Monthly Archives: May 2012

May 28, 2012 · 10:16 AM

Hippos, giraffes and butterflies – Oh My!

We recently spent a lovely day as tourists in our own city. On a stunning Memorial Day weekend Saturday we ventured out the Albuquerque BioPark complex.

We started at the Botanic Garden. The highlights were all the plants in full spring bloom and the recently-opened-for-the-season PNM Butterfly Pavilion.

We then ventured over to the Albuquerque Zoo and ran into an old friend, a zookeeper, who got permission to let us FEED. THE. HIPPOS. Hippos are remarkably, fantastically cute. Especially when they’re behind six-inch steel bars. It was also public giraffe feeding time so we did that too!

To top off a lovely day, we had dinner with some of our favorite people and the saw The Avengers, most of which was filmed right here in Albuquerque.

Here are some gratuitous butterfly, hippo and other assorted pictures for your ooohing and ahhhing enjoyment (mostly hippos though).

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Filed under Albuquerque, New Mexico, Outdoors, Travel/Tourism, Uncategorized

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May 14, 2012 · 9:36 PM

Puttin’ on the Eclipse

I’ve been looking for authoritative information on the annular solar eclipse path next Sunday, May 20th. Seems that the good folks at NASA obliged.

This interactive map can tell you if you’re in the path of the eclipse and what time it will be visible for you. The only challenge is that the times are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UT) otherwise known as Greenwhich Mean Time (GMT). So basically, if you’re in Albuquerque like I am, you’ll need to subtract seven hours from the time below to see when the eclipse will those in Mountain Standard Time. But WAIT, there’s a catch: it’s daylight saving time, so only subtract six hours. What’s that you say, why don’t I just do the subtraction for you? OK, fine.

The start of the partial eclipse will be: 6:29 p.m.
The start of the annular eclipse will be: 7:35 p.m.
The maximum will be 7:36 p.m.
The end of the annular eclipse will be: 7:38 p.m.
And the whole spectacle will end at: 8:37 p.m.

If you’re in another timezone beside MST, you’ll need to do your own clock math.

And finally, don’t forget to be prepared to watch the eclipse with some other device besides the naked eye. Watching a solar eclipse without eye protection turns you into a rabid flesh-eating zombie. It’s true. So protect yourself and happy eclipse watching!

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May 1, 2012 · 8:37 PM

Name … That … Chicken!!!

One of our chickens is nameless and that lack is starting to impact her self esteem. She mopes around in an existential funk questioning her place in the world. So, it’s time for her join her named sisters: Mrs. Henny Penny/Penelope Houston, Houdini, Karen and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy for short).

Here’s some details on the Chicken Who Shall Be Named:
– She’s an Easter Egger and will lay either blue or green eggs.
- She’s rather friendly and will let you pet her and pick her up.
- She was the runt of the litter but now has grown to be of equal size to our other chickens.
And here are some glamour shots, the white chicken is the one that needs a name:

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And here are some details on the contest:
- All entries must be received by May 31st, 2012.
- All contest entries should be submitted in the comments to this blog post. You’ll need to provide your name and email address to comment below and suggest a name, which will also give me your email so I can contact you if your the winner. Your email will not be used for nefarious purposes.
- If two of the same entries are submitted, the one submitted first shall be considered.
- The winner will be selected by an esteemed to-be-determined panel of judges.

UPDATE: The winner will be selected by the most esteemed panel of judges I could think of – all of you. That’s right – this chicken will have a crowdsourced name.

- The winner, if in town, will receive a dozen fresh eggs (once the hens start laying). If you’re out of town, you receive something equivalent. You’ll also be immortalized in our chicken history.
- The winner will be announced here in mid-June.

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Filed under Albuquerque, Urban Chickens