178: Vernal equinox
Posted: March 20, 2011 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, Adventures in Life, beginnings, Earth, endings, Fire, full moon, goals, home, nature, Photography, Spirit, Spring, Walking, water, weather | Tags: equinox, full moon, Goodyear Blimp, moon, postaday2011, spring cleaning, supermoon 38 Comments
Here we are, another new season beginning. Technically it isn’t spring yet here. Not for a few more hours. But it’s close enough. Happy Spring!
I had fun shooting the moon last night. Most of my shots (including the one I opened this post with) are overexposed. As I noted at Karma’s blog this morning, the moon baffles me. Sometimes two shots in a row, with the camera on the same settings, come out completely different. I’ve learned to take what I can get.
Full moon rising, in sepia.
And then I take what I got and play with it in Photoshop.
I didn’t do much. Just tweaked the sharpness a little and then converted them to sepia tones. Or close to sepia. I decided to make the tone a little more on the brown side. It looked better to me for reasons I can’t explain.
Goodyear Blimp
I promised you some photos of the Goodyear blimp doing the touch-and-go’s. I would like to have done this in a slide show here at WordPress, but you can’t have individual photos in the same post as a slide show. They all end up in the slide show. I hope that’s something WordPress will deal with in the future.
Up in the air
Watching them do take offs and landings is fun and interesting. M and I went out to the air dock a few years ago with a friend and her young son. If you like, you can see the photos from that excursion here. (To be honest, those photos, taken with my old camera, are much better than what I took yesterday. It was not the camera. We were closer to where the blimp was landing and taking off.)
Coming in for a landing
It was a little breezy yesterday. I noticed as the blimp was coming in that it shimmied quite a bit.
Getting closer to the ground
Sometimes I think it might be fun to take a ride in the blimp. Other times, my fear of flying reasserts itself and I come back to reality.
As you see in the above photo, they have quite a few people on the ground to help bring the blimp down.
I wonder how difficult it is to grab the lines. I know it takes a lot of people, working together, to bring the blimp in.
And after putting in all that effort, the blimp takes off again in a seemingly effortless way.
Going up!
Once again up in the air
Today’s Outdoor Adventures
This will be short and sweet. I went back to my spring cleaning project today. My outdoor time has involved taking rugs out to shake them or thump them, hanging bedding and other laundry on the line, and generally working to air out the stale energy of winter and let in the fresh, new energy of spring. I even opened a few windows for a little while although the high is only about 55 today.
As the day goes on, I hope to get out for a little relaxation time, at least by sunset. It’s been a pretty day here in the Bogs so far and it would be nice to just sit and enjoy it for a few minutes or go for a short hike. It’s sunny, clear, and breezy. This is perfect hiking weather, something I’d rather be doing. But once the spring cleaning is finished, I’ll be glad I gave up a day or two of hiking to do it. It feels good to air everything out, toss out (recycle, donate, etc.) the old, and make room for the new.
Life in the Bogs 
Only 55? Fifty-five sounds fabulous as we are promised highs only in the 40’s this week. Your moon is pretty fabulous too! Is that how it appeared earlier in the evening or did you do some processing to achieve the golden glow?
Thank you, Karma. 🙂
55 today, snow by next weekend. That’s spring in the Bogs. lol!
The color is how it looked when it was coming up behind the woods. It turned a pale yellow as it climbed higher, and then the usual white. The moon looked so beautiful with that golden-orange glow when it was behind the trees. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate well in the photos. The golden-orange came out red around the edges of the moon and the trees. Maybe I should grab those photos and post them (a good example of what not to do??).
You make me yearn for spring cleaning, Robin, or my version, summer cleaning. I love putting away all the college stuff, the winter clothes, the less happy memories of the past year. It’s wonderfully refreshing.
The first moon shoot doesn’t look all that overexposed, it looks beautiful! It’s incredible how many colors and sizes the moon has shown over the last few days.
Thank you, SunsetSeaSoul. 🙂
There is something very satisfying about putting away or shedding the old, that’s for sure.
All your versions of the moon are lovely. I like your “take what I get” philosophy! Interesting how the blimp lands and takes off, I’ve never been that close to one – I only see them way up in the sky from time to time. I’ve thought of taking a ride in a hot-air balloon, but then I will hear of a horrible accident and change my mind. Seems like it would be fun, though, floating around up there.
Thank you, Barbara.
We see the blimp quite often here since we live near the airbase. I’ve often thought about a hot-air balloon ride, too. We are in the flight path of many a hot-air balloon. In the coming months I’m sure I’ll post far too many photos of them. lol!
Great shots of the supermoon!
Thank you, SWK. 🙂
your first shot captures the lakes and seas on the moon with such clarity – well done 🙂
Thank you, Kel. 🙂
Love the full moon in sepia through the trees! Very picturesque!! That must have been quite a sight to see a blimp take off and land, I had no idea they angled up so much to take off!
Thank you, Holly. 🙂
I always marvel at the blimps and how they can even manage to get up off the ground.
I absolutely LOVE the moon shots. It has been too cloudy here to see it, so I’m really disappointed. Thanks for sharing these so I don’t feel quite so much like I missed out. 😉
Thank you, Fox. 🙂
I’m sorry you missed it but if it’s any consolation, it looked pretty much like any other full moon.
