Marc Parenteau

(left) California, November 2018 (right) Mongolia, January 2017. https://www.instagram.com/p/BqQAXwqhCaY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f3ecplel07uq

Walking the dog this morning, AQI at around 350. Same mask I used living in Mongolia. Still have to pinch the hell out of the nose piece in order to keep my glasses from fogging up. #firstworldapocolypseproblems https://www.instagram.com/p/BqP6DQ0BF3F/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=encw79fcd8ge

Repost of a photo taken by Irvin Camacho https://www.instagram.com/p/BqK-y4wBywF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kjfuugd27pek

Sign of the times. https://www.instagram.com/p/BqDHkHDBURm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ntbukv9jplz6

Satellite image of the #CampFire which destroyed the town of Paradise, CA yesterday. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp99hPxBYDe/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7sd488nphok4

Detail of paper from a wasp nest. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp97zGghxnL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2p1pzjus9uik

A night in California: scent of smoke from the Camp fire in the air, flag at half-mast on State Capitol in honor of the victims of yesterday's mass shooting, crowd of about 500 folks showing up to make a modest gesture that they remember that the rule of law ought to matter. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp8ReENBkkr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tex4ul02xwqp

Get out there and exercise your right to pick which candidates we all must apply massive, sustained, public pressure upon after election day in order to expect even halfway decent outcomes! Do it! Same day registration for the procrastinators is available in the states listed below: CA CO CT DC HI ID ME (extra points to Maine for having the chops to pass proportional voting!) MD MN MT NH NC UT VT WA WI WY https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp2BYSgh-fN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lawbstkuzuec

Up early this morning, noticed the moon is waning and that you can see a lot of detail in the dark part of the disk. Apparently, in this instance, it isn't because we humans are creating so much light in our cities that the dark part is more visible than it used to be. This particular arrangement is an example of something called earthshine. We are lined up in such a way right now that, just as the light reflected off a full moon illuminates what would otherwise be the dark/night side of the Earth, the sun's reflected light from our "full Earth" is illuminating the night on the moon. Hard to do it justice with binocs+phone camera, but you get the idea. Pretty cool👍 https://www.instagram.com/p/BpzVvpVB8YT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=p2n307x2odgt

Details from this morning's sidewalk harvest of Burr oak acorns. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpmrqyJhg3_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cub10wlqhryz

Spotted https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpmk8Een93G/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tyu918gto1u3

Early voting is open in CA and quite a few other states. Go get your sticker. https://www.instagram.com/p/BplCj32AAKZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1o5vgzwgth8e4

On Saturday morning, L and I drove south through the central valley on our way to a large reunion, a first --so far as I know-- for that side of her family. An hour or so into the drive, a dear friend from our years in Pittsburgh texted to say that there was an active shooter inside a synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Our hearts sank. We pulled over and texted a friend whose parents --as warm and welcoming and lovely a couple as I've ever met-- have lived in Squirrel Hill for decades. They raised their two fierce and strong daughters in a house not more than a couple blocks from that synagogue. I don't know what to say, sitting silently in the car, trying to absorb the news, not knowing if she, or her sister, or her parents would or wouldn't have been in the service that morning, waiting to hear if they were safe (and thankfully getting a reply back that yes, they were all ok.) The disgust, the fear, the strange vertigo, and the queezy half-relief at finding out that devastation hadn't found them specifically, is emotionally speaking, a cycle far too many of us are becoming familiar with. Being at the family reunion later that day, a stressful but rewarding affair of countless introductions, small talks, and keeping-straights of characters in family lore, was made a lot easier for me by knowing that those I know and love were ok. It's a comfort taken from the loved ones of the victims in Saturday's massacre. I mourn for the families of those killed. I mourn for the heart of our communities. I mourn for the conscience of our country. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bph8JJmB0Lk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tia7vt2mb8jv

Redbud, front/back. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpSvZQ2nxXn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15gb7nj89i11z

Waiting to warm up in the sun. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpM9yUBnTRQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=elkr68d21md2

A signal that the Earth has tilted. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLdwGmHU2h/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2vu6qhdoebo1

Two elements. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLdXMjHmid/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14ee1q1mgev7y