Trilobyter

A human in Texas. Studied the geological sciences but ended up on another path working in the human spaceflight business: 37+ years on Space Shuttle & Orion, retired as of April 1st, 2026. #Photography and #gardening in my spare time.  #Orion #Artemis #Fossils #Geology #NASA
Travels: 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 🇬🇧 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇮🇹🇻🇦 🇨🇿 🇦🇹 🇩🇪 🇩🇰 🇳🇴 🇳🇱 🇦🇼 and 🇵🇹 (this time intentionally) .

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Last Notes

2026-07-27 14:37:15 UTC

Backyard Redheads
#MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/992/444/450/388/093/original/7ef2d015408f4df4.jpeg

2026-07-26 13:15:17 UTC

Gulf fritillary #butterfly, not seeing as many of them around this summer.
#SilentSunday #Stunday #photography #nature #butterflies #insects #InsectPhotography #flowers
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/986/459/714/026/767/original/906fc7eedcd481cb.jpeg

2026-07-08 17:37:09 UTC

Nightfall at Cala Sa Tuna.
#MeerMittwoch #photography #Mediterranean #twilight #travel #TravelPhotography #Catalonia #Spain
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/885/567/933/175/605/original/c2f6efcf803a8b2c.jpeg

2026-06-29 14:26:55 UTC

Barn swallow taking a break to chatter at me. They are a common sight, swooping and diving around the houses & in the skies of #Catalonia.
#MondaysAreForTheBirds #photography #birds #BirdPhotography #swallows #Spain
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/833/859/077/482/467/original/22c78fca856487ef.jpeg

2026-06-11 13:04:43 UTC

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though here in Catalonia they’re called “cargols”.

2026-06-11 11:06:59 UTC

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and also - they do eat them here 😋

2026-06-11 08:58:21 UTC

Decided to plant a little herb #garden at the house here and in the middle of the work to prepare the bed for them this guy showed up. Looks like a potential troublemaker.
#photography #snails #gardening #Catalonia #Spain
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/730/645/541/067/780/original/70b07f24f9740cf8.jpeg

2026-05-24 12:52:20 UTC

Up on the bell tower of #Peratallada at sunset. It still works, striking the hours and half hours. Quite loud and startling when you’re standing right underneath it.
#photography #panorama #MedievalTown #BaixEmpordà #Catalonia #Spain #TravelPhotography
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/629/644/021/683/941/original/19971a4c53c767ce.jpeg

2026-05-10 16:22:44 UTC

Carpenter #bee visiting a blanket #flower in the front #garden.
#SilentSunday #Stunday #photography #bees #flowers #BloomScrolling #InsectPhotography #flowerphotography #nature
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/551/198/943/489/588/original/d446a92834524140.jpeg

2026-05-09 21:34:53 UTC

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I’m not sure it’s even that low.

2026-05-09 14:56:53 UTC

BloomSquirreling
#SaturdaySquirrel #photography #squirrels #BackyardWildlife #SquirrelsOfMastodon #BloomScrolling #flowers #FlowerPower #Nature
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/545/199/085/998/647/original/b4d8ff40dd76d40d.jpeg

2026-05-08 15:23:53 UTC

Wandering the vecchi vicoli of #Napoli
#FensterFreitag #photography #monochrome #StreetPhotography #Travel #TravelPhotography #Italy #Naples
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/539/642/960/000/369/original/c0097dcf30bfeaae.jpeg

2026-05-07 18:04:52 UTC

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seed-wise I sow mostly cosmos and zinnias since they - especially zinnias - do well in our summer climate. But this year I sowed a shorter variety of zinnias that are just now starting to bloom. The variety I had before were called something like California Giant and they did get huge but kinda leggy/spindly so not as attractive by mid-Summer.

2026-05-07 14:40:19 UTC

Over the weeks since, I’ve been watching the #cosmos steadily growing from the seeds I spread in the front #garden bed in late winter, they’re now starting to come into bloom, always nice to see, big reward for not that much effort.
#photography #gardening #flowers #BloomScrolling #FlowersOfMastodon
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/533/809/316/616/512/original/ad33925d2b31a6ff.jpeg

2026-05-06 16:18:36 UTC

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!por supuesto!

2026-05-06 16:04:30 UTC

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I didn’t see anyone/anything using it but I know on the Costa Brava above Barcelona they have little passenger ferries that go up and down the coast stopping at different beaches with similar buoy lines marking their approach & landing spots and to keep other boats & swimmers out, so I assume that’s what these are for.

