Scout Troop 504 Enjoys a March Campout

You might think high thin clouds, a near full moon wouldn't make for a very good stargazing event, but Troop 504 from North Amherst, MA were treated to some great views in the 100 year old Gaertner telescope tonight. In addition to the moon, Saturn, Mars, the Orion Nebula, and some double stars drew great reviews from the 10 scouts and their leaders who were sending a seasonable cool March night camping out in Scout Heaven.

An iridium flare and some great questions from the kids added to the evening. The Scouts even helped me reposition the weights on the Gaertner drive to get the old 'scope tracking perfectly.

Four neighbors from down Trouble St dropped by to enjoy the view and even built a fire in the clubhouse so the scouts could warm up.

The driveway is now passable to the top in a four wheel drive, high clearance vehicle, but watch out for those ice channels, some are 4 inches deep. I made it to the lower lot just fine in my little Matrix.

-Ed

Bluebird Houses Placed on the Hill

It was spring in my backyard this afternoon, but a short hour later I found out it was still winter on Arunah Hill.

I placed five bluebird houses on the the Arunah Hill property. I couldn't find "optimal" sites for them, mostly I just placed them where I could get my posts into the ground.

Despite what your backyard may look like, there is still lots of snow on the hill, and the driveway is an icy mess past the barn. There is bare ground showing up here and there on the hill, but also knee deep slush piles in some spots.

On the bright side, looks like all of our buildings wintered over quick nicely.

I'd guess with several more days of warmth and sunshine, things could improve quickly. I expect we'lll at least be able to have an April workparty.

Thanks to Tom Johnson, Joan Presz, and my wife Cathy for the bluebird houses. We could still use a few more if anyone else wants to put one together. Now we'll have to wait and see if any nesting pairs like our hill.

-Ed

Snow, Snow, Snow!

It was such a beautiful day down in the Valley, 55 degrees and sunny, that I thought I'd hit the road and find out just why Ed cancelled the work party. After all - there was no snow anywhere here, and surely 40 miles or so couldn't make that much of a difference! Could it?

Ha!

It was snowy. Big time! The first photo shows the entrance - the large snow mound on the left is the mail box:

The left photo is the barn - note the large snow mound blocking the door, with my car for comparison: The right shot shows the barn from the rear:

If anyone is tempted to head up to do some observing, wait!! There is about 15-20+ inches of snow from the driveway on, and snowshows are a must. The final shot is a pan of the path from the barn up to the parking lot. Note my footprints, and Ernie's new goat shed:

My apologies for the pan resolution - the original is 10+ megapuppies, and wouldn't fit in the upload. Anyhow, you get the idea! Maybe the snow will be gone by July ...

RDB