Sunday Sunrise

 Because Angel Monroe is apparently allergic to palm trees:

Linked at the Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Obligatory World Cup Post up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

Your last chance to see Comet Pan-STARRS is probably past already:

Comet C/2025 R3 (Pan-STARRS) is visible from about 90 minutes before sunrise until early next week. It’s a realistic binocular target for anyone with a clear eastern horizon and a bit of patience.

On Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, the comet lies due east close to bright star Algenib at the lowest corner of the Great Square of Pegasus.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.  The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: It’s (Almost) That Time of Year Again up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

NOAA Solar Calculator "Find Sunrise, Sunset, Solar Noon and Solar Position for Any Place on Earth"

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: In Honor Of Alice Cooper available for browsing at the usual place and time.

Sunday Sunrise

Althouse is tired of people bitching about the switch to standard time: How to stop fretting about the coming and going of Daylight Savings Time and live by the light not the clock.

I know you have appointments and work and social obligations and need to observe the time of the clock to some extent, but your waking and sleeping and much of the rest of what you do — eating, going out walking, chores, reading, napping, conversing, and generally being the human animal that you are — can and should be done according to the time of the sun, which doesn't leap forward and fall back in one hour chunks semiannually, but changes very slightly day by day.

A commenter called it retired person privilege.  When I retired, I took off my watch and threw it on the book shelf above my computer, where it stayed until its battery died. We no longer live by the alarm clock, although we do have one working person in the house, and we need to get Gabby on the school bus. I do use the alarm clock when I have to get up at o'dark 30 to fish, although, 9 times out of 10, I wake up ahead of the clock and shut it off before alarm sounds. 

I do resent the shorter days of late fall and winter, but short of moving much closer to the equator, or changing the earth's obliquity, there's not much to do about it.

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Young Girls & Old Trucks garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

With Ele Bertoli, who seems to lack much affinity for palm trees, but seems to enjoy twilight:

Whenthecurvelinesup: 2025, September 5: Five Planets in Review before Sunrise, "September 5, 2025: Before sunrise, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn span the morning sky. Brilliant Venus shines at the same height as Sirius, adding to the celestial display."

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Laundry Day up and at 'm at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

Space.com, Strongest solar flare of 2025 erupts from sun, sparking radio blackouts across Europe, Asia and the Middle East

The sun roared to life early Tuesday (May 14), unleashing a powerful X-class solar flare from a newly emerging sunspot region AR4087. The eruption peaked at 4:25 a.m. EDT (0825 GMT), triggering strong R3-level radio blackouts across Europe, Asia and the Middle East — the sunlit side of Earth at the time — as sunspot region 2087 crackles with activity.

Solar flares of this magnitude are uncommon, according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). Solar flares are ranked by strength in five classes: A, B, C, M and X, with each step representing a tenfold increase in energy. The recent X flare clocked in at X2.7, placing it at the lower end of the most powerful solar flare class.

The eruption sent a blast of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation hurling toward Earth at the speed of light, rapidly ionizing the upper atmosphere. This sudden change disrupted high-frequency radio signals, leading to communication dropouts for some radio operators across affected regions.

There may have been an associated coronal mass ejection (CME) — massive plumes of solar plasma and magnetic field accompanying the X-flare, though it is yet to be confirmed. CMEs can spark geomagnetic storms and vibrant auroras if they collide with Earth's magnetic field. But with AR4087 still near the sun's edge, our planet is out of the line of fire. For now. That may change soon as AR4087 is rotating toward Earth and has already fired off multiple solar flares.

It would be great to see some auroras again!

Linked at the Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Country Girl in Carhartts up on time and under budget.

Sunday Sunrise

Riviera Maya News, Hundreds take in first New Year sunrise at southern tip of Isla Mujeres

Hundreds took in the first sunrise of the New Year on Isla Mujeres Wednesday. Locals began to arrive at the Punta Sur Sculpture Park before daybreak.

The annual tradition is practiced around the state from various beaches where people gather to take in the first sunrise of the year. Hundreds of people were reported gathered at Punta Sur on the southern tip of the island early Wednesday morning where many arrived before 5:30 a.m.

Linked at the Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.  The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Golden Globes up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Merry Christmas! up on time at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

3WKTR Sunrise Brief

Missing Chesapeake teen found safe after Virginia State Police issued CODI Alert on Monday. 14-year-old Deborah Abigail Jenkins, who goes by Abby, has been found safe, according to police.

On Monday, Virginia State Police issued a CODI Alert for Abby. She was last seen with 41-year-old James Ronald Bell at a Comfort Inn off South Military Highway. News 3 has learned Bell is a registered sex offender. On Monday, News 3 reporter Danielle Saitta spoke with Abby's adoptive sister, who confirmed that Bell is the ex-boyfriend of Abby's biological mother. Her sister also described the relationship between Abby and her biological mother as complicated.

In a video posted on social media, Abby says she was not coerced into going with Bell and that she left to get away from abusive conditions. She alleges Bell helped her get away.

We're working to confirm if the allegations of abuse are true. Police say they are still searching for Bell.

Good news for now, but it sounds like trouble brewing. 