Robin – Wonderful capture of the moon! We headed out to take some photos but the cloudy skies blocked out view. You’re lucky. They are all nicely done!
Thank you, Martina. 🙂
Just try again during the next full moon. I really didn’t see much difference between this one and any other.
I think that golden moon shot is awesomely awesome. You got super shots of the super moon!
Thank you, Bo. 🙂
Shoot–my brain is getting overheated.
I wanted to say I think the blimp is an interesting flying vehicle, and a great photo subject, but it does not look so very fly worthy to me, and this said from someone who doesn’t mind (awfully) flying in real planes.
🙂
Bo: When I watched the blimp shimmy in the wind I knew it was pretty unlikely (well, more unlikely since getting a ride on the blimp isn’t likely at all) I’d get on one of those things.
Beautiful moon. I love looking at the craters in your photo’s.
I didnt know that blimps did “touch n goes: like jets! Crazy. I dont like flying either, but I think I would be okay in a blimp. Maybe because I could convince myself its floating not flying?
Morgan: There’s a thought. Maybe I could convince myself of that in order to finally take a hot air balloon ride. Floating does seem better than flying. 🙂
Fabulous image of the moon rising. Happy Spring Robin!
Thank you, Kala. And a happy spring to you too! 🙂
It’s time I did the same, ‘Sprung cleaned’ wise … I love the fresh and clean smell afterwards, like new life being breathed into everything around you.
and from a beautiful haunting Moon to a Goodyear ‘Balloon’ … simply fantastic shots. Thanks Robin, started my day of just right. (striped socks?) 😉 xPenx
Thank you, Pen. 🙂
My feet got cold. Hence the striped socks. They are warm, fluffy, and incredibly soft. My favorite socks in the universe.
The moon photos are stunning! Truly, stunning! Wow!
Kathy
Thank you, Kathy. 🙂
Nice moons indeed!
I never thought about blimp practice. I can see where it’s necessary . . . In return for the interesting new information, I will tell you how to have a slideshow and individual pictures in the same post.
First, from your Dashboard, go to the Media Library and Add New. Upload the individual pictures that way.
Now open a New Post and write your post. Upload the slideshow photos from there, as you normally would. Insert the slideshow.
To add the individual photos, use the Upload/Insert button and add them via the Media Library tab.
My frustration is the opposite one. Sometimes I would like to make a slideshow from photos that are already in my Media Library, but I can’t do that. Slideshow photos must be uploaded to the post’s gallery. Soooo . . . if I really want to do it, I have to upload another copy of the photo(s) in question. Still, for free software it really works great, doesn’t it?
Thank you, Gerry. 🙂
And thank you so much for the tips on how to insert a slideshow and individual photos. I appreciate it.
Happy Spring, Robin!
THAT’s what the moon looked like here on Friday night (when I didn’t get a chance to go out to take pictures!), Saturday it didn’t look any different than any other time, and I ended up deleting every single picture I took of it *sigh* Oh well.
You got some great shots, LOVE the ones through the trees! Great choice for your header, too 🙂
Thank you, Michaela. And a happy spring to you too!
The moon was very similar to that on Friday night here, too. Honestly, I didn’t see anything “super” about the moon other than I happen to think the full moon is beautiful and super anyway. 🙂
Robin, ‘full moon rising’ is truly an outstanding image!! Nice job on catching that mood.
Thank you so much, Derrick. 🙂
The shots of the moon with the bare branches in the foreground are fantastic, Robin! You have such a great eye for choosing just the right angle to capture the whole character of the image you are photographing.
Blimps are fun flying “watchumies”, aren’t they? Years ago we had them flying over our house on a regular basis, when we lived in Sydney. We don’t see them around too much these days.
Have you ever flown in a helicopter? I think the safety factor may be on par with a blimp. I often see small sea planes and helicopters flying around and think “that looks like fun!”, then reality sets in and I think of all of the “nothingness” around those fragile little flying things! Lol!
Thank you, Joanne. 🙂
Now there’s a word I’ve never seen or heard before: “Watchumies.” I like it.
I have never been in a helicopter. I think I’d have to be medicated to get in one. lol!
Sadly, I missed the Super Moon. 😦 I really like your shots of the moon above the trees…gives a great perspective not attained in the single moon shot.
We get blimps flying over our house time and again. Typcially, it is only the HOOD blimp, as it tends to come up North on days the Red Sox are playing at Fenway. One time, I was outside in the yard and heard a funny noise…looking up, there was the GIGANTIC GoodYear blimp coming up over the trees! Was quite a sight! You photos reminded me of that day.
Thank you, Tracy. I have this thing about the moon getting caught up in the trees. Sometimes it looks like they are cradling it. It’s one of those instances of taking the view I’m given (since there really are no clear shots of a moonrise or moonset here).
Even though I hear it and see it pretty often, I am still surprised by how NOISY the Goodyear blimp is. You can hear that thing coming from miles away. I always expect them to be quietly floating across the sky (because it looks that way). Hot air balloons are similar in terms of unexpected noise. I almost always hear them before I see them.