2026-05-06 15:07:28 UTC

Villefranche-sur-Mer
#MeerMittwoch #photography #TravelPhotography #Mediterranean #Travel #CotedAzur #France
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/528/253/733/189/279/original/e59ded40b09cf0fc.jpeg

2026-05-05 19:07:58 UTC

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it seems when they worked together they were hand in hand in developing the ironwork engineering innovations that Eiffel is most known for so qualitatively there’s probably little difference between what they later did separately.

2026-05-05 19:02:42 UTC

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Seyrig was working with & collaborated with Eiffel on the earlier railroad bridge but by the time Porto was looking to build the Dom Luís I bridge he had left Eiffel’s company and was working for a Belgian firm. They competed with Eiffel for the bridge design contract and beat them.

2026-05-05 18:26:06 UTC

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yes I’ve been there & seen it, but that is the Dom Luís I Bridge, designed by Eiffel's partner, Théophile Seyrig. A bit further east up the Douro River there is an Eiffel-designed railroad bridge, the Ponte Maria Pia, which looks somewhat similar but it is not a double-decker. Here’s a photo I took of it, with the modern replacement railroad bridge behind it.
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/523/372/478/689/941/original/d5c7b18126897dc6.jpeg

2026-05-05 15:41:17 UTC

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though there was plenty of opposition when it was being built, critics called it a threat to French art and history, with comments like a "truly tragic street lamp", a "mast of iron gymnasium apparatus", and an "odious column of bolted metal".

2026-05-05 15:25:13 UTC

Eiffel’s ironwork.
#TravelTuesday #photography #monochrome #architecture #EiffelTower #Paris #France #travel
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/522/661/297/818/876/original/f379dcae9c393857.jpeg

2026-05-04 19:25:21 UTC

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it was jumping back and forth between my bird feeder and the tree, grabbing its preferred seeds and stashing them into crevices in the pine tree bark.

2026-05-04 16:59:53 UTC

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I had figured it was the autocorrect demons that got you. But yeah I had cataract surgeries late last year (I can see clearly again so 👍 to that), and my eye doctor has me taking drops for dry eye, but just the over-the-counter type.

2026-05-04 15:34:33 UTC

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are you saying you’re fragile? Or transparent? 😁

2026-05-04 15:08:01 UTC

Red-bellied #woodpecker launching.
#MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #photography #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/516/931/312/546/748/original/a9e4fb7fdf1819a6.jpeg

2026-05-03 14:51:04 UTC

Carpenter #bee on a native #Texas rock rose blossom.
#SilentSunday #Stunday #bees #flowers #BloomScrolling #photography #InsectPhotography #BackyardWildlife
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/511/202/367/141/720/original/4cbefb17e74e99d5.jpeg

2026-05-02 15:07:38 UTC

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they are notorious fence-sitters.

2026-05-02 14:56:48 UTC

A balanced diet.
#SaturdaySquirrel #squirrels #photography #BackyardWildlife #nature #SquirrelsOfMastodon
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/505/562/594/416/000/original/b8dc7816ec559525.jpeg

2026-05-01 16:22:21 UTC

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but not in Catalan 😁 (and was that a Shrinking reference?).

2026-05-01 15:38:31 UTC

#Barcelona
#FensterFreitag #photography #travel #TravelPhotography #Catalonia #Spain
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/500/064/261/171/385/original/6b7bb0e6f001d173.jpeg

2026-04-30 20:57:35 UTC

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ha, my “expansive” property, a postage-stamp-sized suburban backyard - but fortunately we have a tree-lined easement behind us that provides a habitat for the flying/crawling/scampering critters that visit us each day. You can see one in this panoramic photo (which makes it look way bigger) up on the fence - I had just finished the morning feeder replenish. I took this to document everything at its spring peak - by mid-June the SE TX heat+humidity will start taking its toll.
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/495/656/599/170/759/original/6c77653c56a2c7ce.jpeg

2026-04-30 17:34:32 UTC

Three #photos today. Saw this pipevine #swallowtail flittering around the backyard and eventually it zeroed in on the #pipevine I planted earlier this spring just for this species (its host plant). Captured it alighting on it then depositing a clutch of #eggs.
#photography #butterfly #ButterflyPhotography #insects #InsectPhotography #MacroPhotography #BackyardWildlife #nature #gardening
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/494/857/536/358/125/original/4dbdc840978fd495.jpeg
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/494/857/889/754/327/original/25fc9b15af17ed08.jpeg
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/494/858/207/058/037/original/225835b56764d6c0.jpeg

2026-04-29 15:51:10 UTC

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you’re welcome. Over the years I’ve covered the entire CA coast in my travels, from the Mexican border to Oregon, and if I had to pick a place along there to live (and yes, could afford it) my top choice would be Trinidad.

