Aug
31
Crafting and Creating; Photography and Poetry
Aug
31
Aug
31
Text taken from the petition site:
SpaceX has been awarded the contract to produce NASA’s next manned spacecraft, which is tentatively scheduled for launch in 2015. We’re calling on SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk to christen the first of these manned Dragon capsules “Serenity,” after the fictional ship of the same name in Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” universe.
Tell SpaceX: Next manned US spacecraft should be named “Serenity”
We respectfully encourage SpaceX to christen the first of their manned Dragon spacecraft Serenity, after the ship of the same name in Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” universe.
A Dragon spacecraft with this name would represent the shared hopes and dreams of everyone who is cheering for the success of an American space program that has been revitalized and revolutionized with the help of private industry–people who, like the diverse crew that shares a common goal in Whedon’s Serenity, envision a world where a privately-owned spaceship represents the opportunity for a better life and the spirit of independence can be realized in space.
Christening the first Dragon in honor of Whedon’s fictional spaceship would not only speak to the important role that man’s ability to dream without constraint plays in providing the spark that fuels the fire of human achievement, but as the first manned spacecraft built by a private entity, it would also represent the hope of a future in which the blessings and true freedom that only the stars can offer will be open to every man, woman and child. We believe very strongly that there is no name that would reflect this better than Serenity, and we urge you to give the name your serious consideration.
Thank you.
Aug
29
#159 – Alien
and
This week’s theme is: Freestyle

alien landscape
brave robotic explorer
science sparking wonder

Layers at the Base of Mount Sharp
A chapter of the layered geological history of Mars is laid bare in this postcard from NASA’s Curiosity rover. The image shows the base of Mount Sharp, the rover’s eventual science destination.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Still in love with the rovers.
Aug
28
Aug
20
Mammal Monday is back after a brief hiatus (during which I learned how to remove spammy links)!
Miniature Horse Equus ferus caballus

Hidden Timbers Shining Streak, miniature horse foal at Hidden Timber Ranch

Aug
20

We have new arrivals out at Hidden Timber Ranch. Pixie II, the little black calico, came from a friend at work. She had rescued a stray cat who promptly had kittens under her bed. Pixie came home the same day as Partly Cloudy, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

Pixie is smaller (coming from a malnourished mom) and much more timid than Cloudy. Cloudy is rambunctious and full of energy and curiosity and very protective of her new little sister.

Bitsy is not too sure what to think of the new arrivals. She wants to love on them, but if she gets too close, Pixie arches up and hisses, and Mom hollers at the dog to back off. It’s not her fault that her tongue is bigger than the kitten.

Aug
20

You didn’t think I could do a prompt of Sojourn and not mention rovers did you?
audacious rovers
Sojourner’s legacy lives
Curiosity
Aug
19
This week’s theme is: Sojourn
hummingbird’s sojourn
hovering at a feeder
migration’s long flight
Aug
14
the stars call to me
tugging at my soul’s moorings
I yearn to fly free
Aug
9
Inspired by the prompts at:
Theme Thursday: RECOLLECTIONS
and
The Think Thank Thursday #109 Books
storyteller’s tales
memories and dreams collide
kaleidoscope mind
I sometimes remember a story or a dream so vividly that I mistake it for a memory.
Aug
8
This week’s theme is: Courage
while cameras watch
seven minutes of terror
courage holds the team
I cannot imagine having a camera shoved in my face during such an emotional time. So glad it was not heartbreak and tears the cameras had to record.

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) (201208050013HQ)
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team in the MSL Mission Support Area reacts after learning the Curiosity rover has landed safely on Mars and images start coming into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012 in Pasadena, Calif. The MSL Rover named Curiosity was designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Aug
6
Aug
5
#156 – Stars
curiosity
the spark within human souls
drives exploration
drives exploration
sends rovers sailing through space
falling star flashes
falling star flashes
wild descent to join brethren
Curiosity
She should reach the floor of Gale Crater in just about three hours. I’m probably going to wait up. Because I love the rovers. I am a geek. How much of a geek?
Godspeed and safe landings.
