On a Whim

 I do like night skies, so I do follow a place called Driftless Stargazing on Social Media. I noticed a post about a Guided Star Gazing walk at a place I've wanted to check out for quite a while. The land is managed by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy and is open to the public for a variety of uses.

Hunting [in season], Hiking, Fishing [in the Kickapoo River] ... Bikes, Dogs, and Camping is not allowed.

It is a Nature Preserve/State Natural Area that is know for its Dark Skies.

There is a trail that goes up and around old bluff tops and prairie grasses. There are some cliffs/bluffs along the river. How could I not want to explore those!

Not my photo:

So.

I signed up to go on the walk. This is a new thing for me. What could happen? I could meet some other nice folks and maybe make some connections. Or I could be bored and never want to join up with any other of their activities.

I met two people who have mules. All the folks there loved the night sky. I met a gent who used to ride in the same areas Rich and I did many years ago. 

The two leaders had laser pointers and started naming the stars as the appeared in the sky. By the time it was fully dark I learned a few things. I can find Pegasus and of course the North Star, the Big Dipper, and the Little Dipper easier than I used to.

I'm no astronomer, but I do love the night sky.

The evening was warm enough that we didn't need coats and best of all, no Bugs!

I 'friended' a woman who would like to go hiking at the Reserve but only knows her way around the paved trail. I offered to take her on a hike if she was interested some time. She was nice. Who knows?

When I got home, I sat out on the porch with the dogs for a bit on the old camp cot I'd cobbled back together. 

I decided to take a shot of the Milky Way which won't be visible all winter. This is the view from my porch. The glow at the tree level is from lights far off on the ridge.

Then I set up my camera to take a Star Trail. I set the timer for an hour. After checking on it a few times, I laid down on the cot with the pups and snoozed a bit.

This was the result below. It is obscene that I can let the camera do the work instead of taking 260+ photos and putting them together in Photoshop.

I put the camera and tripod away and grabbed a couple of blankets and a pillow.

The night was so pleasant and starry, I didn't want it to end. So I plopped down on the cot to gaze at the sky. The dogs snuggled in with the blankets and me.

I woke up to the sounds of Robins landing in the yard at predawn. 

Some folks go clubbing on Saturday nights. I spent it with the stars.

Big Night Out

The August Sturgeon Moon was the big event of the week. I was excited to be able to watch the partial eclipse.

I raced up to the ridge and caught the full moon rising over the cropland. 

As darkness settled in the moon lit up the night sky with a brilliant orange. 

At home, I prepared two cameras so I could shoot two different scenes at once. One camera with the long lens set up for just shooting the moon.

My other much older camera set up to shoot [hopefully] stars.

I'd never tried shooting star trails during a full moon. The dogs joined me in the yard and trotted around with their collar lights. They were not too interested in what I was doing even though I explained in great detail about the camera settings and how everything worked.

At least when I talk out loud, I can say that I'm talking to the pups and not to myself.

As I started photographing the eclipse, my cohorts asked to go in and sleep on their blankets. Kids!

I had one camera in the driveway and the other one at the edge of the pasture pointed at the house.

Imagine my surprise when I actually was able to 'do' a star trail with the bright moon shining! [plus satellite and plane trails].

I was ecstatic. I had always thought that one couldn't shoot star trails unless one had perfectly dark skies.

Well.

I guess that is a fallacy. 

The moon slowly started to enter earth's shadow. 

I set a timer for every 20 minutes to take a shot of the changing moon.

I walked back and forth between the two places I had cameras set up. I drank decaf coffee to keep awake [and yes, it helped].

As the moon got darker and darker I fiddled around and finally got a decent set up for the next star trail looking north from the other side of the house.

The dogs asked to come out for another inspection. I think if they could have talked they'd have demanded that I come in and go to bed.

I watched the moon became a sliver. 

And then I noticed something very unusual.

I could see the Milky Way. I could SEE the Milky Way on a Full Moon night.

