Windflowers

These windlflowers (anemone blanda, I think) were along the quarry trail in Beaver Valley in the Woodlawn Estates in the First State National Monument in Delaware.  

Essere, o non essere

To be or not to be.  I found Opera Delaware's "advertisement" graffiti for the East Coast premier of Amleto (Hamlet) premier May 14th on the Delaware Greenway path at Shipley Rd, where you go between Bringhurst Woods and Rockwood park.

It got my attention and possibly users of that path are likely in the correct socioeconomic class or demographic to see an opera production of Hamlet.  But will it wash off eventually?  It is technically graffiti, and there was more than one on the path.  My cool hunter artistic side is warring with my inner curmudgeon is warring with my don't wreck public stuff side.

VINYRD license plate in Delaware

VINYRD license plate in Delaware.  Is this a place where wine grows literal reference or figurative or biblical?  

Artifacts at Stone Point at Fox Point State Park

We participated in the 25th Annual Christina River Watershed Cleanup today.  It was raining and cold but we picked up a lot of trash and recyclables at Fox Point State Park on the Delaware River.  They bussed us down to Stoney Point at the end of the park where the public can't even go.  I would have liked to have seen it in less cold and rain but it was still very interesting.  

The Marcus Hook front range light is there.  That one pairs with the rear range light up the hill that we drove past on our way home.

Lynn found a ceramic top from an old-fashioned soda bottle, the kind with the metal price through to seal the top.

I searched on the writing on the top, "G. VERERAMO WILMINGTON, DEL 503-505 TATNALL ST. and found a link at the Delaware Historical Society for a glass soda bottle estimated at between 1900 and 1905.  http://dehistory.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/3BA2BB7C-838A-4FAD-ABB7-904457842909

How did it get there?  Did it wash up recently or has it been there a long time.  It is going to our Delaware artifacts collection.

Nilsson fan in Delaware

There are at least two Nilsson fans in Delaware, me and this hard core fan whose license plate is the main character Oblio from Nilsson's "The Point". We use to play that album (on 8 track!) over and over on road trips when I was little.

REMED8 Pennsylvania license plate

Perhaps the owner of this PA license REMED8 driving on I476 in Delaware County is an environmental engineer. That's my guess.

Who let this car off it's LEASH?

Who let this car off it's LEASH? Captured this license plate in Delaware yesterday. I am sure there are hidden meanings we all are not privy to.

TWOACES license plate in Delaware

Is this TWOACES license plate in Delaware a poker reference (most likely)? A tennis serve reference? A two top pitchers in baseball reference?

Hello Kitty fan in Delaware

This HLOKTTY license plate in Delaware even gets a Hello Kitty license frame. This is a true fan going all out.

Phony Sunken Treasure puts Law Firm in Deep Water

A fortune in emeralds on the Caribbean seafloor was too much temptation for a Delaware law firm likely to be sanctioned for using the courts to attempt to legitimize what has turned out to be a hoax.

Like a bad movie plot - accusations from other treasure hunters that the find was to good to be true and analysis that showed the emeralds to be coated with modern epoxy to enhance their appearance have left questions about how much the law firm knew after the suicide of the original finder.

(via Delaware News Journal)

What could MEWOBOR license plate mean?

Saw this one today, Delaware license MEWOBOR. I want to respect the effort to get this personalized license plate and understand the message, but I don't get it.

Any comments or interpretations?

Pictures of the Minotaur I launch

I was able to get pictures of the Minotaur I launch from NASA Wallops.  I had to use the iPad because I haven't figured out how to have a long exposure with my new camera.

The rocket is the faint dot in the middle of the pictures just above the lights of the water treatment facility.  These pictures were taken from Rock Manor golf course just across the for the water tatement plant and reservoir.  If you stand on top of one of the berms  next to the golf course you can look south southeast and see the Delaware Memorial bridge, which is the right direction for north of Wilmington to see a launch from NASA wallops.

NASA Wallops to launch a Minotaur I tonight!

Another shot at seeing a rocket launch from NASA Wallops tonight between 7:30pm and 9:15pm.  The details are at the Orbital Sciences webpage.





I downloaded the Google Earth data and made another view standing in Rock Manor golf course looking south-south east towards the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

I will try to get a picture of the night launch but I make no promises.

Serious about sola sciptura!

This woman is serious about the scriptures being the sole source of divine revelation (no including tradition, you Catholics). She also doesn't seem to be a big fan of President Obama either.

Don't get me started about how scriptures put together over hundreds of years with the help of church tradition can be understood outside of that context.

 You may wonder if SOLAS 1 though SOLAS 4 license plates in Delaware were taken before this woman applied for her SOLAS 5 or whether a number sticker and license plate are the best vehicles for evangelism.

Finally saw a NASA Wallops launch from Wilmington with my own two eyes!

On Wednesday September 18th, Oribital Sciences and NASA Wallops launched the Antares/Cygnus mission to resupply the International Space Station.  I made another view from Rt141 and Rt48 west of Wilmington Delaware to show where to look but I used the Google earth data from the April launch information since there didn't seem to be a file from that launch. It proved useful.

I was able to see the contrail of the rocket, because I knew where to look.  Here is a picture of just the contrail blowing away, in the center of this photo.  That is Salem nuclear power plant in the lower left and this picture is looking south from west of Wilmington.

I have circled it here.

This makes me want to try harder to see a night launch.  I should have stayed awake for that might launch on Sept 6th.

Another NASA-Wallops Launch tomorrow at 10:50am

I did not see the LADEE launch from NASA Wallops earlier in the month.  But a ton of people did. Tomorrow (Wednesday September 18th), Oribital Sciences and NASA Wallops will launch the Antares/Cygnus mission to resupply the International Space Station.  Viewing possibilities from the Mid-Atlantic region can be found here.  I made another view from Rt141 and Rt48 west of Wilmington Delaware to show where to look but I used the Google earth data from the April launch information since there didn't seem to be a file from tomorrow's launch.

You can see the Delaware Memorial bridge just under the red part of the trajectory left of center in the picture.  That's a pretty visible point to look for while looking south east.

The window is from 10:50 am to 11:05 am.  Maybe we can see this one.

NASA launch from Wallops tonight!

There is a launch of a moon probe tonight from NASA Wallops down the Delmarva peninsular from Wilmington.  Orbital Science, the company that put together the launch vehicle,  have helpfully supplied a Google Earth file which plots the trajectory of the launch so that you can see where to look from your own location on the East Coast.  The only problem is there are very few 3D landmarks in Delaware to use as a reference.

Here is the view from second base in Frawley Stadium looking southeast.  You can see the trajectory of the rocket over the bleachers.

There is coverage of the launch at the NASA website.

Look Southeast at 11:27pm.

Fighting Woodpeckers of Shellpot Creek

These two woodpeckers were fighting and teasing each other.  I think they were trying to claim the trees in our yard in order to impress lady woodpeckers.  These are red-bellied woodpeckers according to the pictures in the Delaware Museum of Natural History woodpecker collection.  (Cornell lab link with sounds!)

Incidentally taken with my new Panasonic DMC-ZS20 camera.  it is a  point and shoot with a really good 20X optical zoom Leica lens.  They were very high up the tree in the back by Shellpot Creek.  I am pleased with my new camera!

PROPP License looks pretty real to me

This SUV with Delaware PROPP license plate looks pretty real to me.

Transit of Venus viewing at the Keck Observatory Headquarters

The Solarscope is a hit with the many visitors to the Keck Headquarters.  I am glad I brought it all the way from Delaware.

The first shot is Venus still coming onto the sun.

The second shot is Venus all the way on the sun.