Sunday Sky

 

Monday Evening Sky

Here's a little peek at what the view was like out the window on this February evening, right before the dark sky showed up for the night. 

I do love a moody winter sky. 

Sidenote: My fern is hanging in there! 

Happy Monday!

Beauty of Nature

The beauty of nature...

Peace During the Storm

I love this photo. It looks like it's just a strange pastel-colored square, but to me it brings peace. It's a photo of the evening sky as I walked home one day. I had had a particularly rough day at work that day and this beautiful sky greeted me as I made my way home. I remember that peace...and through these trying times, I remember the peace again.

Thursday Sunset

I took the picture above on Thursday evening.

The sunset was so beautiful.

It made me feel like I was gazing at something special.

I was.

The words 'divine' and 'sublime' kept coming to my mind.

What a beautiful planet and what a spectacular view of the sun we have!

Be well 🙂

Looking Up

A couple of days ago, as I was walking home from work, I happened to look up and see this beautiful red hot air balloon in the sky. It was an amazing sight to see. There's something of the whimsical involved in imagining floating across the sky like that. I loved that the color was so vibrant and easily identifiable against that clear blue sky. It was a wonderful treat for my eyes that took me away from the routine of a normal weekday. I really needed it that day too.

Thinking back about it now, it's a reminder to try to not to let the day-to-day heaviness weigh me down so much, to the point where I don't remember to look up from time to time. There are sometimes undiscovered treasures there :-)

Until next time...

Healthier Saturdays and the Moon

Happy Saturday!

I'm feeling better than I did two Saturdays ago or even one Saturday ago. I pray that the flu is gone and that I'm never that sick again. As I mentioned previously, I actually took the flu shot, but I still got the flu. Oh well, nothing is 100% effective. I'll still get the flu shot next time around because you just never know. Anyway, I'm extremely grateful to be feeling better and I'm praying for a full recovery and for my full energy to return soon. 🙂

As I mentioned the other day, as I feel better and better, I'd like to get back here more regularly to share what I'm up to, more like I used to in the earlier days of this blog. I'm also still loving taking photos, so I'd like to share them here again, even though I share them on Instagram often. I know that not everyone is on Instagram, so I'm going to get back to sharing them here on the blog also. I hope you'll enjoy taking a look.

To kick things off with sharing photos, I thought that I'd share a series of images that I shared on Instagram a few weeks back. I was walking home when I took these. The evening sky just took my breath away with its beauty. Nature is amazing! They're a little bit fuzzy, but I took them as I was walking briskly in the very cold evening air 😉

I loved getting a glimpse of the crescent moon along with all of that fantastic color! I love the moon!

I hope that you're having a great Saturday wherever you are.

Happy weekend! 

Friday Rainbow

Happy Friday!

I saw this rainbow today. It made me smile and I wanted to share it.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend wherever you are!

Enjoying This Moment

Looking out the window and enjoying this beautiful evening light....

Recharging to face a new day tomorrow...💗

The Shared Supermoon

I know that it's a fresh new month, but before I go forward, I'd like to take a moment to celebrate the absolute beauty of the supermoon last night. It was glorious!

Some places in the world got the opportunity to see a blood red moon, but we didn't get that here. The pictures that I've seem online have been extraordinary!

Even though we didn't get to see the blood red moon here, the big, round pearlescent beauty that we saw was a joy to see! I adore a full moon anyway...I've always been drawn to it since I was a little girl. Therefore, a supermoon that's bigger and closer really makes me happy. And living in England, where clear skies can be a bit hard to come by sometimes, makes a clear view of the moon extra precious. 

Below are a couple of pictures that I took of the supermoon as it rose above the horizon here in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside.

And the two below were taken by my sister Grace, back home in Georgia. She sent these to me while I slept on this side of the world. Her pictures were there to greet me when I checked my phone this morning. Absolutely beautiful! Her pictures warmed my heart because I know the exact spot where she was standing when she took them. That's the view down the hill, to the east, that I saw every day growing up in our family home. I've had the absolute pleasure to live in two beautiful places on this planet. Our planet is beautiful all over. I love that my sister (and all my loved ones back home) and I saw the same beautiful moon on opposite sides of the Atlantic...separated for now by the ocean, but always side by side in our hearts ❤

The Red Sun on Monday

This is the beautiful red sun from yesterday morning here in Wiltshire, UK ☀ It doesn't look as red on my video as it actually was, but it gives an idea of what it was like.

