Ken Britten
@kenbritten.bsky.social
Relentlessly curious nature freak, sailor, Deadhead
Cloud forecast from the ECMWF model for 8 PM tonight. It doesn't look good for further aurora borealis viewing. When a geomagnetic storm meets a Pacific storm, the lower-atmosphere event gets the final say, at least from a ground-dweller's perspective. But we'll see, since it's all probabilistic.
November 12, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Cloud forecast from the ECMWF model for 8 PM tonight. It doesn't look good for further aurora borealis viewing. When a geomagnetic storm meets a Pacific storm, the lower-atmosphere event gets the final say, at least from a ground-dweller's perspective. But we'll see, since it's all probabilistic.
I love it when I catch these guys on the trail camera. They're just so... foxy! The eyeshine is a bonus.
November 11, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I love it when I catch these guys on the trail camera. They're just so... foxy! The eyeshine is a bonus.
I just learned a boutique weather term that Windy.com uses. Wind accumulation is the strongest gust expected over a specified time period. Useful, but I find myself annoyed by the term, which implies integration. May I suggest "maximum gust" instead?
November 4, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I just learned a boutique weather term that Windy.com uses. Wind accumulation is the strongest gust expected over a specified time period. Useful, but I find myself annoyed by the term, which implies integration. May I suggest "maximum gust" instead?
Lovely look at the leading edge of the first major Pacific system coming into NorCal.
October 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Lovely look at the leading edge of the first major Pacific system coming into NorCal.
This lava bridge on the west side of the Sierra was big enough for a 40-lb dog, but not for me.
October 5, 2025 at 1:41 AM
This lava bridge on the west side of the Sierra was big enough for a 40-lb dog, but not for me.
Nice sunset on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River.
September 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Nice sunset on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River.
I've been geeking out about intersections recently, in my role as a local climate commissioner. I've been impressed by two things about this document from Caltrans. First, it's progressive, and doesn't just talk about moving cars faster. Second, it's actually well written. Who'd have guessed?
September 17, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I've been geeking out about intersections recently, in my role as a local climate commissioner. I've been impressed by two things about this document from Caltrans. First, it's progressive, and doesn't just talk about moving cars faster. Second, it's actually well written. Who'd have guessed?
And another one of my favorite campsites in the Sierra Nevada just got burned in a wildfire. I think that makes four in the last decade. Dammit!
September 11, 2025 at 11:07 PM
And another one of my favorite campsites in the Sierra Nevada just got burned in a wildfire. I think that makes four in the last decade. Dammit!
Found this cute little guy this morning, by almost running over it with my bike. It's fine, and apparently was content with a little of my warmth and a moment of social media stardom. A bit later, my dog was very interested in the smell left on my hand.
September 9, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Found this cute little guy this morning, by almost running over it with my bike. It's fine, and apparently was content with a little of my warmth and a moment of social media stardom. A bit later, my dog was very interested in the smell left on my hand.
This is cool: it's a DNA-based source profile of some local honey being sold beside the road. And I wondered about the oak component, since oaks haven't flowered around here for months, and I'd never seen bees on those flowers. It turns out that the honeybees, like ants, harvest syrup from aphids.
September 6, 2025 at 11:04 PM
This is cool: it's a DNA-based source profile of some local honey being sold beside the road. And I wondered about the oak component, since oaks haven't flowered around here for months, and I'd never seen bees on those flowers. It turns out that the honeybees, like ants, harvest syrup from aphids.
These summer forbs don't get half the respect they deserve. Here's a vinegarweed (Trichostema) in the heat of the Central Valley summer. It is growing and flowering despite the last rain having fallen months ago. Ask any pollinator: these plants are the BEST!
September 2, 2025 at 10:03 PM
These summer forbs don't get half the respect they deserve. Here's a vinegarweed (Trichostema) in the heat of the Central Valley summer. It is growing and flowering despite the last rain having fallen months ago. Ask any pollinator: these plants are the BEST!
Livin' on the edge... of a big cloud of smoke from the Pickett fire burning over by Calistoga. The orange 81 is a neighbor of ours. The patchiness goes to show how hard it is to predict the movement of the swirls of smoke.
