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.

Veteran's Day

Not much to say today. 

There is a lot going on in the news and I need to sort that out yet today with some strong coffee.

It is Veteran's Day which my husband largely likes to ignore. He is of the Vietnam Era and believes all the nice things said to him now are a bit too late. That sounds so bitter, but this is his way.

He has been a good and sometimes difficult person to have as a husband, however, I am happy to have had these years with him.

These are some photos from the past.

A Day with a Veteran

Veteran's Day is publicized, I see it on Facebook, all sorts of meme's and photos with little cute/well meaning/proud/ sayings about thanking a veteran.

Many of the Vietnam Veterans stay silent. My husband ignores the day. He recalls that he was not thanked.
His kind were called names and vilified because they served his country in an extremely unpopular conflict.

He wants no thanks and no recognition. He did a job he was told to do and that is all he has to say about it.

When people come up to him and thank him, sometimes he is not sure exactly how to act. Mostly he quietly says thank you and moves on almost as if he is embarrassed.
We talked about that when the new 'movement' came about. It was after 9/11 and suddenly after losing people on our own soil, soldiers became appreciated?

My husband went to serve. He came home. He tried to begin a new life as a civilian again and be normal.

I didn't know him until we met much later in life. I never knew the before Vietnam Rich. I just met the ...way after...
after counseling and hospitalizations Rich.

So I did what he would have liked to do on this day. Just had a quiet day.

The neighbor kids came down late yesterday and brought Rich a hand drawn card and some Snickers bars.
That made him smile from ear to ear.

And that was enough for him.