Brutkey

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

I just got my draft Beatrice Tinsley lecture tour schedule for traveling around New Zealand, and I just spent a lot of time excitedly playing with New Zealand maps instead of writing an article like I was supposed to be doing... this is going to be soooo coooool!!! I very much appreciate that they specifically arranged the tour for me with farm visits in mind, so hopefully I won't have goat withdrawal too badly.

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social
food

I had to make pie today because of all the lovely American Thanksgiving food posts. But I just now realized I forgot to listen to Alice's Restaurant while making them. So I might have to make more pie tomorrow...

A berry pie on the left, and a pecan pie on the right, both in glass pie pans and sitting on an old towel while cooling. A slice of purplish berry pie and a slide of pecan pie, on a plate, each with a glob of whipped cream on top
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

It's still absurdly pretty (and kinda cold)

The dogs love the snow, the goats and llama don't seem to mind it, and the chickens are so offended they won't come out of their coop.

A whole bunch of bare trees with white bark, that are covered with frost. There's a light dusting of snow on the ground, and the sky is grey with clouds. A yellowish dog is nearly the only spot of colour in a frosty snowy grass field, with an open-sided shed and a bunch of frosty trees in the background. The sky above is grey. A clump of perfectly frosted spruce trees, in a snow-covered field, with grey sky above. A view from inside a large, open barn. In the large doorway you can see a llama who has his front legs on the bottom rung of a hay-rack, and he's leaning way into the middle of the hay pile to eat. There's a fluffy white dog curled up at the base of the hay-rack, oblivious to the snow falling on her, a small black goat walking towards her, and a very very comfortable-looking yellow dog curled up on a fluffy straw pile in the corner of the barn.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

About 3 weeks until my epic trip, that will include lots of lectures (both for researchers and the general public), meeting with research collaborators, and hopefully a tiny bit of vacation time.

I have SO much to do to get house/farm animals ready for the farm sitter, packing, eating up freezer food... I am at the stage where I have lists started on scraps of paper scattered around my desk, my kitchen table, a notebook, and a couple on my phone and computer. Any good organization tips?

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

I should add...other than obviously consolidate my lists into one list...

Are there things that you wished you had brought on a long road trip? Or international trips? Or keeping track of things while frequently moving between hotels/friends' houses on a long trip? Or setting up your house for someone else to live in it temporarily?

(I realize these are all incredibly privileged things to worry about, and I'm so grateful I get to do this)

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

My new favourite exoplanet name: COCONUTS-2b https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20923

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

About 3 weeks until my epic trip, that will include lots of lectures (both for researchers and the general public), meeting with research collaborators, and hopefully a tiny bit of vacation time.

I have SO much to do to get house/farm animals ready for the farm sitter, packing, eating up freezer food... I am at the stage where I have lists started on scraps of paper scattered around my desk, my kitchen table, a notebook, and a couple on my phone and computer. Any good organization tips?

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

It still cold and frosty, and it's still gorgeous

Grasses that are completely covered with frost, on every single twig and blade. It's beautiful. A bunch of frost-killed weeds laying down next to a frozen pond. Every single weed stalk is coated with white frost. There are frosty trees and a grey sky above More frosty grass, with frosty bare forest in the background, and a grey sky above.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

RE: https://stefanbohacek.online/@mteverest/115627311525119210

Having a live Mt. Everest weather forecast makes my temperature here in Saskatchewan not seem so bad. (It's "only" -15C here right now.)

Anybody have a Mars weather feed? That would probably help even more..

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

It's impressive how much less email I get when Americans have a holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed!

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Frost is on everything. Even plastic fenceposts, chicken wire, and toilets-turned-planters look fancy.

A many-layered fence, with frost on wooden fenceposts, plastic fenceposts, and the edges of a metal gate. There's also a layer of hexagonal chicken wire that is beautifully covered with frost. It's hexagons all the way down. An old toilet that has been converted into a planter, completely covered with frost. In the background is a woven-willow fence where every single stick is covered with frost. Another view of the woven-willow fence. It has so much frost on it it almost looks fuzzy. Any branches sticking out a bit are bright white. A closer-up view of the willow fence, showing how completely coated in frost all the sticks are.