Relentless Pursuit: First Ever Military Launch from the Mid-Atlantic

On 14 June 2020 occurred the historic first launch of a military space mission from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0B at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.Four classified payloads belonging to the Department of Defense National Reconnaissance Office were sent into orbit aboard a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket using three engines from a decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBM plus the second stage's solid rocket motor.*
The mission,NROL-129, was the NRO'S first dedicated launch from NASA Wallops.The US Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center provided​ the launch services for NROL-129.NRO director Dr.Chris Scolese said the system of satellites will
demonstrate revolutionary capabilities to the nation and our Allies:
Despite facing challenges in 2020,we have found new and better ways to collaborate with our partners from a distance, relentlessly pursuing our mission and denying sanctuary to our adversaries.*
Added NASA Wallops director David Pierce:
Today's successful launch exemplifies NASA'S proud service to NRO and the nation...We look forward to working with NRO, Virginia Space and Northrop Grumman on future missions from Wallops.*
Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Nature Note:Cooper's Hawk

Along a section of the Monocacy River in Northern Maryland,the riverbanks are forested,providing wildlife habitat and buffering the waterway from the intense development and agriculture just beyond.The vegetation also stabilises the banks,preventing harmful erosion here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.Abundant small mammals such as the gray squirrel are thriving along the riverbanks and the urban forest of mature trees,both coniferous and deciduous.These small furbearers are in turn sustaining predators such as the Cooper's hawk (Accipter cooperii).
Indeed,as I make my way along the hilly Mid-Atlantic terrain of the Northern Piedmont Ecoregion just east of the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains,a Cooper's hawk makes several forays against the squirrels from its perch in a large deciduous tree in a backyard.It stoops on the squirrels,but they are agile enough to evade the swift and powerful hawk's razor-sharp talons.It may take the hawk upwards of a dozen tries or more before it finally succeeds in catching breakfast.The squirrels are very aware of the hawk's presence and tactics,and are usually fast and cagey enough themselves to avoid them,so most of them will live to stash another acorn for the approaching winter.
The hawk also preys on the songbirds that inhabit the riverine and urban forest,but of course they are not as much of a meal as a squirrel would be.
The Cooper's hawk breeds from British Columbia all the way over to Nova Scotia,and south to Florida and Costa Rica,wintering as far north as New England and BC.

Nature Note:Monarch Butterflies More Numerous

I have already seen more monarch butterflies in the Mid-Atlantic region this autumn than last autumn:two,as opposed to one.The first of the iconic orange and black migrating monarch butterflies,many of them traveling from as far north as Canada,have been seen early this year at their winter haven in Mexico,said Dr.Orly "Chip" Taylor of the University of Kansas,founder and director of the Monarch Watch project.Conditions in spring and summer have been favourable this year.There are as many as two to four times last year's number at the overwintering sites south of the border.That's still below historical numbers,but shows the species is resilient and can recover if given more habitat.*
Favourable conditions for the monarch include higher temperatures and better planting conditions on the breeding grounds.Conditions in these northern breeding areas allowed the population to increase.Milkweed is the host plant for monarch larvae and pupae.We've lost 167 million acres of milkweed habitat over the past 10-15 years.Herbicide-tolerant crops allowing more spraying of harmful chemicals,and the ethanol mandate for gasoline encouraging the conversion of habitat into cornfields,are the causes of this loss.*
I wouldn't say this year's numbers are a fluke,Dr.Taylor continued.The population has come back in more normal conditions.I suspect we only have enough habitat to support three to four hectares of monarchs at the wintering sites.We need to restore a lot of habitat for both bees and monarchs,the insect expert urged.

Nature Note:Helping a Snapping Turtle

A juvenile snapping turtle(Chelydra serpentina) was crossing the Maryland roadway,so with some degree of caution I lended a hand to the native predator.Many would have just left it alone,either through fear,disdain or both.
It's not a friendly or handsome turtle.It's definitely reptilian,prehistoric looking.Yet it was headed for nowhere,into a fenced yard,so I gingerly carried it a tenth of a mile to a nearby stream.
A mature snapping turtle can deliver a serious bite if handled,but in the end,this little fellow was totally docile.Indeed,it was placid,while an eastern box turtle I had also transported was quite resistant to being carried,struggling with its legs to get free.
This juvenile snapper was about 15cm/6in long,not counting its long tail,and was all black in colour.The carapace,or upper shell, had an interesting,sculpted quality,with keels and serrations.
Why help such a disagreeable character?Because it belongs here,in this northern piedmont ecoregion.It plays a role in the environment,feeding on invertebrates,aquatic plants,birds and small mammals.It may not be appealing as an individual,but it is integral to the whole.

