A human in Texas. Studied the geological sciences but ended up on another path working in the human spaceflight business: 37+ years on Space Shuttle & Orion, retired as of April 1st, 2026. #Photography and #gardening in my spare time.
#Orion #Artemis #Fossils #Geology #NASA
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2026-07-27T22:48:03Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Up on the bell tower of #Peratallada at sunset. It still works, striking the hours and half hours. Quite loud and startling when you’re standing right underneath it. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Carpenter #bee visiting a blanket #flower in the front #garden. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Over the weeks since, I’ve been watching the #cosmos steadily growing from the seeds I spread in the front #garden bed in late winter, they’re now starting to come into bloom, always nice to see, big reward for not that much effort. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I didn’t see anyone/anything using it but I know on the Costa Brava above Barcelona they have little passenger ferries that go up and down the coast stopping at different beaches with similar buoy lines marking their approach & landing spots and to keep other boats & swimmers out, so I assume that’s what these are for. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Villefranche-sur-Mer npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter it seems when they worked together they were hand in hand in developing the ironwork engineering innovations that Eiffel is most known for so qualitatively there’s probably little difference between what they later did separately. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter yes I’ve been there & seen it, but that is the Dom Luís I Bridge, designed by Eiffel's partner, Théophile Seyrig. A bit further east up the Douro River there is an Eiffel-designed railroad bridge, the Ponte Maria Pia, which looks somewhat similar but it is not a double-decker. Here’s a photo I took of it, with the modern replacement railroad bridge behind it. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Eiffel’s ironwork. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter it was jumping back and forth between my bird feeder and the tree, grabbing its preferred seeds and stashing them into crevices in the pine tree bark. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I had figured it was the autocorrect demons that got you. But yeah I had cataract surgeries late last year (I can see clearly again so 👍 to that), and my eye doctor has me taking drops for dry eye, but just the over-the-counter type. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter are you saying you’re fragile? Or transparent? 😁 npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Red-bellied #woodpecker launching. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Carpenter #bee on a native #Texas rock rose blossom. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter they are notorious fence-sitters. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter A balanced diet. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter but not in Catalan 😁 (and was that a Shrinking reference?). npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter #Barcelona npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter ha, my “expansive” property, a postage-stamp-sized suburban backyard - but fortunately we have a tree-lined easement behind us that provides a habitat for the flying/crawling/scampering critters that visit us each day. You can see one in this panoramic photo (which makes it look way bigger) up on the fence - I had just finished the morning feeder replenish. I took this to document everything at its spring peak - by mid-June the SE TX heat+humidity will start taking its toll. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Three #photos today. Saw this pipevine #swallowtail flittering around the backyard and eventually it zeroed in on the #pipevine I planted earlier this spring just for this species (its host plant). Captured it alighting on it then depositing a clutch of #eggs. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter you’re welcome. Over the years I’ve covered the entire CA coast in my travels, from the Mexican border to Oregon, and if I had to pick a place along there to live (and yes, could afford it) my top choice would be Trinidad. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I have some family there (SoCal) so I’ve been many times. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter #Foggy morning at Trinidad harbor, northern #California npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I guess dimensionally it *might* be able to fit - just barely, less than 6 inches to spare either side - with specialized low-profile cradle/supporting structures. But while the LM was built to withstand the longitudinal G-forces of launch I’m not sure it could handle the up to 3G force of shuttle re-entry on different axes. And they’d have to completely empty/inert any remaining hypergolic propellants from the fuel & oxidizer tanks to make it safe to carry. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter as a personal note, my father worked on the guidance system/guidance computer aboard the Eagle and the other Apollo lunar modules so I would definitely be in favor of an effort to preserve it if the money is there. 🙂 npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Best option if there is the $$$ & the will to preserve it would be to build a robotic retrieval & lunar landing craft to grab it & bring it down near a future moon base. Or near/on the original Apollo 11 landing site / landing stage. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Retreiving it is another matter, NASA doesn’t use the same docking mechanism so we’d have to build (or borrow an old one if any exist), and adapt it to Orion or some other spacecraft (a robotic one would be safer). But you’d still have no way to get it down to Earth, even if they had gotten it back to low earth orbit the Shuttle didn’t have a payload bay that could accommodate it. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter yeah, I’ve seen previous discussion about this and looked at Meador’s paper. Based on that I think it’s possible it’s still in orbit, maybe with the resumption of human activity on & around the moon they’ll do some dedicated radar or optical scans to get proof (if indeed it is still there). npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter In the streets of Seillans at night. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter A tufted #titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) coming straight atchya. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Still not many #butterflies around but there’s been a bit of uptick in activity the past week. This was the first gulf fritillary I’ve seen making a stop in the front #garden, spent a little time with the mealy blue sage before flittering on. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter if you can’t provide some explanation of what you want right here then I’m not going to respond further. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter what is it? npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I’ve heard of that remedy, just haven’t reached the point of actually trying it. They haven’t done any major damage to my plants other than stealing strawberries. It’s a complicated relationship but I guess I mostly just like shaking my fist at them and complaining about them. They probably feel the same about me. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Digging into & hiding nuts in my poinsettia pot when there’s an entire belt of land & trees behind our property in which to stash their stuff. Why. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Sagrada windows. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter well of the dozens of shots I took of the wasps on & around the feeder that day this and maybe 2 or 3 others were the only ones that captured something both in focus & with the action that I was hoping for. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter ooh ooh he’s already got a perfect one - “King of Pain” npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter composed by Sting? npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Southern yellowjacket #wasps, attempting to take over the hummingbird feeder. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Near Trinidad in northern #California npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter well the telephoto lens effect makes the street look even more packed than it really was but it was great fun. I had never heard of this festival but we were visiting a friend in Madrid and she suggested we all go for the day - it’s a short train ride out of Madrid. It reminded a bit of a US RenFest except you’re in the streets of an actual medieval town center (and the food was more interesting/better). npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter The Cervantes week #festival street market in Alcalá de Henares, #Spain npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Female ruby-throated #hummingbird. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter #Dragonfly, I think maybe a skimmer species, perched on a stem of mealy blue sage in the front #garden. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I’m not above tossing out 90’s alt rock pun allusions. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter The #squirrel is a vampire. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter The #Louvre’s pyramid. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter A tiny #spider and its #web in my #garden catching the light of the setting #sun. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter hadn’t seen, looks interesting. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter 🤷♂️ npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Lubec, #Maine npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Door in #Montmartre npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter when I first saw the Cuban Browns at our house a couple of years ago I was concerned, based on what I read, that they would completely displace the Green Anole. But now I see both regularly so it seems they’ve come to some sort of mutually accommodating balance. I guess if they can do it maybe there’s hope for us humans 😉. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Aviators. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter well I searched around and didn’t find them advertised at any of the local nurseries then I looked at some of the on-line plant sellers I have purchased a few things from in the past and one was selling a Joseph’s Coat variety that they say is especially suited to the SE TX climate & pests so I couldn’t resist. Now I just have to sneak it past my spouse when it arrives, she’s already giving me the silent “more plants?” side-eye every time I come home from my gardening runs. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter well this is encouraging: “Joseph's Coat climbing rose thrives in Texas and is well-suited for the state’s warm, humid climate. It is hardy in zones 5-9, making it ideal for North, Central, and Southeast Texas.” npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter yep they’re very hardy, certain varieties, which are the ones I have, sprout new growth from the previous year’s very dead looking bare vines. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter love them but not much luck growing, only certain varieties will survive our summers so have to pick carefully. The big nurseries & garden centers load their spring inventories with plants that look great now so people snatch them up, but don’t survive when the heat hits. Now I try to preferentially select TX natives when they’re available, and of all places one of our big TX supermarket chains, HEB, usually has a good selection of them and are generally cheaper than nurseries. