Half Moon

Half Moon

August 18, 2010

We haven't had the boat out much this year.  There have been a lot of storms in the area, all around us but few actually hitting us.  This had made it rather iffy for taking the boat out.  Last week we took advantage of a clear evening to do a bit of boating.  After we got back from an wonderful ride I sat on the dock enjoying the darkness as it fell upon the water.  The moon was rather bright making a lovely twinkling path across the water.  It was a perfect ending to a gorgeous day!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Moonlight

Moonlight
November 30, 2009

My sleep has been off lately so I have had the great pleasure to enjoy some night scenes I would otherwise miss by sleeping. This just reinforces my theory that sleep is highly over rated. Actually sleep evolved as a survival mechanism for protection against nocturnal predators. Sleep meant less chance of detection by predators the species could not see in the dark of the night and it renewed the body to avoid daytime predators. At one time it was common for humans to go to sleep just after dusk awakening at dawn ready to start another day. Fire changed the way people ate and allowed them to enjoy the later evening hours when they were not threatened by enemy attack. Fire also brought heat to indoor shelters. Indoor lighting in the form of controlled fire (candles, lamps) changed things further but nothing has had as much influence on our sleep patterns as electricity.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Wordless Wednesday - Night Sky

Night Sky
August 31, 2009

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Lunar Eclipse

The alarm was set for 4:30 am this morning. When it went off I scurried to the dock, camera in hand in eager anticipation. After two return trips to the house to get warmer clothes and something warm to drink I was ready to settle in to see the lunar eclipse. It was very cool and damp sitting on the dock. Absent minded, I wondered where all my neighbours were. They should be out on their docks taking in this marvel of nature but no, they were snuggled in their nice warm beds! A large what I think was a blue huron landed two docks over almost as if he was watching the eclipse to. His calls kept me company as did the occasional jump from a fish. Other than that the water was very still almost glass-like except when a freighter went by but it quickly returned to the glass state.

I sat quietly snapping pictures of the lunar eclipse and reflecting. The eclipse itself happened quite slowly until the moon was gone yet there was a hint of the moon as it took on a light red-orange glow that my camera couldn't capture. Reflection brought a few profound thoughts one of them about how we as humans tend to deal with relationships. If we don't nurture and encourage them, then tend to become shadowed until they do longer exist except in the imprints of our minds always leaving a mark on our soul.

As the eclipse sunk behind the clouds much to my dismay and the sky lightened with the rising sun my attention turned to my avian friend who had kept me company. I hoped for enough light to be able to get a picture but he had other plans. He gave one last call then spread his might wings circling once almost directly over me the flew north. I so wanted a picture! Instead I sat quietly listening to the awakening world around me. What an absolutely beautiful time of the day, greeting a new day full of anticipation of what is to become.

Memories

Full Moon
April 30, 2007

I'm still working on moon shots. Quite often I'm up and about throughout the night. The moon was shining brightly not last night but the night before. I had to snicker at that phrase as I can recall an old rhyme me mome used to say:

Not last night but the night before
Two tom cats came knocking at the door
I went downstairs to let them in
And they knocked me down with a rolling pin
The rolling pin was made of glass
So I turned them over and smacked their a$$!

My mom wasn't a curser so to hear her use this word would put us all into a fit of giggles because she would turn a bright red in the face when she said that word. Oh the stories she could tell! Enough of that tangent. I've been trying to capture shots of the moon with my digital camera. This one came out not too bad but I think a tripod would have really helped so I'm going to pick one up and try playing with the settings the next time to see if I can get better moon shots.

April's Moon

Moon
April 9, 2007

The skies have been so cloudy lately so I just had to take the opportunity to take a photo of the moon again. The first picture came out so the background was almost black but the the moon was fuzzy. The second was similar but a bit better. Finally I got this shot and because I'm playing with new brushes for Photoshop by Obsidian Dawn I did a little embellishing. I need to play with these brushes a bit more.