Nature Note:Meteorological Autumn Well Underway-woolly bear caterpillars active

Since September 1,it has been meteorological autumn.Seasonal change is becoming evident before the autumnal equinox,which occurs on September 22 this year.The Mid-Atlantic region has felt its first truly cool mornings,with lows in the 40sF in some places.
This morning,a woolly bear caterpillar was noted inching across a highway off-ramp,safely making it to the other side at a quiet time of day.The bristly creature's emergence is one of the quintessential marks of autumn nationwide and in Southern Canada.It is black on the ends with an orange central band.Children pick them up and stroke them.
The caterpillars feed on asters;clover;sunflowers;and other plants.
Over the winter months,the woolly bears will shelter among rocks,in logs and under bark.In the spring,they will spin silk for their cocoons,which they also adorn with their own hairs.They will emerge as Isabella tiger moths(Pyrrharctica isabella).
There is no scientific evidence for the folkloric notion that the severity of winter may be predicted by observing the relative length of the woolly bear's color bands.

Red Osier Dogwood Survives Snowtober

The red osier dogwood had gone missing since the rare October snow,Snowtober.It was buried underneath the snow-downed limbs and branches of an Asian pear.Surely it was gone for good,a native planting that had been adapting so very well.
Just the other day,however,a characteristic red twig was spotted in the strengthening late January sun,barely lifting off the ground and emerging from the mass of leaves and dead timber from Snowtober.With careful effort,it was gently extricated from its choking tangle of storm debris with gloved hands and pruning shears.The young shrub was in excellent condition,saved by its flexibility.Indeed,it wasn't damaged at all.Such is the resilience of a native species.
The red osier dogwood,cornus sericea,grows from Alaska east to Newfoundland,and south to West Virginia and California.It is a prized ornamental for its white flowers and fruit,as well as its red twigs in winter.The shrub is well-suited to grow in wetland areas along rivers and streams.Birds eat the white berries,which native Americans also consumed.

The Bluebird,A North American Favorite

An Eastern Bluebird family of four has been noted along the Pennsylvania-Maryland border.Such a sighting is fairly common in open woods and farms.Bluebirds,which are cavity nesters,stay in the Mid-Atlantic region year-round.It's probably the parents and their two young of the year.
The three bluebird species of North America are some of the most popular birds.There are Western and Mountain Bluebirds as well as Eastern.You really can't mistake them for anything else.As Thoreau noted,they carry the sky on their backs.On a cloudy day,however,they may well go undetected by humans rushing around.Their plumage isn't so obvious in low light conditions.
At this time of year,the bluebird family is looking for berries to eat,as insects are in short supply.The little Asian pears,which are just pits covered by a very thin layer of fruit,are also sustaining them.Their two-note call is often given on the wing.
Building a trail of bluebird boxes has become one of the leading scout and nature center projects.

Weirdly Warm:South Central Pennsylvania's Shuttered Ski Resorts

Liberty Mountain,Roundtop Mountain and Whitetail Resorts have yet to open so much as one trail.It has simply been too warm and wet.Not only has it not snowed;it hasn't been possible to make snow,either.The target maximum temperature of 28 degrees F has been frequently exceeded.
Skiers are getting impatient,asking the resorts by Tweet just when they plan to open this year.All they've been able to reply is that they don't know,but there will surely be some skiing eventually.As long as a stubborn jet stream keeps the Arctic air bottled up in Canada,there won't be any relief for them.The local economy will continue to miss the business the skiers bring up from D.C. and Baltimore,as well as close-in towns in Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.
The three resorts are owned by Snow Time,Inc.,a privately held firm based in York,Pennsylvania.They have a four season business model,offering golf,along with wedding and conference amenities,as well as fly fishing.Given ski seasons like this one,it's a good thing they do.
Tuesday saw torrential rain pelt the resorts,but the company says Wednesday night is forecasted to be ideal for snowmaking,with temperatures in the low 20s F.Next week is looking even better,with the prospect for several consecutive nights of 25 degrees F or below as an Arctic blast buffets the region.
Update:All three resorts have now opened for skiing and snowboarding on limited terrain.There is no top of the mountain access or tubing as of yet.Expect rudimentary quality conditions-at least until next week,when Arctic air will be drifting in.