Apparently it happened because of the coming together of three conditions at the same time: the effects of Hurricane Ophelia, dust being carried over from the Sahara desert and smoke from the fires in Spain. It was incredible to see it. It looked like an eclipse was happening because it got quite dark and looked like a sepia photograph. What an incredible thing that these elements came together at just the right time and created something so unique.

Sunday Photos

Happy Sunday!

I hope that things are well where you are. I'm doing great, especially since I'm able to get here again. I love blogging! :) As I mentioned in my last post, things have become a bit more hectic, but hopefully I'm getting a handle on things once again, so I'll be able to come here and share more of my photos and thoughts. I appreciate everyone who continues to visit me here even when I can't get here as often as I'd like. Thank you so much for sticking with me :)

As usual, I've been snapping a few photos here and there with my phone. These days mostly everyone does this too though, right? Lol. Anyway, I try to capture a bit of what I see daily...some things turn out great and sometimes the idea or intention doesn't come through in the end product. Lol. Still, I love photography, so I hope you'll keep visiting me to see what I see!

Here are a couple of photos that I took recently when we were out for a walk on a beautiful day here in Wiltshire. We were up on the edge of a slope, looking out across the fields and into the distance. It was an absolutely BREATHTAKING view! I couldn't capture it well enough to do it justice, but at least I hope that you can see some of what I saw :)

I'll be back with more photos in a few days.

Have a great week!

Natural Scenes

I thought that I'd share a few photos from my Instagram account again. Recycling is good ;-)

I've taken these over the last week or so. I love nature and I love capturing little bits of it when I can. Whenever I'm not able to get out and about, I can always take a look at photos like these and I'm instantly taken back to that moment.

All three photos were taken here in Wiltshire. It's great to see the trees and flowers sprouting out for spring.

Happy weekend! :)

Evening Light

I took this photo yesterday evening. The sky was just so beautiful! Even though spring is still a few weeks away, this gorgeous sky made me think of warmer days. 

Have a great weekend!

Mars at Opposition This Weekend

I'm a bit of a stargazer, so I love taking a look at the heavens on the nights when we have a clear view here in the UK. I've been like this since I was a little girl. I've always been intrigued by the beauty and the majesty of the night sky. When I look up I feel small next the the vastness, but I also feel something great within because I know that the corner of the night sky that I can see is a part of something greater.

I get extra excited when there are events happening in the night sky and this weekend, in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 22nd, the planet Mars reaches opposition in the constellation Scorpius. This is a great time for osbservation. The magnificent red planet will be visible on the southern horizon. It'll reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight BST, but it'll be visible for much of the night. I don't know how clear the view will be here on Sunday morning, but I'm going to give it a go and see what I can see.

Ian Savage, Head of the Jessops Training Academy has said, “For those wanting to get a clearer view, this is the ideal occasion to look up into the sky and delve into the curiosity of our universe. With the right kit, you’ll be amazed at what you can see.”

I'm always interested in learning more about the night sky and I'm increasingly interested in learning what I can about capturing what I see on camera.

Here are some tips for capturing Mars from the Jessops Training Academy:

• Mars will be visible for much of the night, reaching its highest point in the sky at around midnight in the UK. However, make sure you are positioned somewhere where the air is clear to ensure better visibility. Travelling out to a country location will be of a huge benefit as you’ll have less light pollution ruining your view.

• Once night falls, give your eyes a chance to adjust to the darkened environment. It takes around an hour for your eyes to get adjusted to seeing in the dark, and letting them adjust will give you the best views through the telescope.

• Shooting Mars will be different to capturing a regular night sky. First of all, you’ll want to use a longer lens. As you’re capturing a specific part of the night sky, not the whole thing, this will allow you to hone in on the planet. A lens with a minimum focal length of at least 200mm is ideal, if not then a decent optical zoom will suffice.

• Lens-wise you want to follow two simple rules – wide angle and fast aperture. A wide angle will allow you to capture an expansive view of the sky, while a fast maximum aperture will allow your camera to gather in as much light as possible. You can think of a telescope as a funnel to collect lots of light and concentrate it into a tiny beam that will fit inside your eye, this means you will be able to see objects fainter than your eye alone can detect.

