December Colors?

What colors does December offer in

the dullest of all the months

of the year?

December is known for being the most overcast and dark month of the year. Well, at least for those of us in this part of the world.

The days are cold, dull, overcast...and the days get shorter and shorter. What beauty can be found outdoors in this month? Last month I challenged myself with November. Now? Maybe I'll challenge myself with December.

At least that will be easy for moment. There have been some great morning and evening skies to admire.

A long time friend that used to be a neighbor and I went with her son on Thursday evening just after sunset for a night hike along old 131 trail in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

When we dropped from the ridge to the valley, the temperatures dropped at least 10 degrees. My friends commented on that and I suggested we walk up and out of the valley. We did. As we walked, we were able to catch glimpses of meteors streaking across the sky. This was at 6PM when the meteor shower was not supposed to be at its peak. 

We were able to find the Milky Way and searched for any other stars or constellations we could recognize. I'm not very good at that at all. We found the Big Dipper on the northern horizon and the Milky Way stretched overhead from East to West.  I wanted to take a couple of shots, but that takes time to do.

I asked Briar who will be turning 12 next week to be my model. He was cold but he agreed to stand still and look up into the sky with a headlamp on.

This was a one shot deal and thankfully, I got it!

Those guys were chilled, so we hiked back to the car and drove to their house where we visited for a while before I left.

I got up early the next morning to continue my early morning walks with Charlie. I normally hike across the fields so I can watch the sun come up and enjoy the quiet sounds of the rest of the world waking up.

I was not disappointed at all. The skies lit up like fire. 

I set the camera in the cornfield and put it on a timer. I trotted out a little distance so I could capture myself enjoying the show.

It sure was incredible. And it seemed as if it were never ending.

Charlie and I walked back towards home and noticed that the only sounds we heard were a few birds and some dogs barking off in the distance.

We had the whole world to ourselves.

Tonight we are supposed to have patchy fog and rain. Sunrise on the ridge tomorrow morning might be worth looking into. Fog always makes things much more interesting.

The colors aren't just in the sky for December. I hope to find something exciting in the forest also.

Looking for colors in December.

A good challenge.

Winter Solstice Sunrise

I like winter and I like marking special dates and times by going out and observing them. This spring for example, I climbed a bluff to watch the moon's partial eclipse on May 27th.

I watched the sun's partial eclipse too on June 11th.

It stands to reason that I'd get excited about a clear sky and the Winter Solstice. There were posts in our area FB group about folks getting together for a bonfire and celebration to watch the sun go down.

I wanted to see it come UP. I just love mornings. I like getting out there while it is still dark and watching the day awaken. 

I decided I'd walk to the ridge in the morning if the skies were clear enough.

~~~~

I set my coffee cup down and grabbed a spare battery and the tripod. I thought it would be fun to go to that favorite little tree on the ridge and see if I couldn't shoot myself watching the sunrise. I'm not very good at this yet. 

One option I can use on these newer cameras is the ability to operate it from my cell phone. Easier than trying to pair a camera and a phone while it is 12 degrees F outside, is using the delayed timer option. Another feature I discovered on my nicer Olympus is a time lapse feature. 

Oh now that is very cool. I used it the night before the huge storms struck the Midwest. 50 photos were shot to make a 7 second time lapse. 

When I got to the ridge I tried taking a few shots here and there to figure out where I should 'be'. I even tried a short time lapse which was an utter failure.

Here is a shot from the failure where it looks like the camera is about to be attacked by a Sasquatch which actually is me in my insulated coveralls, cap, hoody, scarf, and mittens. I was scurrying back to the camera in the low light and became a blurry monster.

I'm not one to be discouraged so I set everything up again and tried a new location. This one is a 5 second time lapse. I don't recall how many frames it took only that I was excited that at the very last second, the sun peeked over the horizon. And that was good enough for me.

I was going to try another quick time lapse but my fingers were burning from the cold. I'd had to exchange out the battery as the cold and my other antics had used up the one that was only partially charged.

All in all I was happy with my experiment.

I'd gotten close enough to being on the horizon to have most of me in the shot even if I still looked like a hulking monster of some sort. I got part of the tree I really like too. These little trees are on a tiny strip of land that divides two crop fields. 

Here the land is not even, it rises and falls so getting that perfect shot of a solo tree is generally quite difficult. Well, actually it is impossible unless the landscape were to change and I were to maintain that 10 foot section with a weed whacker. 

Still, it is a nice little tree and it often appears in my winter sunrise photos.

Adding the human element sometimes adds perspective to the shot, I find it quite funny for it to be myself wrapped up in winter clothes. But I'm game. I'd like to try it again!

And there it is...Winter Solstice Sunrise...

I may have to try this again if we get another clear morning. The next few days are supposed to be warmer but I am not sure how much cloud cover there will be.

3 sunrises in one day

 ~~~Sunday morning~~~

That should be impossible...

But it sort of isn't.

The plan was to hike out to the large soybean field and then drop down into a bit of a dip where there are some trees growing in the water way.

But I realized that I didn't have quite enough time to get that done. I should 'time' it to see how long it takes me to walk from the house to that tree. I'll have to try it this week when I am not chasing the sun or some other monkey business. Then I can plan accordingly.

I love snowy sunrises, the ground takes on a cool bluish tone and reflects light upwards.

The ice from the night before was still hanging on most leaves and branches which were very pretty in the low light.

And the southwest sky had a whole different look to it which was filled with blues and purples.

I went to head back, but stopped at a scrub oak tree that divides the field and watched the sun make its appearance. If you look carefully, there are icicles hanging from some leaves.

I walked through the neighboring corn field and headed to the mailbox to pick up our mail.

When I turned around there it was. Another sunrise over the slight rise between the two fields.

That far off tree is a real challenge to shoot as an isolated subject. It is surrounded by thorny brush. It is another good spot to watch the sun greet the morning.

I headed down the driveway. My hands were cold but I was happy and had some hot coffee waiting for me.

Our hollow was still without the sun. It would be about an hour before it topped over the trees and shone down on our place.
Technically, it isn't another sunrise, but in a way it is as it is the first bit of sun we see each day. 

The mules started talk to me and Fred brayed for his Senior Feed.

It looked like it would be a good day...and it was.