Irene,Katia and Isabel:Nature's Tropical Blowhards

Mariners and Mid-Atlantic residents are warily observing another tropical system developing,even as the region busily cleans up after the previous one.As of Tuesday evening,Hurricane Irene had killed 43 people,and three million were still without power.A thousand roads were blocked in Connecticut,and water rescues continued.The storm's cost was up to seven billion dollars,and Mid-Atlantic agriculture was taking a blow as well,with 30,000 chickens perishing in Maryland,while New Jersey's significant blueberry crop was damaged.
Hurricane Irene wasn't the worst tropical system we have seen.It will go down as a moderately destructive event;but if you are in one of the eleven towns that remain isolated by flooded or crumbled roadways,it will indeed seem one of the worst to you personally.
Far out in the Atlantic,just off the coast of West Africa,another unwelcome guest is making its way towards us.Tropical Storm Katia is just beginning its path of mayhem,and could be a hurricane by Wednesday.
Sometimes hurricanes occur in patterns,revisiting the same area for an extended period.That would be the worst case scenario for the Mid-Atlantic,which until Irene had not seen a hurricane landfall since Isabel,a Cape Verde storm like the new Katia,struck in September 2003,leaving 51 deaths and 4.3 billion dollars of inflation-adjusted damage in its wake.
Update:Katia has now been upgraded to a hurricane,with top winds of 75 mph.It is located just east of the Leeward Islands.It will be days before its course can be ascertained.
The death toll from Irene was 45 as of Wednesday evening.The damage estimate was over 12 billion dollars.Just over two million remained without power,and food was scarce in some towns.Rescues continued.
All New Jersey rivers were receding,but the Passaic was still a roaring rapids.More than 24 feet above flood stage,the river inundated Wallington.The Passaic drains Northern New Jersey,which had its wettest August on record even before Irene.
In Vermont,the National Guard delivered relief supplies.Road access was restored to all but one community.A base lodge was destroyed by a swollen creek at the Killington ski resort,and several other businesses in the state were ruined by the flooding.

Chimney-Crumbler Startles Residents

Seven nuclear power plants,including Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island and New York's Indian Point,declared an Unusual Event-the lowest level of emergency-and the Pentagon was evacuated as a rare Mid-Atlantic earthquake struck at about 1352 hours on Tuesday afternoon.Working in my office,I felt a moderate up-and-down shaking for about thirty seconds.It was enough to inspire fear of property damage,though not for life and limb.A few minor injuries and perhaps several dozen crumbling facades and chimneys throughout the area resulted from the late summer incident,while a handful of unoccupied cars were crushed by debris near the epicenter of Mineral,Virginia.Some of the pinnacles of Washington's National Cathedral were also damaged,and the cathedral's bookstore experienced items tumbling off the shelves.
In Fredericksburg,Virginia,a section of downtown was evacuated as a gas line ruptured and leaked into the sewer system.Twenty-five buildings were damaged in the town's historic district,mostly bricks collapsing and threatening pedestrians.A Lowe's big box store suffered a roof breach and water damage.
Airports throughout the region suspended operations into the late afternoon.Structural engineers began inspecting buildings,a process expected to continue through the night.The U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument were evacuated as a precaution as the region's emergency procedures went into effect.Roads clogged as federal employees were dismissed early while buildings were assessed.
Bank of America evacuated 20 branches during the quake.
Near the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude quake about 80 miles south of Washington,two of Dominion Power's North Anna nuclear reactors shut down automatically as three of four back-up diesel generators switched on efficiently when off site power was interrupted by the quake,ensuring that the fuel rods would continue to be cooled.
For most residents of the region,it was their first experience of such an event,an encounter with an aspect of nature they will look back on with fascination for the rest of their lives.

Crossing A Summer Field

I walk through a hay field just north of Camp David.With each afternoon step in near hundred degree Fahrenheit heat,hundreds of grasshoppers scatter.The grasshoppers are fine.It's what may lurk unseen that is troubling:venomous copperhead snakes;Lyme disease-carrying deer ticks;or Rocky Mountain spotted fever vector dog ticks.A hornet's nest may also be underfoot,along with the terribly poisonous brown recluse spider.
Fortunately,none of these threats are encountered.
Approaching the shallow streams at the west end of the field,the terrain is thickly matted dried grasses or rushes.The shallow streams seem to have dried up,but they are hazardous ditches obscured by the hummocks of dried vegetation,threatening a foot or leg injury.
Then again,the spiny and huge garlic mustard-not to mention the prickly teasel-present an obnoxious challenge.I think I am hearing an eastern coyote snarling from its day bed,but it stays in hiding.
An American bumble bee flies off a swamp milkweed,but doesn't seem angry with me.At one point,I realize I have lost my wallet.Fat chance of finding it in this thatchy place;yet incredibly I do just that,retracing my steps with only a little hope.

