By Eilene Lyon Last month I captured a fleeting phenomenon in the sky south of my house, seen in the header image: altostratus undulatus clouds. Trigger daily dose of awe! While I adore observing unusual cloud formations—mammatus, lenticular, mackerel—for our ancestors, watching the sky served an important function: weather forecasting. Whereas we now have weather... Continue Reading →
Of Spiders and Hawks
By Eilene Lyon Note: Just before Christmas 2024, I encountered a male tarantula roaming our neighborhood. In Southwestern Colorado, October is the month we usually see tarantulas crossing the road. Why? Read on… Our local tarantula species (Aphonopelma vogelae), considered a “mini-tarantula,” is an unintimidating creature. They seem oblivious to the presence of humans and... Continue Reading →
Feathered Follies 2
By Eilene Lyon It's time for some shots from our feeder-cam! I've had to take it down for the summer because of a bear wandering the neighborhood. He dismantled my compost bin twice, so I've purchased a new, bear-proof (?) one--not cheap at $250. (I always blame he-bears for being delinquent, but very well could... Continue Reading →
The Canadian Rockies
By Eilene Lyon Our time in Canada (9 days) was all about the scenery. But first, we had a problem to deal with. While driving over Beartooth Pass in Wyoming, we started hearing a grinding noise from the van’s rear brakes. Being a Friday, The Putterer arranged for a Monday emergency appointment at the Ford... Continue Reading →
Rifle Falls
By Eilene Lyon We recently took a scenic tour of the Rocky Mountains, with the Canadian Rockies as the apex of the trip. Total mileage: 4,400, very little of it on freeways. The only planned stop, and reserved camp site, was for our first night, at Rifle Falls State Park. The campground has a dozen... Continue Reading →
From the Vault: These Boots…
By Eilene Lyon …are made for working. If you wander through our yard and look carefully, you might spy two pair of boots, in an advanced state of decay. They may seem an odd choice for landscape décor. Let me explain… Back in 2008, I made a major pivot in my “career.” (I use quotation... Continue Reading →
The Drought Diaries: Sad Sonoran
By Eilene Lyon I’m spending this week on a solo camping trip at the Tucson Mountain Park, the largest county park in the U.S. at 60,000 acres. Here in southern Arizona, I’m on the eastern edge of the Sonoran Desert, which encompasses northwestern Sonora, Mexico, most of Baja, and a small section of southeastern California.... Continue Reading →
State of Fear
By Eilene Lyon Note: This is NOT about U.S. politics. This is also not a book review, though inspired by my recent reading of State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I’m not sure how this wound up on my bookshelf; possibly The Putterer picked it up at an airport years ago. While working through my... Continue Reading →
Paris to Bruges by Bike – Part 2
By Eilene Lyon We began our second week of the bike tour departing from Péronne. We took our coffee break in what appeared to be a fairly new community (Curlu) where our group experienced a flat tire. Our guide, Bart, was up for the task of doing the repair. Our principal stop for the day,... Continue Reading →