The base for the new summer hen house is now complete. And with that accomplishment, the birds are one step closer to greatly upgraded accommodation. This hen house is built with a new design meant to correct several of the shortcomings of past shelters. In the summer, the birds need protection from the rain, hail, […]
New Pen – Hen House Base Read More »
On Thursday, we were treated to the sight of a magnificent solar halo gracing the evening sky. As is the case with many of the arcs, spots, and lines we are privileged to see in the arctic sky, solar haloes are also formed by sunlight refracting through ice crystals. In this particular case, the ice
Inaccurate Weather Prediction! Read More »
Over the past few weeks, we have had the pleasure of watching a pair of robins raise a family. Today’s post will show some of the pictures I took as the chicks developed. The story began in June, when we observed that a mother robin had decided to build a nest near our garage door.
The chart shows the temperatures measured in the biomeiler at a height of 4’ above the ground. This height marks the boundary between the pre-existing biomeiler and the recent extension. The data were collected by a thermocouple buried in the pile at that height at the very center of the inner core, another placed halfway
June 2026 Experimental Results, Part 2 Read More »
Early summer in Fairbanks is usually a wonderful time of year. During the month of June, the outdoor air temperatures followed the usual pattern of rising to the 70sF during the day and settling into the 50s during the night. A common feature of summer days here is that, in the late afternoons, we often
June 2026 Experimental Results, Part 1 Read More »
Our honeyberries are now ripe enough to begin our first harvest. Today, Melissa picked about two handfuls to evaluate the flavor. When I saw the berries in a plain white container, I thought they would make a nice holiday picture on one of our red-edged plates. This year, the honeyberry bushes, newly transplanted, have yielded