Shallow Thoughts : : nature

The Fluorescent Back Yard

Some years ago, I bought a long wave 365nm UV flashlight through a group purchase the local geology club made.

I had a few UV flashlights, cheap "scorpion lights" you see at gift shops. But it turns out the cheap lights don't really show the fluorescent colors of most rocks very well; this one was recommended by an expert in the geology club as a low-cost entry to seeing fluorescent rock colors. (They told us you can see even more with more expensive lights — with a warning not to get the 6-Watt UV-Tools light, as its performance is very disappointing -- but I went for the entry-level option.)

I used it a few times, marveled at the cool colors, and then put it away. Recently I dug it out again and went walking around the yard after dark.

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Porcupines!

We had business in Albuquerque yesterday, and the weather was nice, so we brought our bikes along to explore the trails along the Rio Grande bosque.

It was a beautiful, relaxing ride. The trails were packed with happy, friendly cyclists, hikers, runners, plus people on scooters and a couple of those one-wheel, self balancing skateboards (which I'd never seen on a trail before). I think we saw more other trail users than in the cumulative past year hiking in our usual spots.

There were lots of cranes on the river and in the sky, and a roadrunner who ran across the trail in front of us, then slowly made its way up the branches of a tree before gliding across the canal then running up to the top. Dave and I never get tired of watching roadrunners — the most Velociraptor-like birds there are. I wish they were more common in White Rock.

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Operation Snakeweed Reseed is a Success

We don't get as many wildflowers here as I'd like, but one reliable bloom every year in late summer was the snakeweed.

Terrible name. In fact, it's quite a nice plant, which around early September explodes into a carpet of yellow flowers.

Until 2023-2024, when a severe drought managed to kill it all.

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Mythical Creatures

(A Toastmasters speech on Jul 14, 2025.)

Humans have told stories of mythical creatures for as long as there have been humans.

Creatures like mermaids, or unicorns, or fire-breathing dragons. But of course, today we know that mythical creatures don't really exist.

Or do they?

Let me tell you a couple stories of mythical creatures I've seen -- or not seen.

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Christmas Bird Count

Sunday was the annual Christmas Bird Count, and we had unusually good weather for it: sunny, windless, not too cold.

It started with a bang at Overlook Park when a bunch of starlings flew over ... followed by a small falcon. I'm not good at identifying falcons because I see them so seldom, but fortunately I was with an experienced birder who sees merlins at her house and confidently IDed this one. A life bird for me (I'm sure I've seen them, but never been sure enough of the ID to count one), and also a bird that was on the list of birds to watch for since they hadn't been seen so far during the count week.

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A Bullsnake Imitating a Rattler

Riding my bike to the market, I came across a bullsnake stretched across the road, sunning itself ... in danger of becoming snake pizza.

I nudged it to try to get it to move off the road, which annoyed it into doing its pretend-rattlesnake defensive posture.

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Antifreeze and Critters

My Miata blew a radiator hose and dumped out all its coolant, so I needed to do a radiator flush and fill.

Turns out that's kind of a nasty job on an NB (second-gen) Miata. The radiator drain plug is accessed through a hole in the tray under the engine. Once you get it loose enough that coolant has started to drip out, if the screwdriver slips, it's impossible to get it back on without getting coolant all over the screwdriver, flashlight, your arm, your face and hair, etc. And once you do manage to loosen it enough, it pops out, sending coolant gushing everywhere onto the engine undertray, from which it comes out the back and sides and it's impossible to catch it all in a drain pan.

So that left me with quite a mess to clean up afterward. I started by pouring the used coolant into a container with a secure cap: I've always heard warnings about how kids and pets will try to drink the poisonous stuff because it tastes and smells sweet. We don't have kids or pets, but there are plenty of wild critters and we want them to stay healthy too.

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Bighorn on the Trail

On a mountain bike ride on the White Rock Canyon Rim trail yesterday, we stopped at one of the overlooks to admire the view, and turned to see three bighorn sheep crossing the trail behind us.

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