Two Of My Favorite Things

A very late in the day sunset reflecting off my Scion tC.

Visit SkyWatch for some pretty cool photos from around the world.

Rico Wildfire July 2006

First Day

Second Day

Third Day

Too close and the very real possibility of morning winds brought out the sheriffs (at 3am) to warn us of evacuation. In the end we didn't have to, but a lot of people up valley did. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this before, although I can't find it. The fire plume was spectacular in the first few days, then it was pure smokiness.

Go to skyley dot blogspot dot com to see photos from around the world!

Earthquake News

Approximately 5:30 this morning a 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit the central coast of California. It probably occurred on the Sur-Nacimiento fault. I was awake but still in bed. I felt like I was waiting for something, then the earthquake hit and I thought oh that's what I was waiting for and I went back to sleep. Since then there has been 32 aftershocks and the largest was 3.3 magnitude.

  

The Sur-Nacimiento fault is the west side boundary of the Salinian Block (number 9 in pink) and connects with Rinconada fault. The S-N fault is complex and does not equate to a straight line like how it is shown on the above maps. It is more like a staircase, and you can see evidence of this in seismology map above with the blue aftershocks making an east-west line. On a local map you can see that the epicenter is probably just west of the town Adelaida near Lime Mountain. Perhaps the earthquake was on the locally known steep (vertical) fault called Las Tablas fault, which is included in the Sur-Nacimiento fault complex.

At any rate the earthquake had gentle undulating waves punctuated with a strong compression wave. Silas woke up and looked at me but went back to sleep too.

Double. Rainbow.

Almost didn't get this in - - double rainbow. Love it! 

Death or Delicious?

mushroom in garden, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

I don't often see mushrooms pop up in 90 degree heat, but this area gets regular water as it is a foot from the raised bed. I am not certain what kind of mushroom this is. 

At first I thought it was a shaggy mane: a common delicious shroom. The book I have says the shaggy mane also looks like a poisonous mushroom called a green parasol. So named because the spores are green and the cap opens like a parasol. And that the green parasol is responsible for the most mushroom poisoning in the United States. Gives you pause in plucking it up to eat.

My rule (seeing how I am an expert wild mushroom hunter) is quite simple.

Don't eat wild mushrooms.