Brutkey

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

I have never seen the word "perihelion" in a weather warning before! Wow.

I'm totally saving this to show my students why basic astro 101 is very practical sometimes (...ok maybe the prairies do not have a tidal flooding problem...but... perihelion!!)

A screenshot of a weather warning for Victoria, BC COASTAL FLOODING STATEMENT 11:47 AM PST Friday 2 January 2026 Abnormal high tides combined with low pressure may produce minor/moderate coastal flooding. Elevated water levels accompanied by strong winds and waves are expected, exceeding highest astronomical tides. What: Risk of coastal flooding due to storm surge coinciding with high tides. When: This weekend, with the highest risk of coastal flooding on Sunday. Additional information: The South Coast is entering a period of high astronomical tides as Earth reaches perihelion (Earth's closest point to the Sun). Also, a low pressure system will cross the region this weekend. This falling atmospheric pressure will help further elevate coastal water levels beyond predicted tides, thus increasing the risk of coastal flooding.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Spent the first day of 2026 with some very big trees. Upside to coastal BC: gigantic trees! Downside: 100% cloudy! Luckily my astrophotography wide-angle lens that I haven't been able to use yet on this trip because of clouds works very well for big trees, too!

#ProfSamLectureTour

A wide angle view that manages to fit an entire MASSIVE 800-year-old Douglas Fir into one picture. We're looking up at extremely huge, tall trees, with a huge log laying across the roots of the trees. The sky above is white with clouds. Looking upwards at a bunch of super tall, straight Douglas firs, with a bare, moss-covered huge sprawly maple tree in the foreground. The sky above is white with clouds. Looking straight up at a bunch of huge, tall, straight Douglas firs all converging at the zenith straight above us. The sky beyond is white with clouds.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Funny observation from driving across nearly half of Canada in the last few days: in Regina it was -25C, in Calgary/Banff it was -10C, and around Vancouver and Victoria it's been 0 to 5C. And everyone wears the same clothes (big coat, hat, scarf, gloves) in each of these places, because it's the typical cold winter temperatures. Acclimatization is impressive!

#ProfSamLectureTour

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Some more lovely walks near Comox today.

Our farm-sitter called and asked about what to do with a power outage and -15C temperatures, and we talked him through the various steps to keep the well, the animal waterer, and the house from freezing. It was a wild disconnect to be super stressed out about very cold temps and damage back home, while standing on a beach on the very calm Straight of Georgia full of awesome birds.

The power came back after 2 hours! No damage.

#ProfSamLectureTour

Looking down a long beach, with tiny waves crashing on one side, and a line of vertical driftwood built into a cool wall just above the high tide line. There's a hill in the distance with trees and houses, and the sky is cloudy. Looking out from a rocky beach, with a line of small black oystercatchers busily eating stuff along the shorline. The ocean is very, very calm, and you can just see the Sunshine Coast across the Straight of Georgia in the distance. The sky is cloudy. Looking upstream in a wide river, flowing fast over many rocks and logs. On each side of the river are pine-covered hills. The sky is cloudy.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Further up-island today, playing on driftwood, seeing friends I haven't seen for years.

#ProfSamLectureTour

Looking across a beach totally covered with driftwood mostly of very large logs, with tall pines in the background. The sky is cloudy. Looking up a river, with tall trees on either side. A couple of people are fishing in the river in the distance. The sky is cloudy. A view of a small, tidy farm in BC winter, so most of the beds are sleeping. There are a couple of small farm buildings, a large dome, and a lovely undulating cobb wall. There are some tall trees here and there, and everything is green. The sky is misty and its hard to see the most distant trees.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

It's so pretty and so nice to have so much water!

But I am really starting to miss the sky... Better odds of seeing it because we're closer to the ocean the next couple of nights, but it's cloudy always and forever...

#ProfSamLectureTour

Looking down a hillside covered with tall, mossy pines and low ferns, toward the Cowichan River, which is flowing fast Looking up a fairly big tributary to the Cowichan river, which has lots of mossy trees bowing over it. The sun is lighting up a few small patches of moss on some of the trees and it's quite pretty looking. The sky above is a little cloudy A view of a swampy area full of live and dead ferns, and tall mossy trees all around the edges. All the trees have moss on them, and some of them are lit up by the sun peeking through the clouds.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Ohhhh Vancouver Island I have missed you so much!!

#ProfSamLectureTour

Looking down from a very tall bridge onto a pretty large stream, with tall, mossy pines on each side. The sky above is cloudy. Looking down onto a little waterfall, with lots of tall trees on either side. Everything is covered with bright green moss.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Say what you will about the suburban hellscape of Surrey, BC, they have done a fantastic job of protecting their waterways!

Also, frost flowers are super cool (I forgot about those! Too cold and dry in Saskatchewan)

#ProfSamLectureTour

A view looking down a beautiful stream through a park inside a park in Surrey, BC. Water is flowing across rocks between bare trees that are very tall, and the sun is shining nicely on the stream. Blackberry thicket on the side of a stream, with lots of tall bare trees above, and a partly cloudy sky above. The blackberry leaves are all rimmed with white frost. A frost flower erupting from a dead branch on dead leaves on the ground. The frost flower is many incredibly thin, parallel strings of ice. It looks like fiberglass fluff, or cotton candy, but melts at the slightest touch. Weird tiny ice crystal pillars that froze out of the ground, and I smooshed with my foot. They look like a pile of tiny beautiful ice columns next to my boot on the ground.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

We made it to Surrey yesterday, and had a lovely Christmas meal with family of our friends (who are basically adopted family at this point)

The drive was a bit sketchy along the Coquihalla with multiple smashed semi-trucks along the shoulders as warnings to drive slow. But after 2 back-to-back blizzards in Saskatchewan right before we left, it was pretty manageable.

First impression of the lower mainland after not being here for 6 years: holy cow it's green here!!

#ProfSamLectureTour

Looking along a muddy, slushy highway road with lots of snow on the sides toward a somewhat smashed semi-truck on the shoulder up ahead. There are tall pines on both sides of the road with snow, and tall mountains. The sky above is blue with some clouds A view of temperate rainforest wild parkland, with lots of moss on everything. It's super wet, and the sky is grey above.
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social
christmas ramble

My family always celebrated Christmas, even though we weren't very religious. Christmas eve at one grandparents' house, Christmas morning at home with my parents and siblings, and Christmas day at the other grandparents' house. But I have lived very far away from my whole family for many years now, and Christmas traditions seem weirder and weirder to me (though many times I or my partner have been able to bring my kids to spend Christmas with some part of my family).

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

And so I find myself on this Christmas morning waking up in a hotel room, with my partner and kids, getting ready to drive across more mountains to visit a family we lived with while I was finishing up my PhD, my oldest kid was a baby, and we got priced out of Vancouver. Should be a good Christmas, if a bit weird.

So, merry Christmas to all of you who want to celebrate it in some way: I hope you find a small way to celebrate, no matter how weird your current situation is.