2026-04-29 15:14:43 UTC

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I have some family there (SoCal) so I’ve been many times.

2026-04-29 15:09:22 UTC

#Foggy morning at Trinidad harbor, northern #California
#MeerMittwoch #photography #seascape #travel #TravelPhotography #birds #seabirds #Pacific #cormorants #seagulls
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/488/625/053/187/753/original/53b19d25e77a7f5d.jpeg

2026-04-28 19:50:35 UTC

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I guess dimensionally it *might* be able to fit - just barely, less than 6 inches to spare either side - with specialized low-profile cradle/supporting structures. But while the LM was built to withstand the longitudinal G-forces of launch I’m not sure it could handle the up to 3G force of shuttle re-entry on different axes. And they’d have to completely empty/inert any remaining hypergolic propellants from the fuel & oxidizer tanks to make it safe to carry.

2026-04-28 18:25:56 UTC

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as a personal note, my father worked on the guidance system/guidance computer aboard the Eagle and the other Apollo lunar modules so I would definitely be in favor of an effort to preserve it if the money is there. 🙂

2026-04-28 18:18:04 UTC

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Best option if there is the $$$ & the will to preserve it would be to build a robotic retrieval & lunar landing craft to grab it & bring it down near a future moon base. Or near/on the original Apollo 11 landing site / landing stage.

2026-04-28 18:15:28 UTC

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Retreiving it is another matter, NASA doesn’t use the same docking mechanism so we’d have to build (or borrow an old one if any exist), and adapt it to Orion or some other spacecraft (a robotic one would be safer). But you’d still have no way to get it down to Earth, even if they had gotten it back to low earth orbit the Shuttle didn’t have a payload bay that could accommodate it.

2026-04-28 18:07:52 UTC

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yeah, I’ve seen previous discussion about this and looked at Meador’s paper. Based on that I think it’s possible it’s still in orbit, maybe with the resumption of human activity on & around the moon they’ll do some dedicated radar or optical scans to get proof (if indeed it is still there).

2026-04-28 16:57:34 UTC

In the streets of Seillans at night.
#TravelTuesday #photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #monochrome #NightPhotography #Provence #France
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/483/388/239/032/063/original/0fe069ac457fb7c3.jpeg

2026-04-27 15:48:02 UTC

A tufted #titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) coming straight atchya.
#MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #photography #nature #BirdPhotography #BackyardBirds
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/477/452/517/415/151/original/eea966933547a67e.jpeg

2026-04-26 14:41:24 UTC

Still not many #butterflies around but there’s been a bit of uptick in activity the past week. This was the first gulf fritillary I’ve seen making a stop in the front #garden, spent a little time with the mealy blue sage before flittering on.
#SilentSunday #Stunday #photography #butterfly #ButterflyPhotography #insects #nature
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/471/528/185/231/717/original/303d3cb8069b617a.jpeg

2026-04-26 01:04:09 UTC

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if you can’t provide some explanation of what you want right here then I’m not going to respond further.

2026-04-26 00:05:02 UTC

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what is it?

2026-04-25 17:36:00 UTC

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I’ve heard of that remedy, just haven’t reached the point of actually trying it. They haven’t done any major damage to my plants other than stealing strawberries. It’s a complicated relationship but I guess I mostly just like shaking my fist at them and complaining about them. They probably feel the same about me.

2026-04-25 15:26:23 UTC

Digging into & hiding nuts in my poinsettia pot when there’s an entire belt of land & trees behind our property in which to stash their stuff. Why.
#SaturdaySquirrels #photography #nature #squirrels #SquirrelsOfMastodon #BackyardWildlife
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/466/042/770/216/086/original/e70ba54df9992dd5.jpeg

2026-04-24 15:30:44 UTC

Sagrada windows.
#FensterFreitag #photography #SagradaFamilia #Barcelona #Catalonia #Spain #TravelPhotography #architecture #Gaudí
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/460/397/520/087/734/original/99d0e15faee795fd.jpeg

2026-04-23 17:26:24 UTC

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well of the dozens of shots I took of the wasps on & around the feeder that day this and maybe 2 or 3 others were the only ones that captured something both in focus & with the action that I was hoping for.

