Environment

Daily Postcard: Red Columbine Bloom In White Rock

Daily Postcard: Columbine are blooming boldly this time of the year including this delicate Red Columbine spotted in White Rock. As with all the red flowered columbines, Aquilegia elegantula is one of the first wildflowers available for hummingbirds to gather nectar from in the spring. Photo by Nancy Ann Hibbs Read More

BLM Enacts Fire Restrictions In NM Effective Wednesday

BLM News:
SANTA FE – Due to increasing fire danger and to prevent human-caused ignitions, the Bureau of Land Management will implement fire restrictions on BLM-managed lands in New Mexico beginning 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. May 20.
Prohibitions include:
  • Use of campfires or charcoal;
  • Smoking outside of a vehicle, enclosed building, or areas free of flammable materials;
  • Fireworks and pyrotechnic devices;
  • Any type of aerial luminary; and
  • Off-highway vehicle (OHV) use except in designated OHV areas.
In addition, the following activities require individuals to have a fire extinguisher or 5 gallons
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Los Alamos Farmers Market 7 A.M. To 12:30 P.M. Thursday!

Safety measures against COVID-19 are mandatory as seen here at the May 12 Los Alamos Farmers Market at Ashley Pond Park. This week the market is 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Ashley Pond Park. Customers should keep their face mask on at all times, shop with their eyes and have vendors bag purchases, practice 6-foot social distancing from others and make the visit to the market quick. Photo by Leslie Bucklin

Scene from the May 12 Los Alamos Farmers Market at Ashley Pond Park. Photo by Leslie Bucklin

Scene from the May 12 Los Alamos Farmers Market at Ashley Pond Park. Photo by Leslie Bucklin

Scene from the May Read More

Los Alamos Makers Launches Soft Re-opening

Elannah Venhaus, a former Biodidact intern learning the ropes of DNA barcoding. Courtesy/LAM

A glimpse of Los Alamos makers’ wood shop. Los Alamos Makers is helping make woodworking safer and more accessible with its newly remodeled shop. The fully renovated shop will be revealed during an upcoming open house. Courtesy/LAM

Los Alamos Makers News:

Sunday, May 17 concluded this year’s National Week of Making. The coronavirus crisis has made it very clear that makers do matter and do make a difference, with makers of all kinds, and everywhere, participating in the global effort to provide personal

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LANL: ‘Green’ Quantum-Dot Solar Cells Exploit Defects

Scanning electron microscope image of electrodes infiltrated with quantum dots, left, and the corresponding distributions of copper, indium, zinc, and selenium across the film thickness. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Quantum-dot approach shows promise for a new type of toxic-element-free, inexpensive, defect-tolerant solar cells

Novel quantum dot solar cells developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory match the efficiency of existing quantum-dot based devices, but without lead or other toxic elements that most solar cells of this type rely on. 

“This quantum-dot approach shows great Read More

Bull Snakes Lifting Spirits In Los Alamos: Meet Wiggles

This bull snake, affectionately known as wiggles, is spotted waiting by a gopher hole for his lunch recently on North Mesa. Snakes are out and about now and lifting spirits around Los Alamos, but if not appreciated or wanted, call police dispatcher 505.662.8222. They have a list of those who will relocate snakes. Please do not harm these hard working snakes helping to keep down the rodent population that can carry the hantavirus and the plague. Photo by Richard Macek Read More

Daily Postcard: Ladybug And Shadow On Aspen Leaf

A ladybug is spotted on an aspen leaf Saturday at a residence in White Rock. They say having a ladybug land on you can be a magical moment. While other insects may pose a threat to humans, animals and crops alike, ladybugs are harmless – and even better, they’re beneficial, which is why so many cultures over the centuries have cherished ladybugs, believing them to bring good luck. Photo by Nancy Ann Hibbs
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On The Job In Los Alamos: LA Landscaping & More And DIGS Construction Host Company-Wide Meeting In Parking Lot During COVID-19 Pandemic

On the job in Los Alamos are Los Alamos Landscaping & More, LLC and DIGS Construction, LLC. The two local businesses hosted a bi-weekly company-wide safety meeting while social distancing Monday in the UNM-LA parking lot. Los Alamos Landscaping owners Craig and Rachel Wehner provided breakfast from Secret City Kitchen for the crews during the meeting. The Wehners wanted to share how their companies have continued to work under the restrictive circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their employees practice social distancing and wear face masks made by Office Administrative Assistant Read More

Amateur Naturalist: Springtime Flowers

A dandelion with newly emerged florets. Photo by Robert Dryja

The seed head of a dandelion with hundreds of seeds ready to be blown away in a breeze. Photo by Robert Dryja

By ROBERT DRYJA
Los Alamos

Two kinds of plants are making their presence clearly visible since spring began six weeks ago.

