Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: moon


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The moon, the stars, and a freighter

I’m still in northern Michigan, cat sitting a couple of cuties who happen to get hungry and whine loudly very early each morning. Last night that turned into a good thing for me.

Though it wasn’t a full moon yesterday, it was pretty darn close. I noticed it come up earlier in the evening, but hadn’t planned to photograph it setting, because that was supposed to be around 5:00 a.m. and I didn’t want to be awake at 5:00 a.m.

At first the sky was pretty much black and white.

But kitties didn’t consult with me and started complaining about breakfast being late around 4. I gave in and fed them and was going back to bed when I saw the moonlight on the water of Lake Michigan.

I lay there, in bed for a long time, watching that light, arguing with myself. Did I want to put the camera on the tripod and lug it down the 44 stairs into the sand and see what I could do?

Almost what I had in mind.

No I did not.

But when would I ever be in this position again? An almost full moon. A warm night. The sound of the lake moving beneath the moon. So I got my sorry self up and out and down the stairs and I’m so glad I did.

As the moon lowered, the light from it lessened. Time to adjust the settings.

I had this vision in my head of a perfectly focused, perfectly lit moon, sitting above a beautiful light path across the water. That’s what I was going for.

The moon began to turn red is it got closer to the water.

Of course that’s not what happened.

There was just one thin layer of cloud for the moon to move through.

As I sat in the sand, focusing on the moon I realized I couldn’t see the light on the water. And if I focused on the water then the light of the moon was totally blown out.

Of course it was. The setting necessary to see the details of the moon are entirely different than the settings needed to see the light dancing across the small waves on the lake. So you’re going to see this in pieces, some moon, some water.

Even more red.

And on top of it all, when I started there was a small light way off to the south. A freighter was chugging north up the lake. At one point it passed through the light path from the moon.

That light over on the right is a freighter moving right along.

The gentle sound of the waves in conjunction with the chug of the freighter and the lowering, redding moon under the bright starts was just magical.

The best I could get.

I’m sharing it with you so that you can imagine the magic too.


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Penny says

Hi everybody! It’s me, your best girl Penny!

Mom gave me permission to write on her blog this time. She says she wasn’t even going to bring this up. And she doesn’t want to talk about it. So now it’s up to me.

You see mom and I have been working really, really hard on obedience. At first I tried my darndest to get her to be more obedient, but that wasn’t working, so I decided maybe I could get more treats if I tried to be more obedient myself.

A girl can grow intellectually even when she’s already full grown physically.

So anyway, mom and I have been practicing in my basement training room and out at a friend’s training barn. I like training a lot. When mom starts chopping up cheese I get all excited and run to the top of the basement stairs, ready to run down to my cheese training room as soon as mom turns the lights on down there.

Then mom and I went to a ‘fun’ run on Sunday, to see if what I am learning would translate to an obedience trial setting. Mom was pretty sure we’d do OK, maybe not perfect, but definitely OK.

Mom was wrong.

I didn’t like the noisy place with all the other dogs and when it was my turn I wanted to run somewhere safe, and I forgot how to heel and I certainly didn’t remember I was supposed to sit when mom stopped. Mom, for her part couldn’t read the signs right and was flustered with my inattention and tripped over her own feet.

And when it came to my recall, when I get to run to mom (I love running to mom) I decided it was safer if I just made myself as small as possible and sat very still. Very very still. On my behind. Not moving.

Even when mom moved closer and offered me cheese.

Mom says she was very discouraged and also worried about me because I was so scared and she felt bad for putting me into a scary situation.

But then!

The next day she took me to the groomer! What was she thinking. After that I got really mad at her and barked at her all the way home.

And then!

We went to my Rally class in my regular building last night and in between running rally courses mom took me to a back room and we heeled enthusiastically and I sat when she stopped and I did three different recalls almost perfectly.

So mom thinks I’m OK and not scared anymore. Which is good because the real obedience trial is this coming Saturday.

Mom says it’s very possible we will still NQ (Not qualify) but she says that’s OK as long as I’m not scared and get used to working in different places. She says this is not a sprint. She says it’s a marathon. I don’t even know what that means.

I’d like to remind mom that I’m still a puppy. (I’m going to milk that concept as long as possible!) And that I love her and daddy and I want to be a good girl. Sometimes I just need more time.

SO… please think about mom and me on Saturday afternoon!

PS: Pictures are stuff mom took of not me in my yard. Silly mom. I’m still the prettiest thing around.


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Like a big pizza pie

Everybody has seen a moon image somewhere on social media today. Or maybe you saw the moon yourself last night, so many of us stood out under the sky as the full moon rose.

I thought about going to a darker location with a clear view of the horizon, but I couldn’t make myself go scout for a place like that before dark fell. So last night, about 9:30, I stood in my front yard and watched the moon rise above the neighbor’s trees.

It was sweet.

I didn’t even mind if I got the shot. It was just nice to be out under the stars watching the moon and thinking about all the people all over the country who were out there doing the same thing.

Night sky photography is a kind of community, even if you never meet any of the others you feel good knowing they’re out there looking at the same sky, no matter where they, and you, are.


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Pretty special day

Saturday began with this, early in the morning while walking Penny in the backyard.

Then we were gifted an evening listening to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The concert was pretty spectacular, as is Orchestra Hall.

And when we got home, around 11:30 that night, the moon was full and glowing orange from the smoke of distant forest fires.

I had a hard time focusing the camera, both on the bluebird and on the moon.

But it was still a pretty special day.


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The gift of moonlight

I went impromptu adventuring last weekend, chasing weather with my camera.

You’d expect to see some evidence of that here.

And you will.

But early this morning I was standing in my own yard, because I failed to plan a better location.

Shivering, feet and fingers cold for the first time this season, the moon seemed stubbornly slow to work through the phases of it’s eclipse.

But then the moon smiled at me, blushing pink, and I realized what a wonderful thing it is,

to be able to stand in my backyard on a cold morning, and watch the moon turn red.

And, suddenly, I wasn’t impatient any more.


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Goodnight moon

Katie and I experienced a magical moon one morning not so long ago. It wasn’t quite full, not anymore, but like a flower that’s just past it’s prime it was still beautiful.

The sun, emerging from sleep on the opposite horizon, made the clouds surrounding the waning moon glow in pinks and purples.

And then the clouds began to overtake the moon.

I watched as it silently slipped behind the curtain.

And just like that the day began and the moon slid into an early slumber.

Goodnight moon.


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Moon over Michigan

This morning I was out early, thanks to Katie the Sheltie-girl, taking pictures of the moon.

Amazing

Amazing

Were you out in your yard looking up at the big full moon this morning too? I wondered, as I stood, feet in the damp grass and a bit of chill in the air, how many other people were out just as the sun was beginning to tip the tops of trees with golden light, all staring up at the beautiful moon shining down on us.

I was busy fiddling with the camera when I heard a flock of geese. I lifted my head just as they flew overhead and thought to myself….”Well..THAT would have been a great shot.”

Noisy moon watchers

Noisy moon watchers

Turns out I got the last couple of them, though I didn’t know it until I looked at the photos long after the sun came up. What you can’t see is that the underside of each of them was rosy with morning sun even though the moon was still hanging low in the sky.

But if you use your imagination you can see it in your heart.

Good morning moon.

Good morning moon.