Last of the Color

The last of the autumn leaves are being viewed in the Mid-Atlantic region.Scattered red maples and oaks still have some color on them,as well as the exotic Asian pears.
The snowbirds are present in force.Firearms deer season is fast approaching.The white-tailed deer are having their last calm days for a few weeks or so.
The first lowland snow flurries can't be far in the future.

Wintry Hints

Hard freezes have descended on the Mid-Atlantic region,greeting motorists with frosty windshields in the morning.It was below 0 Celsius in some locations.The winter ahead is predicted to be average for the region,which will seem mild after last winter's multiple blizzards.
Snowbirds were seen at feeders this morning,and some human snowbirds are already making their annual migration to Florida from Canada and New England.The cheaper sacks of birdseed are stacked at the store for today's budget-conscious shoppers.

Mysterious Leaf Color

The mature silver maple on the property has autumn leaves in an unusual color this year.Normally,the fall color is bright yellow.This year,however,the maple's leaves that have turned so far are partly to nearly completely red.Perhaps this is from the very hot and dry summer conditions.It could also be from the tree's age,or a combination of factors,not all of them ascertainable.Whatever the cause,the mysterious color of the old,big tree is a rare and welcome addition to the autumn palette.

Mixed Flocks Appear

Now autumn has begun,mixed bird flocks are roaming many of the woods and backyards of the Mid-Atlantic region.These winter flocks of forest species consist of chickadees,tufted titmice and downy woodpeckers,as well as nuthatches,kinglets and brown creepers.They aren't identical flocks;there may only be a few of those species in a particular flock,depending on local habitat and other factors.
All of these mixed flocks lend a bit of excitement to backyard feeders and woodlots as the leaves begin to change and fall.They band together to help each other find food and keep watch for predators.

Little To Mow

The Mid-Atlantic region is in various stages of drought.It's not a good summer for those in the lawn-mowing business,as the grass has been dormant for many weeks now.Nor can it be good for lawn application vendors,since there isn't a real lawn to apply anything to.The lawns are just barely alive brown thatches.
There are a good number of butterflies around,though.Swallowtails of various types seem especially abundant this year.Perhaps they're ranging farther because of the arid conditions.They may be searching extensively for their favored plants or water.

Relief On The Way

Upper level winds turned northerly as far south as the Pennsylvania-Maryland border this morning,promising relief from the strong heat wave that has afflicted the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions for several days now.The winds were detected by observing that cirrus clouds were being driven south,presaging the departure of the southern high pressure responsible for the heat wave.Temperatures will start to ease up by Thursday,and return to normal or near-normal by the weekend.Scattered thunderstorms may occur as the cooler air gains momentum and clashes with the hot conditions.

Freak Accident Blocks Highway

A chain reaction accident that began with a water main break clogged a major north-south route in Montgomery County,Maryland this morning,trapping commuters or sending them onto detours.The surging water toppled a telephone pole,which was collided with by a tractor-trailer.Wires were strewn across I-270.Pepco,the local electric utility,got the pole and power lines back up in short order,but then Verizon had to restring its own cables.Some drivers tried to turn around using an emergency vehicle path,but were ticketed by state police.
The early heat wave of recent days may have contributed to the water main break.A number of aging pipes crisscross the Mid-Atlantic region,resulting in many breakage incidents during times of temperature extremes.
Verizon(VZ)

Tug of War

A seasonal tug of war is now underway in the Mid-Atlantic region.The day began with a brushing of frost,then progressed into blustery conditions as cold and warm air masses collided.The warm air will win out beginning Thursday afternoon.Chipping sparrows are in the region for breeding and some chimney swifts have been spotted the last few days.They eat insects on the wing,providing a most useful service.

Bizarre Weather Continues

The Mid-Atlantic region continues on its bizarre course through the weather world,with temperatures being some 30 degrees F higher than normal.It seems to be nature's reaction to the boreal forest winter the region experienced,a balancing of weather accounts that must itself be balanced by perhaps a cool July.Bushes that were crushed by piles of snow are now being scorched by the waves of weird heat.People are trying hard not to put the air conditioner on so early,but many haven't succeeded in resisting the need for comfort.