So I took this shot. Not great, but one can see the light of the partial moon and the Milky Way.

I was breathless. The shot didn't turn out very well, but still...it was something you never can see during a full moon. 

I was done in by this time and the heavy dew was getting my cameras wet, so I called it a night.

Of course I couldn't just go to bed, I was too wired up. I decided to review my photos right then.

The final composite of the moon

 shots put together in one frame. 

It will be a night I won't forget. 

I didn't go to bed until about 2AM. [up at 5:30!]

How lucky was I that I could stand in my driveway and watch this event take place.

The last time I'd photographed a lunar eclipse was May 26, 2021. I caught part of the eclipse while hiking to the top of a bluff in the dark and getting a shot as the moon was heading west and the sun was rising.

It was called the Super Blood Moon/Flower Moon.👇

 

Night Moves...

Bob Seger's Night Moves is one of my oldy favorite songs.

So the past few days with the 'new' moon phase arriving, I've been spending quite a few nights trying to 'catch' star trails and the Milky Way.

That meant spending some time in the tent so I could just pop out of the flap and see the night sky. That did not worked out well since I missed that night sky but got to see some amazing Saturday morning fog and the Crescent Moon over the Meadow.

I decided to try it again on Saturday night.

I went out to the camp with the intention of seeing the night sky appear and getting some amazing shots.

Hmmm. That didn't happen either. The dogs and I spent a little bit of time out at the 'camp'. It was hot and sticky, but I thought it would be nicer at the campsite. It usually is.

But.
It wasn't.

It was horrible. I could handle the humidity and the heat, but I couldn't handle the mosquitoes! There were hoards of them!

It was so bad that when Hannah came up to me, she had mosquitoes all over her nose and face. I abandoned the 'camp' and headed home to the 'safety' of the house.

At home there was a very slight breeze from the southwest that hadn't been drifting through the trees. I decided to try going out much later and seeing if I'd get eaten alive.

Thankfully, I wasn't!

I experiment quite a bit when 'shooting' the stars and the night sky. I really wanted just to get the Big Dipper the first night.

I got part of the Big Dipper along with a bit of clouds and even a firefly squiggly.

So I tried another shot with a longer time of exposure. The clouds moved through and again and there were more firefly squiggles.

I thought, okay, now I've done that, now I need to try the Milky Way. 

The first shot is turned to black and white. This was the night that had a few clouds. The clouds were an odd color as well as the Milky Way. Everything had a weird green tint.

[I am still trying to learn why I get the odd colors, is it stray light from a town 3 miles away or is my color balance just really awful. I need to study that some more. Sometimes I do a great job and at others? I suck.]

I quit after an hour or so of trying to get a proper shot. 

Oddly enough, I wasn't bothered by the hoards of blood sucking mosquitoes.

So I went back to the old standby of doing another Star Trail. If I were a true Astro photographer, I'd seek out a wonderful exotic place and position the Milky Way over a barn or some other scenic place. But I am not that good at it, so I spend my dark summer nights practicing over and over again in my own yard. 

Travelling to another location seems to be frivolous for me since I am still learning.

Plus--> I have pretty good dark skies in my hollow.

I really like this Star Trail shot. There are little tiny streaks of green in the sky from the Fireflies flying above the camera. By this time, the clouds had moved away. 

So maybe I was getting just a bit better with the star trails and I still sucked big time with the Milky Way. [That just means I can practice more late at night!]

I'm not one to give up. The next night was supposed to be clear. Just as the stars came out, I decided to try for the Big Dipper once more. In the shot below, I can see where it is...just barely. 

Our little house is right below the Dipper. I rather liked the blue in the night sky in the early evening.

I tried again when it got a bit darker and cropped the photo. 

Now I can see the Big Dipper. 

Mission accomplished!

I wanted to try another star trail so I set it up. 

It wasn't exactly where I wanted it to be, but I decided to just go with it. 

There is something about the streaks of stars that appeal to me. 

