This is a Google Earth view of my 1.5-acre property.  The arrow points to my observatory, officially listed as the "Hereford Arizona Observatory" - or HAO (MPC code G95).

Looking SW with the Huachuca Mountains in the background (rising to 9500 feet). THe HAO is at 4660 feet altitude. The area used to belong to the Cochise indians, and in their language "Huachuca" means "thunder mountain." During the monsoon season (July and August) it still thunders.

I built the HAO from a garden shed kit. After assembling as far as roof level I improvised. The roof is canvas stretched over a rib structure of PVC pipes, and can be slid off and on with one hand.

This was my all-time favorite telescope - before I dropped it and caused a looseness of the focus and collimation rods. It's a Meade RCX-400 14-inch aperture telescope.

Before the Meade RCX-400 I had a Celestron CGE-1400. Notice the unmowed lawns beyond the observatory.

I now mow my lawns religiously during the monsoon season. Every day I mow about 1/5th of the 1 acre of grass; on the 6th day I prune the mesquite trees, and on the 7th day I rest!
My two Australian Shepherds are named Jimmy (foreground) and Kiki. Their personalities rival any human's that I've known.

This view is looking back where I was when I took the previous picture. We're looking south along my eastern border. The Huachucas are in the background.

I took this standing from the same place, but looking west. The yellow pipe marker is where 7-inch water pipes converge carrying water from Carr and Miller Canyons and onward to Tombstone, 20 miles to my northeast. The pipes were built in ~1887 and still provide some of Tombstone's water. My house couldn't be built over the pipe for access purposes so I have an especially long driveway that goes over the water pipe. Maybe you can see the rose bushes in bloom near the driveway entrance (for the second time this year).

Oops! Change of season! It snows once or twice a year, but only in the winter, unfortunately.

No mowing needed on this day!

This site opened:  August 20, 2007.  Last Update:  March 04, 2008