First Light

I made a trip to Arunah this weekend for some observing and a little work. As I arrived
at the summit I saw a fox run off into the woods.

I did a little mowing Saturday and got my scope setup for the night. I was joined by Andy Johnston, his wife Jessica and young son Ben. He brought his homemade 12" f/4.5 dob for first light. I was impressed with it. The views were very crisp. Saturday night was plagued by passing clouds but all in all observing was pretty good. Sunday was a beautiful day with a nice breeze. Andy and his family spent the day in the Northampton area while I got to work on clearing the rest of the Tower's trail. It is now completely open.

I spooked a whitetail deer on the lower part of the trail while I was repainting blazes. He took off in a hurry leaving hoofmarks in the trail.Sunday night was mostly clear and the Milky Way was stunning. Some high clouds washed out parts of the sky but Andy and I observed until well past midnight. Andy headed home Monday morning and I took down my scope. Later in the afternoon I headed out to the Farrington trail for some more work. Only my chainsaw running out of gas kept me from finishing the cleanup. Only a little bit more work and this trail will be open.

I came across a pair of red spotted newts during the cleanup' they soon disappeared under some leaves. After a little more after dinner mowing, I was able to catch a pretty good pass by the ISS just after 10:00. That part of the sky was the only part not cloud covered. I left Tuesday morning as the rain moved in thinking about Arunah Hill Days a month away.
Barry