Hundreds of dandelion plants have emerged in a grassy field. Each plant has up to 10 flowers called florets. The field first turned yellow with florets and then white with their seed heads. Each seed head has about a 100 to 150 seeds that look like little parachutes. The seeds now are drifting away by the thousands Read More

USACE Albuquerque District Lakes Phase Reopenings

Abiquiu Lake day use recreation areas reopened May 16, including Cerrito Day Use Area; Overlook Day Use Area, including picnic areas; and the downstream Rio Chama Day Use Area. Courtesy/VDP

USACE News:

ALBUQUERQUE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Albuquerque District have announced that USACE-managed lakes in New Mexico and southeastern Colorado are scheduled to begin the first part of a phased reopening.

The initial reopening date will vary from lake to lake due to local and state conditions. See below for lake-specific information.

In the initial reopening phase, some day use Read More

Juniper Hairstreak Lifting Spirits Around Los Alamos

It was a lucky day for Selvi Viswanathan who tends the butterfly garden at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Around 1:30 p.m. Friday she went outside on Barranca Mesa to take photos of flowers and suddenly spotted a rarely seen Juniper Hairstreak …‘What a thrill! It lifted my spirits,’ she said, adding that she hoped by sending it to the Los Alamos Daily Post it would lift spirits all over Los Alamos. Photo by Selvi Viswanathan
A rarely seen Juniper Hairstreak spotted Friday afternoon on Barranca Mesa. Photo by Selvi Viswanathan
A rarely seen Juniper Hairstreak spotted Friday afternoon Barranca Mesa.
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Los Alamos Sportsmen’s Club Reopens With Guidelines

Alex Byerly is taking practice shots with his 23-caliber rifle at 300 yards in preparation for hunting season with his father, James who is spotting for him Tuesday the Los Alamos Sportsmen’s Club began its reopening on Rendija Road. Precautions are in place to ensure social distancing throughout the range. The facility features a rifle range with shooting benches arraigned to meet social distancing, an Archery range with fixed targets and a 10-15 3-D target course, 5 stand shot gun range, a 5-position pistol range and an indoor range. For more information, visit www.la-sc.org. Photo by John Read More

Young Bucks Lifting Spirits In Los Alamos: Darby & Derby

A pair of young bucks affectionately known as Darby and Derby, English names that roughly translate to ‘a forest rich in deer’ and ‘a deer farm’ respectively. Darby and Derby have been lifting spirits all over Los Alamos and today at this residence at 43 Grand Canyon Dr. in White Rock. Photo by Mandy Fuehrer
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Vertical Cloud Formation Spotted Over White Rock

A vertical cloud formation is spotted in the sky Thursday over White Rock. Clouds with vertical growth grow high up into the atmosphere rather than spreading across the sky. They span all levels of the troposphere and can even rise up into the stratosphere. Clouds with vertical growth develop by warm air rising from the surface. Source www.windows2universe.org. Photo by Dave Lannen
A vertical cloud formation spotted in the sky Thursday over White Rock. Photo by Dave Lannen
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Tips For Growing Tomatoes In Los Alamos County

Tomato plants in Walls-of-Water. Photo by Denise George

It is possible to grow a large Brandywine. Photo by Doris Thielemann

Los Alamos Master Gardeners News:

As it warms, we all get anxious to plant our tomato plants and harvest those luscious fruit. That is especially true this year with COVID-19, when many of us are spending more time in the garden and possibly gardening for the first time.

Our average last freeze day is May 15, so wise people suggest that we wait until after that date to plant.

However, many of us want to push to an earlier date, especially as the days get warmer. Last year in White Read More

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