Issue 60
Contact us at newsletter@BlancoCountyNightSky.org
REMINDER OF MONTHLY MEETING LOCATION CHANGE
The next BCFNS Board meeting will be held on March 19, 2025, at 9:00 am at our new meeting location, the Blanco County Community Resources Center (CRC) in Johnson City. The address is 206 South US Highway 281, Johnson City, TX 78636. Everyone is invited to attend these monthly board meetings which are set for 9:00 am the third Wednesday of each month at this new location.
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JUST FOR FUN
Drum Roll Please . . .
The winner of the 2025 Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky Facebook Group Poetry contest is Anand Sahaja!!! Congratulations!!!!!!
as above.
by anand sahaja
as i open my heart to the aqueous firmament
an irridescent half bubble revealing luminous bodies just beyond
i feel your etheric presence
flowing through all
telling tales across time
sparkling down endless love dust
silently, patiently waiting for me to look up and wink back.
Our Facebook Group members shared their best effort at writing a poem about the night sky. No AI was allowed only human intelligence! This year’s theme was “What is a Star?”
Board Member Bob Heinonen has taken on the roll of Project Manager for the Blanco County SQM Cluster Project. He made an abbreviated presentation on the Blanco County continuous read Sky Quality Meter (SQM) Cluster Project that BCFNS is in the process of establishing. At the invitation of our sister organization, the Blanco County Conservation Initiative (BCCI), Bob explained the plan and solicited BCCI members to have an SQM on their property.
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Our organization and members support other night sky groups in our common effort to “Save the Stars”. Here are a few things that are going on and ways you can assist them as well. Perhaps you can purchase a calendar or attend the conference.
Bob reports that "Seven attendees said they want SQM's on their property and one of them wrote a $500 check to have one immediately."
We now have 3 SQMs installed plus 8 more approved and being scheduled for installation. We are looking for a site close to US290 near Hye and a site close to US290 near Henly. We also need funding for those two sites.
BCFNS SUPPORTS OTHER NIGHT SKY GROUPS
3rd Place Winner - Gray Fox up a Tree
Photographer: Mike Zarella
We are excited to share the news that Mike Zarella, BCFNS Lifetime Member, won 3rd place in the 2024 Hill Country Alliance (HCA) Photo Contest “Home in the Hill Country”. Mike’s photo of a “gray fox up a tree” was taken in Blanco County and is the featured photo for August in the HCA 2025 calendar. In addition, another photo Mike took of a fox is shown at the bottom right in the month of February.
The HCA Calendar is still available for sale at Hill Country Alliance 2025 Calendar
Check the Hill Country Alliance website often to find information about how to enter your photos in their 2025 Photo Contest. Be sure to read the rules.
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Cindy Luongo Cassidy, DarkSky Texas Board President, was notified via email on February 26th by Program Director, Sara Walters that her proposal had been accepted.
DARKSKY TEXAS TO PRESENT AT
KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL CONFERENCE
“I am pleased to let you know that your conference session proposal "Half Your Town is Out After Sundown" has been chosen for the upcoming Keep Texas Beautiful Conference in Austin on May 6th! Even though we're still finalizing the session schedule, registration is now open!”
Last year, BCFNS Vice President, Vicki Guidry, presented in the Keep Texas Beautiful virtual conference. This is great news for the night sky as the message that light pollution is disrupting the beauty of Texas will be conveyed to even more people. People who may never have considered that the night sky is in fact a beautiful part of our Texas heritage.
You can find more details and register for the conference by clicking on the link below. Let’s show Cindy and the Night Sky our support by attending. Congratulations Cindy!
2025 Keep Texas Beautiful Conference
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The following was recently printed in the Blanco County News and the Johnson City Record Courier.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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UPCOMING EVENTS
MARCH 7th
The Wizard of the Night Sky is set to make a return to Blanco State Park at 7:00 pm to “discuss a very important topic. Come find out!” Wizard of the Night Sky at the Park
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A membership sign in your yard is a great way to let others know that you care about the night sky and perhaps make them curious about the organization. We have been successful with our Membership Sign Promotion but still need your help. The more signs we can get out in the public, the more people we can reach with our message about “saving the stars”.
March 20th
The Wizard of the Night Sky teaches about light pollution to homeschoolers at the Johnson City Library at 11:00 am
MARCH 22nd
Don’t forget to stop by our booth to say “hello”, look through the sun scope and learn more about what we are doing to “keep Blanco in the dark”! The 2nd Annual Blanco Founders Day event will be in the square around the Old Blanco Courthouse on March 22, 2025, from 2-6 pm.
MID-APRIL
Art from Blanco County middle and high school students will be due for judging. The theme is “On the Edge of Darkness”. Winners will be announced, and pictures of the art will be posted on social media later in April.
APRIL 29th
BCFNS Annual Membership Gathering and Star Party the evening of April 29th at Los Senderos Ranch. We are still working out the details, but we hope you will plan to attend.
MAY 5th-7th
Keep Texas Beautiful Conference in Austin. See article above for a link to registration.
CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER
If you have been thinking of joining BCFNS or renewing your membership, you can still take advantage of our special offering of a free one-year membership ($20) with the purchase of a sign ($35 tax included). A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs
For more information on all our membership options click here: Membership Options
The next Board meeting will be March 19th at 9:00AM, at our new meeting location, the Blanco County Community Resource Center (CRC) in Johnson City. The address is 206 South US Highway 281. You are welcome to join us.
We hope you enjoy our newsletter and we are always looking for ways to make it better and more enjoyable. To that end, we invite your suggestions, comments and ideas for articles. In fact, if you would like to write an article to be published in our newsletter, we will certainly consider including it. Please send them to: newsletter@blancocountynightsky.org
Remember we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details regarding deductibility for your donation.