I am admittedly a "pandemic astronomer", being newer to the hobby, beginning with visual astronomy in late 2021 and beginning astrophotography in early 2022.
My wife Katherine and I are originally from Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, but we now live and work in North Dakota. We have lived and worked in California, Colorado, Ohio, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. We are blessed with clear and clean skies here in North Dakota, but remaining portable is my main limitation as we are apartment dwellers.
I am a soil scientist, having studied the environmental and agricultural sciences, employed by the federal government with the USDA-NRCS and my wife is a soon-to-be mental health counselor, as she is currently a student.
I am a veteran of the US Army (2006–2013). I was assigned to the US Fourth Infantry Division and I served in the Afghanistan (2011) and Iraq (2008–2009) Campaigns. As the years have gone by, I have tried to find my "forever hobby" and I am grateful to have found it with this one, as it is not only rewarding but therapeutic. Perhaps the me of yesterday would have been in another mindset, but nowadays, I often remind myself how fortunate I was to be in and around the region where, long ago, astronomical developments were being made and I am reminded this by so many of the Arabic and Persian star names. Not to sound banal, but more people need to spend time stargazing.
Job
Soil Scientist
Hobbies
Astronomy, Cats, Coffee, Meteoritics (Minor Collection), Militaria, Music, Soil Science, and Viticulture