The night sky is

so incredible even in a boring setting.

 

Failures of the Milky Way:

Maybe one day I will be successful. I have really good luck sometimes and really poor luck other times.

I wonder sometimes if it is light reflection from far off and if humidity has an affect on how the camera sees the night sky and the Milky Way.

In my head, I was photographing this instead. 
[sky swapped--> which I don't believe in doing. I want to truly do this proper!]

😢

I keep studying and learning, that is what feeds my curiosity. Eventually, I'd love to say that I've done a shot just like the one above on my own.

I can adjust my white balance more to a lower Kelvin temperature [I know this doesn't make sense to others but apparently the right temperature should be somewhere between 3600-3800 for a pleasing bluish night sky.
I've looked at a filter that is supposed to cut light pollution, but not sure I want to drop $ into something that is more of a hobby for sleepless nights.

I think I'll watch some instructive videos for my particular camera to see if I can improve my star photos.

It would be a good choice today with temps outdoors that are rising to 95 this afternoon.

I could go out this evening and try some more skies. After all the sky will be dark.

It would also be a great day for a nap and reading a mystery.

After all, a year ago, I got pretty close to what I felt was satisfactory.

[View from the porch]

Another brilliant night

 ...it was much dimmer and shorter lasting than the previous night.

However.
I felt it was 
my duty
to get out
and see what 
I could again.

I did make a huge mistake though.

I made some half decafe/half regular coffee. I thought it would be nice to have a thermos of warm coffee while standing in the cold...

Duh...duh...doh.

So pardon me if I am not focused.

Very little sleep because I was thinking about everything else while trying to sleep! 

Note to self don't try that again! Give away the coffee hubby used to drink or dump it!

The sky was very very faint from 6:30 to 8:00. The Aurora could only be seen with a camera. However, there were some neat pillars! 

I thought since it was not so brilliant, I'd try another Star Trail shot. So I set things up and let the camera do its thing while I sat next to the car and watched the sky. I listened to coyotes hunting and calling. I listened to owls talking in the distance.

The cattle gate that I was sitting next to creaked on its hinges sounding like an elderly person dragging a walker across linoleum. I sipped coffee and decided that I really did love the night sky.
Then there were flashes of light.

I was not hallucinating. An old beat up pick up was coming across the ridge with a spot light. They were shining for deer. I haven't seen that in ages. The truck cluttered and clattered towards where I sat next to my 'Ru. I had to stop the camera or the shot would have recorded the bright light when they shined me.

It is legal to shine for deer but not after 10PM and not if you have a weapon in the car. I never thought that shining was anything but a waste of time since most places you shine are not your property. They were legal, it was only 7:30.

I did get this though!

The truck passed, clackety clack and the smell of burnt oil. I watched them from my high vantage point circle the ridge roads of our Township.

I went home. Charlie was rather pleased. Then I decided to take a look with my cellphone to see if it was all done. I've seen some incredible shots done with iPhones! I don't have one, but the colors were there!

I set the camera up on a tripod in the yard and got it doing its thing. I cursed the airplanes but they use the airspace also.

The red light in the windows are from when I went inside to get a drink of water. I thought I was being smart and used the red mode on my headlamp.

I was surprised at how sensitive cameras can be. The house looked pretty spooky.

I took one more try from the back door looking up into the hill behind our house. I am still working on how to perfect star trails, but I am getting there. 👇👀

IF there is another chance tonight, I'll try.
I saw a Flickr friend use his cell phone 
to do a Time Lapse! 
That would be cool!

The new moon is November 19th. I'm thinking of trying to do just one more try at star trails and get a complete circle around the North Star.

I intended to take my photos from Wednesday's hike and show you the fun Charlie and I had. Alas.
That will have to wait.

Jason, the Geologist and his Tumbleweed Dogs are coming this weekend so I have to get things set up for his visit.

One night of color.

