Day Trip to Port Townsend

M5

M5 - The Rose (star) Cluster

This object is very challenging to find due to it's location - it's kind of out in the middle of nowhere halfway between Virgo's right foot and Serpens. Star-hopping is difficult with this one. Here are a few views of M5 using various settings. Also included is a video of M5 when all of a sudden a Starlink satellite zips by. Kinda cool.

Scholarship week!

What an exciting week for Aeries and the rest of our family. Her stellar High School career was rewarded with two very nice Scholarships, one from the Everett Rotararians, the Steve and Jo Saunders Scholarship and another from Cascade High School counselors and staff, the Gertrude Jackson Memorial Scholarship.

Vega

Vega is the 5th brightest star in the night sky. It is 25.05 light years away. I had fun viewing it with my 10mm Svbony eyepiece last night.

Waxing Crescent

Leveling the Back Lawn

In 2018 we had three large hemlocks removed from the back yard. The tree service ground the stumps as requested but they left a lot of deep, large roots behind. That, coupled with my haste to put grass on the bare area produced a lump in the lawn about 20 feet long and 5 feet wide..... a lump that remained until this spring when I decided to tackle the project.

Six and a half years later....

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Once the roots were out it was time to bring in some serious dirt. We brought in 5 yards of good soil to level the lawn. While we were at it we decided to use some of the soil to level some trouble spots in the lawn and amend the planting beds. We could have used another yard or two to be honest.

And then it was time to roll, seed, roll, peat moss, and fertilize. We are on the home stretch.