by admin | Aug 18, 2021 | Community, Land Conservation and Stewardship, Native Landscapes, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK — The high, lonesome dunes that run up against the Rocky Mountains at 7,500 feet above sea level in southern Colorado are a long, long drive from the closest streetlight, and after dusk, the almost untainted darkness and thin, dry air...
by admin | Aug 17, 2021 | Community, Events, HCA in the News, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty
Deep within each of us is a memory of breathtaking awe and wonder. Within each of us is a recollection of that first time we found ourselves speechless, under a canopy of deep night and starlight. It might have been at a star party, under a planetarium dome, or while...
by admin | Aug 4, 2021 | Community, Land Conservation and Stewardship, News, Night Skies, Wildlife
One moonless night a little more than a decade ago, Marie Dacke and Eric Warrant, animal vision experts from Lund University in Sweden, made a surprise discovery in South Africa. The researchers had been watching nocturnal dung beetles, miniature Sisyphuses of the...
by admin | Aug 2, 2021 | Community, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty
In the Northern Hemisphere, we rank the August Perseids as our all-time favorite meteor shower. The Perseids take place during the lazy, hazy days of northern summer, when many families are on vacation. And what could be more luxurious than taking a siesta from the...
by admin | Jul 12, 2021 | Aggregate Production Operations, Community, Director's Notes, HCA in the News, Land Conservation and Stewardship, News, Night Skies, Water Resources
Dear Hill Country Neighbors, It finally feels like we’re reaching the light at the end of a long tunnel. Summer in the Hill Country, particularly when fueled by abundant spring rains, is a season for slowing down—appreciating the shade of an ancient oak tree, the cold...
by admin | Jul 12, 2021 | Land Conservation and Stewardship, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty, Wildlife
Like an insect attracted to a bug zapper, artificial light is harming migratory birds by throwing them off course and causing deadly collisions. Now, a new study highlights just how beneficial switching off the lights can be. The work, published in the Proceedings of...
