Sidetracked Charley

The Hondo Fire of 1996 burned the forest on this mountain. It has not regrown. Photo taken in 2018 Forest fires are complex issues. They harm things the flames don't actually touch. Like watersheds and streams and the life in the streams and the ponds and reservoirs downstream from the fire. And wild life. Even those which are fleet of foot and move away from a fire are impacted, and the established herds in the non-fire forests are unbalanced by extra numbers. There may have been no homes or structures burned but utility lines and poles and the things like fiber optics and telephone lines which are strung on those poles are harmed. Service can be disrupted both up-line and down-line. Serious repair work cannot be done until the fire is out and the area safe. Evacuation orders have been lifted but the roads to and from those homes have been damaged. Extreme heat buckles tarmac. Debris has to be cleared, pavement repaired, fallen rocks removed. Yes, the fire crews at t...

Lenticular Cloud Not my picture. In fact not my cloud or my mountain though I find myself longing for both. But I used to have tons of pictures of lenticular or wedding cake clouds. Another loss to the computer nerd. And clouds we seem to have lost to current weather (or lack thereof). But I thought I saw some beginning lenticular's yesterday. Lenticular clouds ( Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned perpendicular to the wind direction. Lenticular clouds can be separated into altocumulus standing lenticularis (ACSL), stratocumulus standing lenticular (SCSL), and cirrocumulus standing lenticular (CCSL). Due to their shape, they are often mistaken for Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). Per Wiki My pilot father was known to say that Lenticular's heralded a change in the weather. They often position themselves between wet and dry fronts. And here in the mountains of New Mexico we see them, this time...