January '26 = dry

We got off to a wet start, but since the 12th we've had just 0.02" - and that had to be fog condensation as we had no storms. We did finally reach freezing though! December's low was 31.1° which barely qualifies as freezing, but 27.6 this month is decently chilly.

We're at 2/3 of average precipitation for the month, and that's about where we shall end; the storm for this weekend has fizzled out and we might see another after the 28th. That breaks the string of above average months at three, but those three are the wet ones so we're in decent shape. As to snowpack, it's pretty  bad - the volcanoes are purely white, but roads through the mountains are frosty not snow-packed.

We'll see what February will bring!

Solar smash relents

 

The timing this week's solar storm was good and bad. Skies were clear, but conditions were slick and frosty for our sloped viewing area. Worse was the time zone: europe and the eastern us hit peak time for two nights, but the west us was declining both nights. One could stay up and be rewarded, but the cold was most unappealing.

This 4-second shot at iso2000 is far fainter than last year's events. The timing was vital; clearly many folks got very bright flareups but the chill did not bring me patience!

gear adjustments: 2026 edition

The Lumix-S era is over. For now.

As I noted before, if S didn't work out I would just revert to the µ43 kit and enhance it.  Well, as is often the case, I was half right. I gave it my best shot, but it couldn't be comfortably managed.

I'm getting back several hundred dollars, nearly all my S investment. And in exchange I spent $220 on a new body.

Oops: it's a Pentax!

It simply isn't possible to deal for a choice µ43 body ($600+) without spending the same amount of cash. And in effect my PK gear is fully fleshed out - but lacks a body. My K-01 shutter may repair itself (as many people report after it sits a while) but I won't bet on it. But I found a low-shot K-s1 for cheap (OK I spent $40 more on a spare solenoid), with its nice 20Mpx sensor and odd but small body. Good enough, and better for duplicating slides and negatives. 

It's no better than the GX7 for video, but in other ways it will do well. In fact, my wife's GF9 now takes over as the sole 4k video camera! And it charges live. 

No weather seals for now with either system, so I'll wear a jacket more often.

So here we are.