March 20, 2021

There were two things special about this day. One, I was able to observe the northern lights in the middle of the night. And two, I found the first pasque flowers of the spring on the farm.

First the northern lights. Spaceweather.com had put out a notice that the northern lights could be visible on Saturday evening. However, I checked the site on Friday evening, and the potential for northern lights had arrived early, for Friday evening. Thus, I packed my gear and went to the farm. I monitored from about 9 to 10 p.m. and decided to go back home. The numbers were mostly good; however, the interplanetary magnetic field was pointing north. I set my alarm for 12:45 a.m. After the alarm went off, I checked spaceweather.com. The interplanetary magnetic field was pointing south, and thus, I drove  to the farm, arriving at 1:20 a.m. The northern lights were visible. About 1:40, I could see a faint substorm and took a number of photos - as depicted in the above scene. The lights were not bright; I stayed out and photographed until about 2:40 and then drove home. I learned that after I drove home, the interplanetary magnetic field had shifted north and so the chances of seeing and photographing a good display were not as good.

That afternoon, I was hiking in a pasture near the Missouri River. I came over a hill, and to my surprise - on March 20 - I found blooming pasque flowers. What a surprise. This was in an area facing south, and where there were some sandstone formations (and poor soil conditions). The heat from the sun warmed this area up, resulting in the blooming pasque flowers. Of note - typically most pasque flowers are found on north facing slopes which haven't warmed up enough to bloom. I took a number of photographs, and counted about 15-20 blooming pasque flowers. Spring has arrived!