An absolutely obscene quantity of fireworks being set off in the one municipality (Moxee, WA) in our area that legally allows fireworks. Glad to be viewing from several miles away!

Happy horrible air quality index day to all who celebrate

Nice aurora display happening now. Too bad clouds are blocking the best part from here in Yakima! #wawx #aurora

Bird nest in cholla cactus, Yakima WA, June 2026 #birds #photography

Raising a toddler, in two acts: Act 1 (a beautiful, clear evening) - You show your son the moon for the first time ever. We all point to the sky in amazement! 🤩🌗 Act 2 (a beautiful, clear morning) - Toddler melts down, pointing at sky, because why no moon?? 😫 #dad #parenting #toddler

One of the underreported issues in WA is the steady neutering of elected school boards. This board member was just doing her job but her other colleagues wanted to help maintain what community members describe as a climate of fear in the district (should sound familiar to SPS ears).

The latest fire perimeter has the blaze covering nearly the entire wilderness area. A damn shame. One of the most unique landscapes in the PNW and home the northernmost stand of Juniperus occidentalis. #wawx

This is the second jet in as many years to go down on this training route, both in close proximity to busy recreation areas. Glad the pilot made it out safely this time, but alarming to see this happen again in an area where I regularly camp and hike.

Nice diversity of prey in the Venus flytrap this week: #carnivorousplants

Perfect spring day in the Cascades with a trio of exciting finds: #1: First time seeing our native prickly pear cactus, Opuntia columbiana, in bloom! #wildflowers #washington #photography #cacti

Is this a thing now? Or is this coffeeshop just insane?

Snowpack is at 13% of median and yet this is what the first stop on my geology field trip looks like this morning: 😑

I've been chuckling to myself about this all day. We are about to begin stars in my Astro 100 course and I sincerely hope that in a few weeks my students will be able to rip this to shreds!

A good reminder that, as cool as the Artemis II images were, we have a plethora of satellites that take full disk images of the Earth every few minutes...for a fraction of the cost!

Over an inch of rain recorded at my home weather station just east of Yakima today. Highest single day total since 7-28-2022 and ~15% of our average annual precipitation! #wawx

Mt. Rainier had a reservation system the last few summers that prevented overcrowding yet still allowed for relatively spontaneous visits. It seemed to be working well. This year, it's gone with no explanation...

Spotted this garter snake on a hike this afternoon. The temperature at a nearby WA DOT weather station was 47°F. Can't remember ever seeing an active snake at a temp that low... #photography #wildlife #washington

Do you know how much of the solar system we could explore with $200 billion

Some nice lenticular clouds on the east slopes of the Cascades this morning: #wawx

Whenever anyone asks how I became interested in geology AND astronomy, this is the photo I show them:

For comparison, this would fund the community college that I teach at for approximately 245 years.

That’s 125% of the National Science Foundation’s annual budget, for anyone keeping track.

More early spring wildflowers from the Yakima Valley in Washington state: #wildflowers #photography

ICE arrests spiked in PNW in late 2025, per new data from @uwchr.bsky.social. Yakima County had most arrests per capita: 185 arrests per 100,000 people. Local advocate says surge there has been overlooked. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news... (w/ @vizscience.bsky.social @ayoonhendricks.bsky.social)

For comparison's sake, the entire National Park Service costs $3 billion - a year.

Geology folks: any cool spots you would recommend visiting in Scotland? (Besides the obvious Siccar Point...) ⚒️

Wildflower season is in full swing! Great sunset light this weekend, but 20+ mph winds made it tough to get anything in focus! #washington #landscapephotography #wildflowers

Little does it know that in a few short hours...

Bringing this skeet back up because the THREE $90M each ($270M total) F-15s shot down today by friendly fire in Kuwait could pay for FOUR Chandra X-ray Observatories at full operations. Let's remember that when the 2027 president's budget request comes out soon. 🔭

Our front yard resident hawk enjoying golden hour light earlier this evening:

First wildflowers of the season here on the east slopes of the Cascades! A couple of weeks earlier than usual. Not surprising given how mild of a winter we've had.

The best thing about February (aside from the rapidly lengthening daylight hours) is that my drive to work coincides with sunrise on Mt. Adams:

#ICEoutforgood protest in Yakima, WA today, hosted by #YakimaIndivisible

First attempt at teaching my 20-month-old to look through a telescope tonight. The instinctive lunge for the eyepiece truly has no age minimum or maximum! 🔭

Going on a week straight of fog and stratus here in the Yakima Valley, but got to "escape" to the clear skies of Seattle briefly last weekend:

Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.

Some nice lenticular clouds in the lee of Mt. Adams earlier this week...before the freezing fog set in. #wawx

Oh come on. My toddler can lie better than that.

Fun geology find in Spokane last weekend: a geology/Missoula Floods themed playground. Complete with interpretive signs and a J. Harlen Bretz quote! ⚒️

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #1: another wildflower photo...simpler than yesterday's image, just some spring balsamroot backlit by the setting sun. H Happy New Year! #wildflowers #washington

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #2: the densest patch of bitterroot I've ever found + surprise afternoon storms = a great day for photography #landscapephotography #wildflowers #washington

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #3: City photography isn't usually my thing, but I had a blast strolling and trolley-ing around Lisbon on this evening back in August. #photography #portugal

The fear and uncertainty extends beyond the orchards. It is palpable on campus and in the classroom as well.

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #4: A stark scene along the southwest coast of Portugal this past summer. This one reminds me of all the "artist's impressions" of exoplanet surfaces that I've seen over the years. #landscapephotography #portugal

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #5: One of my favorite mountains (Mt. Adams) with one of my favorite wildflowers (beargrass). #landscapephotography #washington

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #6: A repost from last month, but my mid-November rattlesnake encounter definitely makes the list. #photography #wildlife

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #7: 2025 was no match for 2024 in terms of celestial events, but we did get a couple of nice aurora displays, including this one just last month. #photography #aurora

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #8: A smoky sunset flying over the Canadian Rockies back in August. #photography

Posting my 10 favorite images from 2025 in the last 10 days of the year: #9: Takeoff #photography #birds