2022, 02 February

Focusing on Close-ups

Focusing on Close-ups

A microscope was used to magnify this snowflake. An adapter went onto an SLR camera body as if it were the lens, then the adapter slipped into the eyepiece tube in lieu of the eyepiece. Another,...

Auriga

Auriga

IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula, is an emission/reflection nebula in Auriga. While beautiful in photographs, it is quite faint and difficult to visually observe. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Auriga is not...

Birding Bonanza

Birding Bonanza

Sharp-shinned Hawk. Photo © Kevin Shank. Slowly I walked down beside the row of trees—binoculars, field guide, pen, and paper in my hand, drinking in the beauty of the predawn morning. A killdeer...

Sand, Shells, and Waves

Sand, Shells, and Waves

It was morning on the seashore. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, sending a warm glow over the dozens of little waves at its feet. The sea gulls were already calling and swooping over the...

Exploring Nature, February 2022

Exploring Nature, February 2022

Go out in February and early March and check wet-weather ponds. You might spy spotted or tiger salamanders laying their eggs. Look at night with a strong flashlight.Overseed food plots in...

Flying Stars

Flying Stars

Here in upstate New York, autumn was long and beautiful. This is December already, and some days are warm enough that even the bees decide to fly. But the other night something else was flying which...

A Night With Nature

A Night With Nature

Photo © Dreamstime.com. We poked our curious heads out the front door, breathing in the early morning air. It was a cool morning in December, thirty-five degrees. Shivering, we slipped into our...