2026-04-23 15:33:55 UTC

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ooh ooh he’s already got a perfect one - “King of Pain”

2026-04-23 15:31:45 UTC

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composed by Sting?

2026-04-23 15:27:42 UTC

Southern yellowjacket #wasps, attempting to take over the hummingbird feeder.
#insects #photography #insectphotography #BackyardWildlife #nature
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/454/723/332/030/884/original/66e6acebd13b5bbf.jpeg

2026-04-22 14:48:05 UTC

Near Trinidad in northern #California
#MeerMittwoch #photography #seascape #Pacific #ocean #travel #TravelPhotography
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/448/905/203/237/597/original/cc0862ed6ed18ca6.jpeg

2026-04-21 15:03:51 UTC

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well the telephoto lens effect makes the street look even more packed than it really was but it was great fun. I had never heard of this festival but we were visiting a friend in Madrid and she suggested we all go for the day - it’s a short train ride out of Madrid. It reminded a bit of a US RenFest except you’re in the streets of an actual medieval town center (and the food was more interesting/better).

2026-04-21 14:23:04 UTC

The Cervantes week #festival street market in Alcalá de Henares, #Spain
#TravelTuesday #photography #travel #StreetPhotography
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/443/144/580/208/404/original/bc109ba43e423af6.jpeg

2026-04-20 15:09:06 UTC

Female ruby-throated #hummingbird.
#MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #photography #hummingbirdphotography #BackyardBirds
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/437/663/264/856/485/original/263403eeb1bfd935.jpeg

2026-04-19 15:16:16 UTC

#Dragonfly, I think maybe a skimmer species, perched on a stem of mealy blue sage in the front #garden.
#SilentSunday #Stunday #dragonflies #photography #insects #InsectPhotography
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/432/029/099/847/944/original/da56748151585712.jpeg

2026-04-18 15:17:00 UTC

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I’m not above tossing out 90’s alt rock pun allusions.

2026-04-18 15:00:29 UTC

The #squirrel is a vampire.
#SaturdaySquirrel #photography #squirrels #SquirrelsOfMastodon #BackyardWildlife #nature
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/426/304/749/859/195/original/1ff21bb006e9f181.jpeg

2026-04-17 15:32:50 UTC

The #Louvre’s pyramid.
#FensterFreitag #photography #TravelPhotography #Travel #museum #Paris #France #architecture
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/420/769/671/446/421/original/1da2d4f3083f4866.jpeg

2026-04-16 14:24:52 UTC

A tiny #spider and its #web in my #garden catching the light of the setting #sun.
#photography #arachnids #arachnidsofmastodon #nature #naturephotography
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/414/840/082/553/759/original/298fcb41b65fd5ee.jpeg

2026-04-15 20:51:40 UTC

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hadn’t seen, looks interesting.

2026-04-15 14:55:37 UTC

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🤷‍♂️

2026-04-15 14:48:13 UTC

Lubec, #Maine
#MeerMittwoch #photography #TravelPhotography #waterfront #lighthouse
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/409/269/560/069/079/original/0375e91cc979aed9.jpeg

2026-04-14 15:52:02 UTC

Door in #Montmartre
#TravelTuesday #photography #door #TravelPhotography #Paris #France
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/403/858/207/389/982/original/6da921c0aea0fe54.jpeg

2026-04-13 21:41:22 UTC

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when I first saw the Cuban Browns at our house a couple of years ago I was concerned, based on what I read, that they would completely displace the Green Anole. But now I see both regularly so it seems they’ve come to some sort of mutually accommodating balance. I guess if they can do it maybe there’s hope for us humans 😉.

