMexico
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2025-05-02 15:33:19 UTC

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@nprofile…zg9d The reward for climbing to the top (besides the great view) is dune-skiing back down. Just take a jump, land on the downslope and see how far you can slide down, then take another jump. Great fun, almost feels like moon-walking.

2025-05-01 23:53:15 UTC

Huh, just got a new #Firefox (138.0.1) and it's suddenly no longer obeying the browser.display.background_color pref, instead forcing white as the default background.
Not that there are many sites that don't specify a background color; but that's part of why it was useful to be able to specify one myself, so I could see which pages omitted it. (Plus, it let me choose a color that's easier on the eyes than glaring white.)

2025-05-01 17:04:52 UTC

Still recovering from yesterday's hike up to Atalaya mountain. The claret cup cacti are just starting to bloom. There was an Abert's squirrel perched on a tree above our lunch spot at the summit. There was also a big horned lizard, who I will post separately. The panorama is from a much lower vantage point, not from the top.
#hiking #NewMexico #wildflowers #BloomScrolling #squirrel
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2025-04-30 01:18:39 UTC

Loving the anticrepuscular rays tonight.
#sunset #atmosphere
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2025-04-30 00:29:04 UTC

I just found out about #TextureTuesday ... now that's a hashtag I can get behind! Here's the surface of the Jemez river back in January.
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2025-04-29 16:50:48 UTC

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@nprofile…plv4 I thought that too -- the poor plant, with not one but two derogatory terms in the name! And then it's other name is almost as bad, since Fendler's cliffbush would be a much more typical plant name than cliff Fendlerbush.

2025-04-29 16:08:34 UTC

Always nice to see the Cliff Fendlerbush at Kimberly Overlook blooming.
#NewMexico #WildFlowers #BloomScrolling
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2025-04-27 22:51:46 UTC

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@nprofile…k7gd From the late 1000s to the late 1200s, according to the park handout: https://www.nps.gov/azru/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

2025-04-27 22:10:11 UTC

I got out of the LWVNM state convention in time to check in at our annual #kite festival. I tried to fly my little hawk kite but it turned out to be poorly designed (it's decorative, but not a good flyer). But there were lots of other beautiful kites to watch, and for once, the kite festival is on a windy weekend.
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2025-04-27 13:54:34 UTC

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@nprofile…zq4c Nope, Aztec (just outsize Aztec, NM).

2025-04-27 13:32:27 UTC

Aztec #ruins (named after the town; they're actually from southwestern Pueblo builders).
#SilentSunday #NewMexico
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2025-04-25 20:07:35 UTC

Bandelier NP for #FensterFreitag
#hiking #NewMexico
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2025-04-23 17:11:45 UTC

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@nprofile…6dpm I just saw our first hummingbird yesterday! And I love all our native grasses, we have such a variety, but especially the blue grama.

2025-04-23 17:06:06 UTC

Last evening's flower walk, with ravens playing in the thermals at the edge of the canyon. The purple flowers in the second photo are desert verbena, abundant on the cliff edge and lower down but not at higher elevations.
#NewMexico #WildFlowers #bloomscrolling
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2025-04-22 21:40:06 UTC

I didn't get a chance to give my Holes of Invermere speech at Toastmasters last week. That's okay, I'll give it next week. Meanwhile, I wrote it up as a blog post. And here are two waterfalls from the route we took along the Columbia River on the way up to Invermere.
#waterfall #travel #Canada
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2025-04-20 16:00:25 UTC

#SilentSunday #hiking #NewMexico
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2025-04-19 22:10:59 UTC

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@nprofile…ffl4 I wondered why they were called that, and only now looked it up. Apparently they descended on the Mormons' crop the year after they moved to Salt Lake City, and the settlers were saved only by the "Miracle of the Gulls" in which gulls appeared and ate all the crickets.
(They're actually katydids, not true crickets, and are flightless which isn't surprising given how large and chunky they are.)

2025-04-19 20:36:13 UTC

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@nprofile…52gl Pretty! We have actual snowflakes falling, but nothing is sticking.
#NewMexico #NMwx

2025-04-19 16:19:50 UTC

I think this is a Mormon cricket, near the top of its altitude range on Pajarito Mountain, for #InsectSaturday
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2025-04-16 22:04:35 UTC

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@nprofile…07t5 I think they had solid rubber tires, which at least eliminates that maintenance. But I bet the rest of the maintenance -- I hadn't even thought about spokes til you mentioned them -- was a lot more difficult than on modern cycles! As I recall, he does mention breakdowns and stops for maintenance, but I don't remember him going into detail about what he did for parts and tools along the way.

2025-04-16 21:04:53 UTC

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@nprofile…07t5 It's a fun book (actually two books, at least as distributed on Project Gutenberg, but I haven't made it to the second one yet). He ends up walking a fair amount, not surprisingly. I agree that it's nuts!
I doubt I'm tall enough to ride any existing penny-farthing, which is just as well: I'm not sure I'd have the nerve to try!

2025-04-16 20:26:24 UTC

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@nprofile…07t5 Thank you! I've been wondering what those looked like ever since reading about them in Thomas Stevens' "Around the World on a Bicycle" (riding through those snowsheds on a penny-farthing is not for the faint of heart!)