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter wow! npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter yep gorgeous, I just have 2 vines in the same big planter under a trellis on our backfence, the other produces deep burgundy colored flowers. I’d like to add more but I don’t currently have a place for them. I’ve been on my annual spring nursery binge the past month and now every pot & planter are full. In front I have a dedicated pollinator bed that I mostly sow seeds in, did that beginning of February and those are coming in nicely now, should be blooming in a few weeks. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter they’re the most prolific in their blooming right now but by the time the SE TX summer’s intense heat & humidity set in (late May or so) they go more or less dormant, but revive somewhat in the autumn. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter One of the Clematis blossoms now popping open in our backyard. The vine of this particular variety dies back every winter and looks like a goner, but it revives early every spring with new growth and tons of #flowers. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I guess this is a #squirrel version of that early 70’s “Hang In There, Baby” cat poster. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter they have to plan for the possibility of landing in rough seas that might tip it over or even tipping over upon a bad landing. It can be stable in an upside down state and they would not be able to open the hatch. But the CMUS will tip it back upright & ensure it stays that way. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter a good friend of mine that I first worked with on the Shuttle was a main engineer on the Crew Module Uprighting System, the 5 big inflatable balloons things on top of the crew module. I like to tease him about his “beach balls”. But looks like they worked perfectly, I just texted him congratulations. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter thank you ! npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter thanks! Very very happy as you can imagine. Proud of all the work everyone on this program did to make this happen. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter it wasn’t on this particular gorgeous evening (early June 2019) - but there were some brief periods of rain while there. So we got the full experience (unfrozen precip-wise anyway) 😁. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter all our robotic explorers have been ambitious, maybe even wildly so, but our engineering & science teams behind them have a great track record of success. The radioisotope thermoelectric generator Dragonfly will use is not new, it’s the same thing used to power Mars rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity. Once you get to Mars & beyond distances from the sun it’s currently the only feasible compact power source, solar radiation is too weak out there. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter no, all my work has been on human spaceflight programs/spacecraft (Shuttle & Orion). That’s a very cool program & exploration craft. Titan is one of the few places in the solar system other than earth with the potential for active life-supporting chemistry, can’t wait to see Dragonfly explore it. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter #Twilight waterfront in #Bergen, #Norway npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter they mostly eat bugs & flies & mosquitoes so are welcome. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter here in southeast Texas we have dozens of these small green & Cuban brown anole lizards around the house & garden. In the warm/hot months (March-November) you can’t go outside without seeing at least one. I’m on my front porch right now with my feet up on a planter box and see this one (a Cuban brown) right beyond my feet 😁. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Anoles two ways. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Bay of #Naples and Mount #Vesuvius from #Sorrento npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter yes inside the crew has these hand-held Nikons and theres also some GoPros inside and at least one iPhone 17 Pro. Outside on the tips of each of the four solar array wings are addional GoPros - Hero 4 models I understand that are providing the exterior views of the Orion spacecraft and the moon & earth. Of course those have been modified & ruggedized for the space environment. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter like I said I’ve suddenly got a lot more free time and am happy to receive & respond to questions. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter ha, well in my Austin slacker years in the early-mid ‘80s, between getting my geology degree (mid-80s were a bad time to graduate with a geo degree, companies were laying off geo staff in droves) and moving back to Houston to begin my career in the space program, I continued to take classes at UT and with that got a secondary school science education certification, and did some substitute teaching. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter soon after the earth’s crust solidified, around 4 billion years ago, it probably did look much like the moon does today. The moon is a “frozen in time” record of that because it never had plate tectonics or atmospheric weathering. And the moon retained the record of everything that has hit it since, though the frequency and size of the bombardment decreased with time as the much of the inner solar system’s loose bits were “swept clean” by the gravity fields of planets & moons. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter that’s a big question the lunar scientists want to better understand but from what is currently known the crater walls expose somewhat lighter material, and other light spots and patches on the moon are from excavated or erupted material with higher albedo. But also from my photography senses, in this particular photo of Carroll crater it seems the low-angle sunlight is being concentrated by the concave side of the crater wall facing it. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter fascinating also to realize the Earth experienced the same bombardment, but in our case all but the most recent wiped away over the eons by erosion & plate tectonics. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter it’s near the boundary between the Earth-facing side and the far side of the moon so is at times visible from earth. I found this photo showing its location. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Obviously not one of mine but for today one of the amazing photos captured by the #astronauts aboard the #Orion spacecraft yesterday as they looped around the #moon. Proud to have been a part of the #Artemis program and #Orion software team that helped get them there. (#NASA photo). npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Lizzie I don’t know if I mentioned but I also have a BS in Geology so right now in addition to geeking out about Orion & spaceflight I’m also geeking out about the live lunar geology (more accurately: selenology) observation reporting from the astronauts. (This is also a clue to my Mastodon handle.) npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter greetings!👋 npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter one thing I am thankful for is that so far as I know or have heard the White House occupant has not commented on the Artemis 2 mission. Wondering if the “DEI” crew (including an African American, a woman, and (horrors) a Canadian) selected during the Biden admin has anything to do with that. Probably waiting for the splashdown at which point (ignoring the crew’s achievements) he’ll take credit for it all. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter watching every minute of the LBs lunar approach, great to see the moon getting so big in the camera view (not as great, also my head). npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I don’t use Telegram, make me an offer and if an acceptable amount I will provide info on where you can xfer the 💸💸💸💸💸💰💰💰💰💰!!! Photo will be delivered upon confirmation of the 💸💸💸💸💸💰💰💰💰💰!!! into my account. 😁 npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I don’t use Telegram, make me an offer and if an acceptable amount I will provide info on where you can xfer the 💸💸💸💸💸💰💰💰💰💰!!! Photo will be delivered upon confirmation of the 💸💸💸💸💸💰💰💰💰💰!!! into my account. 😁 npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter 🙋🏼♂️ npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter mine are tiny in comparison even though they are from last year, and they’re probably smaller varieties. But also as I mentioned the monarch caterpillars stripped them bare a couple of times so that’s probably also why they didn’t get very big. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I have several native milkweed in my garden, they survived the SE TX winter’s (few) freezes and are growing again. I thought I saw a monarch pass by the other day but no evidence that any have stopped, though I kind of hope they don’t lay any eggs till the milkweed get substantially larger, last year they got stripped bare before the caterpillars were fully grown. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter First carpenter #bee sighting of the spring, visiting the mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea) in my front #garden. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter I thought so at first but it wasn’t digging at all. Just rolling around in the dirt. As someone else responded it was probably doing so in response to mites or fleas in its fur. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter just FYI here’s a good article on the SAIL, I think one or some of my former colleagues put this together. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter forgive if this verges into gossipiness, but another thing about Mario was his strikingly Vulcan-like personality & appearance. Once in our operations room someone posted a doctored photo of him with pointy ears to complete the look. I haven’t seen him for years but recently & sadly, one of my SAIL colleagues passed away and Mario was at the memorial, barely recognizable as his previous short haircut is now way past his shoulders in length. Our Vulcan has turned into a hippie 😁. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter one story about an astronaut - Mario Runco. He was a particularly intense person to work with when he was the assigned astronaut to fly the SAIL, but he was also one of its biggest advocates. When the program ended they were going to tear-down & scrap the SAIL, but there was a counter-push to preserve it and make it part of the JSC visitors tour (it’s very cool to see). Mario was part of that push back and I think that was a key reason they went with preservation. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter well at that point I knew the Space Shuttle was coming to an end so I happily & gratefully jumped at the opportunity to start on Orion & stay employed. Many of my colleagues from Shuttle had to retire or go do other things when the program ended in 2011. Plus when I started on Shuttle it was already a mature program, in more of a sustaining engineering mode. With Orion I got to get in at the very beginning and work initial design & development, which is catnip for engineers. npub1rapzmse2t9syg694l465z4yl5wlld43wkz9xj9cdktrma5wu9urqc77pwr Trilobyter it was certainly intimidating to work with them, at least in my early years on Shuttle. I’ll never forget the first time I had to go up & very nervously present to one a detailed analysis & explanation of a failure that occurred in one of the SAIL tests. Of course they were all different in personality but one common aspect, they were all very intensely focused & serious at work. But I also attended parties with a few of them when they really “let their hair down”.