August 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Livin' on the edge... of a big cloud of smoke from the Pickett fire burning over by Calistoga. The orange 81 is a neighbor of ours. The patchiness goes to show how hard it is to predict the movement of the swirls of smoke.
Flower season is near its peak at 9800’ near Sonora Pass.
August 15, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Flower season is near its peak at 9800’ near Sonora Pass.
Beautiful, minimally disturbed lakeshore by Trehörnigen, Sweden.
July 29, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Beautiful, minimally disturbed lakeshore by Trehörnigen, Sweden.
My wife, waiting for the light to be just right.
July 26, 2025 at 11:03 AM
My wife, waiting for the light to be just right.
The Vasa, which sank on her first trip in 1628. The parallels between her sinking and that of the Bayesian (modern superyacht) run deep.
July 21, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The Vasa, which sank on her first trip in 1628. The parallels between her sinking and that of the Bayesian (modern superyacht) run deep.
PurpleAir seems appropriate for Bluesky, as today's air carries smoke from distant wildfires. These two plumes are from the Butler and Green fires. Neither one is particularly large by recent standards, but we are reminded that the health effects can travel.
July 12, 2025 at 6:33 PM
PurpleAir seems appropriate for Bluesky, as today's air carries smoke from distant wildfires. These two plumes are from the Butler and Green fires. Neither one is particularly large by recent standards, but we are reminded that the health effects can travel.
I wonder what’s the lowest rating a dog has ever gotten from these guys? But don’t get me wrong, she’s that good!
July 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I wonder what’s the lowest rating a dog has ever gotten from these guys? But don’t get me wrong, she’s that good!
Bombyliid flies enjoying themselves in the sun. What was remarkable about this pair is how well they flew while united. Even mating dragonflies usually look sorta clumsy in the air, but these guys were tight and precise. Made me wonder what they are communicating through their genitals.
June 30, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Bombyliid flies enjoying themselves in the sun. What was remarkable about this pair is how well they flew while united. Even mating dragonflies usually look sorta clumsy in the air, but these guys were tight and precise. Made me wonder what they are communicating through their genitals.
So glad this burn is finally happening! It was getting close to too late in the season. Impossible to know how many fires this has averted over the years, but since this stretch of CA-128 has historically had more ignitions per mile than any other state highway, it's probably not zero.
June 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
So glad this burn is finally happening! It was getting close to too late in the season. Impossible to know how many fires this has averted over the years, but since this stretch of CA-128 has historically had more ignitions per mile than any other state highway, it's probably not zero.
The last meeting of Phase I of Yolo County's Climate Action Commission. We have a plan! In addition to the talent and energy of the group, it was also striking how there was never any tension between the technical side and the social justice side. Good to know those goals don't actually conflict.
June 24, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The last meeting of Phase I of Yolo County's Climate Action Commission. We have a plan! In addition to the talent and energy of the group, it was also striking how there was never any tension between the technical side and the social justice side. Good to know those goals don't actually conflict.
PG&E has announced likely PSPSs (public safety power shutoffs) across a broad swath of Norcal. Yet in none of these areas does the NWS even have a fire weather watch. I wonder what would happen if the utilities had to pay the costs that customers incur in an optional outage?
June 18, 2025 at 11:21 PM
PG&E has announced likely PSPSs (public safety power shutoffs) across a broad swath of Norcal. Yet in none of these areas does the NWS even have a fire weather watch. I wonder what would happen if the utilities had to pay the costs that customers incur in an optional outage?
Happy No Kings Day!
June 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Happy No Kings Day!
An overlapping view of the valley from 2020, a few months before the fire hit.
June 8, 2025 at 3:45 PM
An overlapping view of the valley from 2020, a few months before the fire hit.
Climate change in my backyard. There are those who say the iconic blue oak savanna of California is a doomed ecosystem. It sure is right here, but we have it particularly bad. Even within the footprint of the LNU fire, this patch was particularly hard hit.
June 8, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Climate change in my backyard. There are those who say the iconic blue oak savanna of California is a doomed ecosystem. It sure is right here, but we have it particularly bad. Even within the footprint of the LNU fire, this patch was particularly hard hit.