2026-04-13 15:23:46 UTC

Aviators.
I was on my front porch and spotted this turkey #vulture (Cathartes aura) soaring high overhead and started to take some photos of it when by chance this #jet suddenly passed through the frame. I live under an approach flight path to IAH so jets often pass in the skies above - fortunately we are far enough away from IAH that the jets are still at a high enough altitude that we don’t get much noise.
#MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #planespotting #photography
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/398/084/755/794/985/original/70767c49e0aff617.jpeg

2026-04-12 23:40:52 UTC

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well I searched around and didn’t find them advertised at any of the local nurseries then I looked at some of the on-line plant sellers I have purchased a few things from in the past and one was selling a Joseph’s Coat variety that they say is especially suited to the SE TX climate & pests so I couldn’t resist. Now I just have to sneak it past my spouse when it arrives, she’s already giving me the silent “more plants?” side-eye every time I come home from my gardening runs.

2026-04-12 22:32:41 UTC

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well this is encouraging: “Joseph's Coat climbing rose thrives in Texas and is well-suited for the state’s warm, humid climate. It is hardy in zones 5-9, making it ideal for North, Central, and Southeast Texas.”

2026-04-12 22:28:09 UTC

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yep they’re very hardy, certain varieties, which are the ones I have, sprout new growth from the previous year’s very dead looking bare vines.

2026-04-12 22:22:51 UTC

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love them but not much luck growing, only certain varieties will survive our summers so have to pick carefully. The big nurseries & garden centers load their spring inventories with plants that look great now so people snatch them up, but don’t survive when the heat hits. Now I try to preferentially select TX natives when they’re available, and of all places one of our big TX supermarket chains, HEB, usually has a good selection of them and are generally cheaper than nurseries.

2026-04-12 22:01:57 UTC

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wow!

2026-04-12 21:59:31 UTC

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yep gorgeous, I just have 2 vines in the same big planter under a trellis on our backfence, the other produces deep burgundy colored flowers. I’d like to add more but I don’t currently have a place for them. I’ve been on my annual spring nursery binge the past month and now every pot & planter are full. In front I have a dedicated pollinator bed that I mostly sow seeds in, did that beginning of February and those are coming in nicely now, should be blooming in a few weeks.

2026-04-12 21:48:08 UTC

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they’re the most prolific in their blooming right now but by the time the SE TX summer’s intense heat & humidity set in (late May or so) they go more or less dormant, but revive somewhat in the autumn.

2026-04-12 17:40:17 UTC

One of the Clematis blossoms now popping open in our backyard. The vine of this particular variety dies back every winter and looks like a goner, but it revives early every spring with new growth and tons of #flowers.
#SilentSunday #Stunday #photography #BloomScrolling #gardening
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/392/959/219/290/745/original/ebfeea46d4e96904.jpeg

2026-04-11 15:52:00 UTC

I guess this is a #squirrel version of that early 70’s “Hang In There, Baby” cat poster.
#SquirrelSaturday #squirrels #SquirrelsOfMastodon #photography #nature #BackyardWildlife
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/386/871/161/843/412/original/5141ea6e1a59f199.jpeg

2026-04-11 01:11:43 UTC

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they have to plan for the possibility of landing in rough seas that might tip it over or even tipping over upon a bad landing. It can be stable in an upside down state and they would not be able to open the hatch. But the CMUS will tip it back upright & ensure it stays that way.

2026-04-11 01:02:28 UTC

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a good friend of mine that I first worked with on the Shuttle was a main engineer on the Crew Module Uprighting System, the 5 big inflatable balloons things on top of the crew module. I like to tease him about his “beach balls”. But looks like they worked perfectly, I just texted him congratulations.

2026-04-11 00:33:04 UTC

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thank you !

2026-04-11 00:32:51 UTC

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thanks! Very very happy as you can imagine. Proud of all the work everyone on this program did to make this happen.

2026-04-10 19:58:06 UTC

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it wasn’t on this particular gorgeous evening (early June 2019) - but there were some brief periods of rain while there. So we got the full experience (unfrozen precip-wise anyway) 😁.

2026-04-10 16:53:30 UTC

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all our robotic explorers have been ambitious, maybe even wildly so, but our engineering & science teams behind them have a great track record of success. The radioisotope thermoelectric generator Dragonfly will use is not new, it’s the same thing used to power Mars rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity. Once you get to Mars & beyond distances from the sun it’s currently the only feasible compact power source, solar radiation is too weak out there.

2026-04-10 16:44:38 UTC

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no, all my work has been on human spaceflight programs/spacecraft (Shuttle & Orion). That’s a very cool program & exploration craft. Titan is one of the few places in the solar system other than earth with the potential for active life-supporting chemistry, can’t wait to see Dragonfly explore it.