• Deciding which telescope to choose amongst the multitude of different options is a challenge even for the experienced observer. For the newcomer, there are some great, affordable options such as the Skywatcher Capricorn 70 TQ1 Telescope. The 900mm focal length on this telescope, combined with the sub-£100 price makes it a good choice for starter users to get their bearings. It also comes equipped with an equatorial mount, a feature you’ll see on all high-end telescopes that allows it to track objects as they traverse the night sky.

• If you find that you are getting an obscured view through the telescope you might want to check the collimation – or alignment – of the optics. Reflecting telescopes are the most susceptible to this so you will need to refer to the instruction manual for details of how to collimate your particular telescope.

• Once you start to spend a little more money you start to see the real jump in quality. Celestron’s computerised telescope is a more serious tool, with which you’ll be able to glimpse the rings of Saturn or the surface of Jupiter. Take it somewhere darker and you’ll be able to see distant galaxies, and its database of celestial objects will make this easy for you. It’s an incredibly lightweight and transportable piece of kit.

• If you’re really committed to night photography and think it’s going to heavily contribute to your portfolio then you may want to look at a camera that specialises in low light. Investigate mirrorless systems as there are some great, low-light mirrorless cameras out there that are multi-purpose, such as the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. 

These are great tips! I'll be referring back to these as I step further into photographing the night sky. Hopefully one day I'll be able to share something wonderful here. Until then I'll be out there this weekend hoping to get a glimpse of beautiful Mars. Happy Weekend!

*Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way. I just thought that I'd share these tips.

A Friday Photo and A Stormy Sky

Today's Friday photo is one from late July 2013. It was taken in our backyard. The reason why I took it is because the sky looks stormy and I love that kind of sky, as long as no terrible storm comes from it. I know...it's kooky. I like the look but I hate a crazy storm. There must be a meaning in there somewhere. Lol.

This is a shortish Friday post because I'm not feeling too energetic today. I guess that I'm still not 100% better, but I'm getting there :-)

I'm going to try to get some rest this weekend and if I feel a bit better I may take a short walk to get some fresh air. I'll probably scribble some more of my book down...I write bits and pieces on paper when they come to me sometimes and then later I type them into the computer. I'm also going to continue to read that intriguing book that I mentioned before. I promise to tell all about it once I've finished. I got a bit sidetracked when I was sick, so I'm gonna do some catching up.

What are your plans for the weekend? Whatever you do, I hope that it's lots of fun! :-)

Hello Sunshine

We are currently having some of the most beautiful weather here in Wiltshire! It's the best that we've had in a long, long time so I'm relishing every bit of it. About a week ago and before that, it was more like October ;-)

 

But this...this is what we've been waiting for!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

 

 

I hope that it's beautiful wherever you are in the world!

 

Until next time...

Moody Sky

I took this picture earlier this week. It was taken right before it started to rain. There was the weirdest sky with this bright burst of sun and then the rolling in of the clouds. The picture came out kind of spooky. I like taking pictures of the sky because you never know what you're gonna get! :-)

Sunrise in Wiltshire

Hello all! I hope that everyone had a good weekend. Mine was good. Brit Boy and I mostly stayed around home, but we did venture out to do a bit of grocery shopping. We also caught up on some tv recordings that we had stored up during the week. I didn't have a baking weekend like last weekend, but I'll be back at it soon enough :) My cold has gotten a lot better, and I'm hoping that I'll see the back of it by the end of the week. Yay!

No photos today of my quirky bread attempts, but I did take some quick photos of the beautiful colors in the sky this morning. It was extraordinary. There is just something magical about sunrises and sunsets! These photos were taken from inside, through the windows since I wasn't dressed to go outside when I took them. But I hope that they convey what I saw when I looked outside. Enjoy...and have a good day!

Sunny Days

Hello all...so, I was just in the kitchen a few minutes ago, washing some dishes and I was overjoyed with I saw outside....a blue sky!!! :)



We haven't had the greatest weather this past summer, so this little September surprise of warm weather that we're having here in southwest England is truly wonderful! We're supposed to have some splendid weather for the rest of this week so I'm extremely happy about that.

I think that I'll head out to enjoy the nice weather for a few minutes before I get back to studying. Days like this are meant to be relished!

Until next time...