Sunrise 6:01 am: Action, color on Big Dish

The Dawn Joggers got to the top of the hill where Big Dish sits to discover the gate open and lots of activity. As it's long been a not-so-secret desire of the male DJ to work on some Big Dish project, he trotted over to see what was going on. A group of students explained they were using the Dish as a platform to test a prototype Mars Rover landing system. They'd rigged a pulley up to the nose of the antenna and were preparing to hoist their prototype up. Then they would drop it and small pyrotechnics would open the parachute and then an air bag, which would land the Rover. The DJs moved on before the experiment was completed so cannot report on its success.

This will be the last Saturday for three weeks the DJs will be jogging the Dish. (First Blush will be going on the road, with reflections and sightings from France and England.) They know that when they return, the hills will be brown and the mustard will be gone. One particularly large mustard stand is on the Juniper Serra side of the Dish land. Last year this same area was covered with blue tarps in an effort to sterilize the ground and reduce non-native plants . The result this year is an abundance of very tall mustard - well over five feet high.