Fall

The tree's are bare in the back yard, yet today was in the mid-60's and beautiful.  Found a nice leaf photo from our October Blaze Maple just as the leave started to turn and the photo of someone who thought their Karate was stronger than mine.  Mostly taken with a macro lens.

All's Quiet

Down time.

The Sedgwick Co Zoo is one of the nation's top 10 zoos.  When the weather is nice, I like to take my kids and camera.  Here are some of my favorite photos, and no, the animals don't pose for you.

The elusive King Cobra

New baby Chimp with dead bird toy

Koi, Carp, and the occasional brave duck.

People tell me I'm crazy and sick, when I tell them to dress your kids in pinks, reds, and orange.  It will attract the predators.

Snow

Nothing much forecast severe for the rest of the year.   We had decent rain, and I saw the first flakes of snow fall this year.   I thinking of settling down for a long winter nap.  Will post if anything comes about.

Another sign

Earthquake.

In the Midwest.

Our strange year continues. . .

A moderate earthquake struck near OKC last week sending tremors as far north as Kansas City.  I didn't feel the actual quake, but those who did said:

I thought the dog was hitting the bed.
It felt like an animal was stuck in the chair trying to get out.
I didn't realize what it was until I heard the glass clinking.
It made me feel ill.

There is a little debate at the time on whether some of the new fracking (yes, I am a BSG fan, but this has to do with releasing high pressure water to fracture oil and gas from shale) may be at cause in Oklahoma and Kansas.

From the US Geological Service:
 http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/oklahoma-struck-by-series-of-quakes/

Monday, as I was half falling asleep, the chair began to move.  I thought our large dog hit it, wanting petted.  Then I heard a large glass wine decanter on our china hutch clink.  This was an aftershock to Saturday night's quake, but the first time I've experienced it.

Halloween is in the air

A little bit of cloud action, but the Harvest moon looks like a big monster's eye.

First . . . a sign

Per Spaceweather.com: A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field around noon Universal Time on Sept. 26th. The impact set the stage for a night to remember. As soon as darkness fell over Scandinavia, auroras filled the sky with such intensity that they were visible through rain clouds. Fredrik Broms photographed the scene from Kvaløya, Norway:

Maybe if you squint hard enough, the violent space weather will be visible in the upper Midwest.

Slightest Chance

Second season?  Storm chances today, area of interest west of Wichita.