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31 May 2013
Friday fold: flying over the Fort Valley with Michael Collier
Renowned geological aerial photographer Michael Collier gives Callan a lift over the Fort Valley and Massanutten Mountain in his two-seater Cessna.
30 May 2013
Springy stuff in my yard this morning
It’s been a busy week. Hardly any free time. Here are a few pictures from my yard, taken this morning. Please accept them in lieu of a real blog post: Eastern cottontail: Mountain laurel: The cicadas are trilling in a mad, constant, siren-like noise. It’s intense, and otherworldly. Talk to you later…
13 May 2013
Monday macrobug: Flight of the termites
Termites can fly. But not all termites. Around here, the only flying termites are the reproductives – the fertile males and females that a termites colony produces periodically. It seems to be associated with the advent of spring. I spotted this group a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed the sunlight catching in their diaphanous wings. They hatch, emerge en masse, and take to the air, seeking a partner …
11 May 2013
The latest flood on Passage Creek
We had another flood on Passage Creek on Wednesday, and into Thursday morning. Here are a few photos and GigaPans for those of you who like flood imagery: link link link Making GigaPans of the scene: Some images of the flood itself: Aftermath: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129490 http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129543 http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129569 10.3 feet was the maximum gauge height this time (6 is bridge level), which means the stream is putting out 4200 cubic feet of …
15 April 2013
Monday macrobug: Twilight of the ladybug infestation
Spring has arrived in the Fort Valley. We went from snow and sub-freezing nights to two 80°F+ days in a row, and then throttled back to normal springtime temperatures. The pulse of heat brought about a big release of ladybugs from our walls, and at times it was as apocalyptic a scene as it was back in October and November when they swarmed all over the house, looking for a …
6 March 2013
Snow day II
There’s something so awesome about a heavy snowfall, so transformative – it really inspires me. I went out skiing this morning, and I’ve never seen our house looking more beautiful. The snow is about 11 inches deep so far: It’s a wet, heavy snow. Temperatures are hovering right around 32°F (0°C), so it’s sticking to everything. Our lower driveway: Our road: While I was skiing across the floodplain down by …
Snow day!
It’s lovely here in the Fort Valley this morning! Lily went skiing: Lola sat in the window: Yay!
5 February 2013
After the flood
After Passage Creek receded following last week’s flood, I went down to the bridge and the floodplain to have a look around. Here’s a little bit of what I saw… Let’s start at the bridge itself. The view is to the west, and Passage Creek flows north: On the other side of the bridge, looking back in the opposite direction (that is, to the east), you can get a better …
31 January 2013
Passage Creek in flood
After a night of torrential rain, Callan wakes to find his sole (vehicular) route to the outside world under several feet of flood water.
21 January 2013
Monday macrobug: ladybug infestation
October 2012 was a bumper month for macrobugs here at Bentley Farm. But… none more so than the ladybugs: One of the downsides to living way out in the sticks is that we have to deal with a lot of insects. Mostly, I relish this interaction, as the “Monday Macrobug” series attests. But the gnats, the ticks, the black widow spiders – they’re collectively a bit of a bummer. Add …
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.