My good friend Jason, the Geologist, texted me at 7 ish last night and said there was a good chance at seeing the Northern Lights.
I was sitting on the couch with Charlie and reading. Feeling rather sad as it was Veteran's Day and the 11th. 
The 11th hit me hard as it marks 8 weeks that I am missing someone ... and he was a Veteran. In fact I cancelled my gym workout. It was a workout that was honoring Veterans. 

That was just a bit too much for me. I'd decided I'd have a personal pity party and ignore FB and Social Media.

I was not going to get up, but then I walked to the back door and looked out. I could see the Aurora Borealis with my naked eye. It was stunning.

So I set up my camera to photo night skies and took the tripod out to the driveway.
This is what I saw...
👇👇👇

 There were airplanes flying in the left corner, lights from my neighbor across the ridge, and light from our house in the window.

I decided to drive up to the ridge where I watch sunrises and park. Maybe I'd get a better view.

Wow. I was in for a show.

I texted Olive and Cybil so they could check it out. Olive has a beautiful deck on the back of her house. She woke up her little boy and took him out to watch the show.

I sent cell shots to Jason, my son, and got texts from our friends in Missouri. They could see the light show also!

I used my Olympus camera which has Starry Sky Auto Focus on a tripod. I won't bore you with the other settings. But the Aurora was so bright, it blew out the exposure a couple of times!

The temperature was 35 F with a light frigid breeze. I wore insulated boots, coveralls, and a glove. I had to use my right hand to answer texts [I should have just ignored the messages!]. 
I set up the camera to do a star trail exposure and let it run for 19 minutes. It took 456 photos and stacked them in camera.

The colors merged and changed which I thought was crazy wild.

I tried another at 22 minutes. [At least it gave me a chance to stick my hands into my pockets while I sat out of the wind next to the car.]

The colors and the streaks of light were wild. Red and Green and Yellow.

The lights were even in the East. I took this shot looking over another farm not too far away. Their yard lights where quite bright but the sky was brighter.

After about 2 hours, I called it and went home to warm up. Clouds were moving in and I felt ecstatic.

I was somehow convinced that some ol' Veteran I loved had arranged this show for me. 

I went to bed as the clouds moved in.

Charlie woke me at 4:30. He had to get some business done. I followed him out and looked north.

Then I ran back in and grabbed my camera which was still set up from last night. The moonlight even caused a moon shadow on the house and lit up the gravel driveway.

The moon was bright, but I could plainly see the Aurora again.

Off I went to try and get a shot of it from the pasture.

I did several shots, and decided not to drive up to the ridge again.

It even showed faintly to the south.

I took one last shot from the back step and decided to go in and have coffee while the sky started to brighten in the east.

I consider this to be one more 'Once in a Lifetime Event' for me. How lucky am I to live in a relatively dark sky area?

I know it was a natural phenomenon, but I prefer to think that hubby put the show on for just me to cheer me up. It worked.

I'm feeling full of light this morning. Don't let anyone tell you that seeing the Aurora Borealis like this is not uplifting and amazing.

One night of color and a morning with pinks and reds just for me.

Hot Hot!

Things to do when it is unbearable outside. Bring some outside into the house. Since I was having fun with the candle holders, I thought I'd expand to sticks and bark. Using glue, moss, and some funky crafty items, I got busy.

and then of course I had to imagine what would take place on this piece of bark.

and I took it a step further. 
Since my 'photo table' had to be moved out, I haven't had a good place to do indoor dioramas are creations. However I muddled through and had to avoid the concentrator and avoid stepping on the 02 lines...
but I made it work.

I ended up putting the items on a box and using a cutting board that was made from an Italian Olive Tree for the backdrop.

I kept messing around and finding more interesting ways of using my decorated sticks and roots.

I went out after the sun went down and decided to watch Fireflies. On the forest edge, they were abundant in the tall grasses.

You may have to click on the photo to see
the driveway...4 minute Livecomp
exposure.

...and on to the week of somewhat cooler temps but a lot of predicted rain....