2026-04-10 15:37:23 UTC

#Twilight waterfront in #Bergen, #Norway
#FensterFreitag #photography #TravelPhotography #travel
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/381/151/336/696/315/original/33c683d6f3e32b7b.jpeg

2026-04-09 16:13:11 UTC

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they mostly eat bugs & flies & mosquitoes so are welcome.

2026-04-09 16:12:27 UTC

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here in southeast Texas we have dozens of these small green & Cuban brown anole lizards around the house & garden. In the warm/hot months (March-November) you can’t go outside without seeing at least one. I’m on my front porch right now with my feet up on a planter box and see this one (a Cuban brown) right beyond my feet 😁.
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/375/626/910/508/785/original/6258685aac6fa3b1.jpeg

2026-04-09 14:54:43 UTC

Anoles two ways.
#lizards #photography #BackyardWildlife #nature #reptiles
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/375/321/257/436/224/original/67c3ffede4f2218f.jpeg

2026-04-08 15:04:32 UTC

Bay of #Naples and Mount #Vesuvius from #Sorrento
#MeerMittwoch #photography #seascape #TravelPhotography #Italy #volcano
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/369/697/536/657/261/original/400deb7a43f00893.jpeg

2026-04-08 01:07:56 UTC

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yes inside the crew has these hand-held Nikons and theres also some GoPros inside and at least one iPhone 17 Pro. Outside on the tips of each of the four solar array wings are addional GoPros - Hero 4 models I understand that are providing the exterior views of the Orion spacecraft and the moon & earth. Of course those have been modified & ruggedized for the space environment.

2026-04-07 19:40:23 UTC

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like I said I’ve suddenly got a lot more free time and am happy to receive & respond to questions.

2026-04-07 19:14:39 UTC

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ha, well in my Austin slacker years in the early-mid ‘80s, between getting my geology degree (mid-80s were a bad time to graduate with a geo degree, companies were laying off geo staff in droves) and moving back to Houston to begin my career in the space program, I continued to take classes at UT and with that got a secondary school science education certification, and did some substitute teaching.

2026-04-07 17:39:26 UTC

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soon after the earth’s crust solidified, around 4 billion years ago, it probably did look much like the moon does today. The moon is a “frozen in time” record of that because it never had plate tectonics or atmospheric weathering. And the moon retained the record of everything that has hit it since, though the frequency and size of the bombardment decreased with time as the much of the inner solar system’s loose bits were “swept clean” by the gravity fields of planets & moons.

2026-04-07 17:28:42 UTC

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that’s a big question the lunar scientists want to better understand but from what is currently known the crater walls expose somewhat lighter material, and other light spots and patches on the moon are from excavated or erupted material with higher albedo. But also from my photography senses, in this particular photo of Carroll crater it seems the low-angle sunlight is being concentrated by the concave side of the crater wall facing it.

2026-04-07 17:17:55 UTC

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fascinating also to realize the Earth experienced the same bombardment, but in our case all but the most recent wiped away over the eons by erosion & plate tectonics.

2026-04-07 17:13:33 UTC

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it’s near the boundary between the Earth-facing side and the far side of the moon so is at times visible from earth. I found this photo showing its location.
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/364/542/545/614/268/original/580afd9a1e9815ea.png

2026-04-07 16:11:33 UTC

Obviously not one of mine but for today one of the amazing photos captured by the #astronauts aboard the #Orion spacecraft yesterday as they looped around the #moon. Proud to have been a part of the #Artemis program and #Orion software team that helped get them there. (#NASA photo).
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/116/364/298/797/065/379/original/4ea530541d49cd2d.jpeg

2026-04-06 21:22:51 UTC

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Lizzie I don’t know if I mentioned but I also have a BS in Geology so right now in addition to geeking out about Orion & spaceflight I’m also geeking out about the live lunar geology (more accurately: selenology) observation reporting from the astronauts. (This is also a clue to my Mastodon handle.)

2026-04-06 21:17:29 UTC

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greetings!👋

2026-04-06 18:57:19 UTC

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one thing I am thankful for is that so far as I know or have heard the White House occupant has not commented on the Artemis 2 mission. Wondering if the “DEI” crew (including an African American, a woman, and (horrors) a Canadian) selected during the Biden admin has anything to do with that. Probably waiting for the splashdown at which point (ignoring the crew’s achievements) he’ll take credit for it all.