grumble - sample return - grumble

As a child I thought a concession stand was a place to get popcorn and nachos. As an adult I know a concession stand is when Hakeem and Chuck make a speech.

I mentioned the Paintbrush as being red here, because I've seen wide variations in colors dependant on elevation and soil. I've seen magenta, orange, and yellows in other locations, mainly alpine areas.
These were fairly low elevation ~1200 feet in exposed meadows.

Newly blooming flowers in gold (Corn Flower, scattered through most of the image with gold petals and orange centers), red (Paintbrush, the red are not really flower petals for these plants, seen at the lower left, and a few isolated singles), and purple (Lupine, with upright stalks with multiple blooms on each, seen at center right in a couple isolated stalks). The rest of the undergrowth below the mass of blooms is fresh green Spring foliage and grasses covering the ground.

A little more #BloomScrolling for your Tuesday Morning!
A nice mixed sample of some of the very abundant #wildflowers along Sundays hike!
gold Corn Flower, red Paintbrush (most were red here), and purple Lupine! There were others in their preferred areas.
#PNW #Hiking #Nature #ECK #Flowers

I look at this and let it suggest what my other senses would notice.
Iconic PNW coastal scene!

For those who missed it: this was the moment The Strokes ensured they’ll never be invited back to Coachella again! I'm so proud of them

PS: I think this was a phone shot. I weeded through most of the camera shots before I hung it up last night, so those are still inbound folks.

@weissbier-hiker.bsky.social You've been on this trail! 🌼🏔️

TFW you look out the window and see the Earth disappear
🎥 Astronaut Reid Wiseman
📍 Artemis II from the far side of the Moon

Shout outs and thanks for the reposts to; @bevershly.bsky.social @mikewood73.bsky.social @baylake.bsky.social @kevinrenard.bsky.social @bejust.bsky.social @sebastianschaetzle.bsky.social & @emhonu.bsky.social !

A site called Coyote Wall on the Washington side had huge blooms of them, but it recently burnt in a fast grass fire. The grasses are already back, the Balsam Root and Lupine will eventually come back.
But further east at The Dalles Ranch there are a lot currently.

If you start looking around at the mountainsides across the river, you see huge swaths of gold all over them!

A LOT of other photos coming. Gird yer loins!

A landscape with bright yellow flowers everywhere in the foreground on a descending slope. Above them are more distant areas of broad green grassy meadows on stepped terrain of balsalt cliffs descending from high plateau to the left, to a rugged canyon on the right. Some areas are lightly forested with tall conifers, and some oaks. Beyond the plateaus and cliffs is a ribbon of blue water from one side of the image to the other. That is the Columbia River between Oregon State and Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the US. The foreground is all in Oregon. The opposite river bank is Washington State with similar basalt cliffs green grassy meadows and scattered forest. Above them stand low rolling mountainsides and shallow valleys full of denser forests of tall conifers. Beyond the lower mountains stands a high snow covered mountain peak called Mount Adams (known by the native first peoples as Klickitat, and Phato). Above, the sky is covered with diffuse clouds.

Hey! I'm back to posting the photos!
Fresh off the trail in the #ColumbiaGorge where #Spring is hitting! Big meadows of grasses and Arrow Leaf Balsam Root in flower!
#BloomScrolling #Oregon #PNW #Stunday #EastCoastKin #MountAdams #Nature #MountainMonday

A light tan colored squirrel making a funny face with it's tongue part was out as it faces the camera with it's left paw up, on a rocky outcrop in sunlight. People wearing shorts can be seen in the background to the left. One is seated facing right, and another is standing facing front.

It took some searching in the archives, but I found a memorable photo of a squirrel bleping!
I think she was stuffing her cheek pouches full of snacks from the people in the background.

Inserting the cult of his personality into children's psyches with presence in media that appeals to them. Very old, and effective play book.
Part two is restructuring youth education to project the preferred messaging.
There's more. The reinforcement stacks.

Thank you.

#Hiking #Nature #Outdoors #NationalForest #PublicLands #Forest #Desert #Mountain
If you hold our public lands dear, you need to click through & read this post for information you can use to help defend it, before it's gone and sold off.
Just don't click like, follow through.

Do the space whale ship from Star Trek.

Thank you!

I'd section hike the PCT in non mosquito season for each one, at my leisure. 🥾🥾

By all means, party away without a care in the world. It'll never come back to wreck havoc on your world...

I do believe I can hold a better job (nearly ANY job would be better, trust me).
To that end, I'll make it happen after some priorities!

This is why we care about #orban losing in #hungary #project2025 #heritagefoundation #trump YouTube video by Ohh that's RICH

youtube.com/shorts/9MUjD...

The vanishing pencils YouTube video by Hookean Physics

The vanishing pencils 🙂
#iTeachPhysics
#Science 🧪

youtube.com/shorts/ACVk8...

My colleague Vicent Peris (@uv.es) and collaborators captured this image on April 5 of the Artemis II spacecraft about 300,000 km from Earth. Its trail appears near Antares and the globular cluster Messier 4. Taken from the AstroCamp Observatory (southern Spain). 🔭🧪⚛️ pixinsight.com/gallery/arte...

Now do the US.

👏👏👏👏👏

An Ammonite fossil exterior. It is an ancient fossil shell in a coil form, starting in the center and growing with the creature inside in a clockwise direction. Getting progressively larger. Sections of growth can be seen something like tree rings, but on the outside of the shell. Near the inner edge of the largest, last section, is a segment of iridescent color in yellows, greens, and orange. A bit reminiscent of an abalones inside shell. Overall, the fossil shell has alternating colors in dark brown to light grey, that mainly follow the growth sections. The background is a featureless shiny white surface. These ammonite animals lived roughly around the same time as the dinosaurs, but of course in the oceans of that time. This shell would fit neatly in the palm of a hand.

The same Ammonite fossil, but it is split in two halves, with the upper half reflecting the shape of the lower half. It is an ancient fossil shell in a coil form, starting in the center and growing with the creature inside in a clockwise direction. Getting progressively larger. Sections of growth can be seen something like tree rings, but on the outside of the shell. Here on the interior, the sectional nature of the shell is plainly visible. Some of the sections are filled with mineral deposits in muddy dark tan, to a dusky grey color near the inner most sections. The section boundaries are very visible as wavy thin gold lines. The background is a featureless shiny white surface. These ammonite animals lived roughly around the same time as the dinosaurs, but of course in the oceans of that time. This shell would fit neatly in the palm of a hand.

A mineral gem known as opal. This small chunk of semi precious deposit is about the size of your thumb, and has a chalky white exterior with smooth clean fractured faces on the inside that show some translucent qualities, which allow the famous opal colors to shine through. This one's predominant colors are bright irridescent reds, and yellowish greens that blink as facets of light when it is turned. It sits on a bit of white paper with some dark printed type faintly visible through it.

Another opal, but skinny with water. Some opals can only remain in good shape in water. When allowed to dry they crack and chip, or even fall apart. This one's outside is a dull light brown. But it's inside is a see through golden amber, looking almost lit from within. It's opal colors flash along the top edge in bright and darker vivid greens where they are in shadow from the brown opaque outside matrix material. The piece sits on some white paper with faint printed lettering barely visible on it's under side.

Color me silly. I went to a rock and mineral show...with my wallet.
#Rocks #Minerals #Rockhound #PDX #Ammonite #Opal

We saw trillium in bloom two weeks ago on a group hike. Everybody was excited to see them!