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Nothing’s Fishy ready at The Other McCain on time and under budget.

I'm Back!

Sunrise found us at Mike's Rock off of Hoopers Island.  Striper were biting there on topwater, but not getting hooked. I did manage one in the size range (19-24 inches) but it had skin disease and we threw it back

When he put up the walk-on trip Pete said he intended to run hard south to seek large Bluefish, and Redfish that had been in the area. Here we were at a wreck off Tangier Island, the furthest south I have ever fished with Pete from Solomons. We found Bluefish, but not the giants, as well as some keeper Redfish (I got one)

The fish box with stripers, bluefish, redfish, and Speckled Trout.

We stopped at Smith Point Light on the way home, where the Potomac River comes into the Chesapeake Bea.

We did find some blues there, but the big story was this 47 inch bull redfish, caught by Brooks, 

And this 48 inch caught by Jason.

Jason's wife with a speck and a red.

George was the species king, with red, speck, striper, blue, and Spanish Mackerel. 

Not an easy day, but not a bad one either.

Pete put 113 miles on the boat.

Sunday Sunrise

With palm trees.

The Daily Stanford, Do Stanford’s palm trees really cost $70,000?. Short answer, no.

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Cheesecake Armor & Other Delights ready for you digital pleasure at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Cherie Currie up and running for your digital amusement.

I'm Back

Pete had one walk on spot on today's trip and I took it.

The trip was initially booked by two (older) guys from Pennsylvania, one of whom had a son in North Carolina who drove up for the trip. 

We left Flag Harbor around 6:30 and tried the power plant first, where there werea boat or two and a few fish, none huge. Once we had a good ebb tide running . . . 

Pete crossed over to the side to the Little Choptank River, and the shores of Taylors Island, where he popped a couple of giant (40+ inch) fish yesterday, thanks to warm(er) waters, after vainly flailing in the open water yesterday.

The son from Carolina was a serious fisherman, and managed to hook and land 2 fish over 40 inches.

This is very early for the shallow water water bite to start, but a couple of warm sunny days has the water temperature in the shallows over 50 F. 

It wasn't a hot bite, but we all caught some nice fish. 

Palm Sunday with Sunrise

Courtesy of Vlada Glukova, who likes both:

Yeah, I know, they're mostly sunsets. The sun sets over the ocean in Santa Monica.

NOLA.com, 'They all succumb': New disease is wiping out Louisiana's treasured palm trees

A fatal disease is quickly spreading among the palms of south Louisiana, and there’s no cure in sight. Called lethal bronzing, the disease first appeared in Louisiana in 2013 and has been detected in at least six parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge and Iberia.
. . .
“Once a palm is infected, it can’t be saved,” said Raghuwinder ‘Raj’ Singh, a plant doctor and director of Louisiana State University’s Plant Diagnostic Center. “Is the disease going to wipe out the palms in 10 or 15 years? I can’t answer that, but there is no control for this disease.”

It wasn’t until two years ago that scientists confirmed that the disease is carried by a species of planthopper, a tiny insect that sucks palm sap but also inadvertently injects the trees with the lethal bronzing bacteria. That knowledge hasn’t slowed the disease’s spread. In fact, it appears to be worsening, said Lee Stansberry, an arborist with Bayou Tree Service in New Orleans.
. . .
While there’s no way to heal a sick tree, injecting it with acne medicine can delay its onset. Oxytetracycline, an antibiotic commonly used to rid teenage faces of pimples, has kept some of New Orleans’ most prominent palms, including the ones on Canal Street, disease-free for years. Problem is, the drug is “wildly expensive,” and has to be administered two or three times per year for the duration of a tree’s life, Stansberry said. A single tree’s treatment can cost as much as $1,200 per year.

 Linked at the Pirates Cove in weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.  The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Country Girls ready for your digital pleasure at The Other McCain.

Super Bowl Sunday Sunrise

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.  The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Snow Bunny up for your digital pleasure at The Other McCain.

Back From Fishin'

Another walk-on with Pete, another Hooper's Island sunrise, and a pretty nice day, with mostly overcast skies, and light winds, although they fired up a little later in the afternoon.

The crew was a father/step-son team of Joey and Charlie, and a friend of theirs, Bobby. Joey had the hottest hand today, although everybody pulled their weight. 

Joey with a shallow water striper he caught throwing behind a smaller, but still legal fish in shallow water.

Water temperatures were in the low 50s to upper 40s, a point at which the local Stripers shift from a shallow water pattern to a deep water pattern. We caught fish in both shallow and deep water today.

Charlie with a deeper water Striper.

Father and son

Me with a striper caught right up next to the tiny salt marsh island behind us.

We also caught Black Sea Bass at a deep water wreck site. Getting legal sized Black Sea Bass is not terribly common in the Bay, but we managed 7 keepers, and probably twice as many sub-legals. 

Sunday Sunrise

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Best Wrench Wench And Gun Bunny Too? up at The Other McCain more or less on time.

Sunday Sunrise

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Meanwhile In The Kitchen up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Eri Yoshida up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Sunday Sunrise

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. Wombat came through with Late Night With Rule 5 Sunday: Double-Scoop Swimsuit Edition!