Lunar eclipse

Saturday night (July 4 into July 5) we had a lunar eclipse.  I knew it wouldn't be a full eclipse as what I had read indicated that it would only cover a small portion on the upper part of the moon.  I expected that part to disappear (lol) or go fully black like a solar eclipse does.  I kept watching and waiting for the moon to change (I was shooting photos at the same time). Finally around 1:30 a.m. I googled the information around what to expect and discovered that these are very "light" in colour (ie more white) and often very difficult to see. I'd been watching since 11:30 waiting for this.  Ralph had already gone to bed and I was on the front lawn with my tripod and camera. Overall I'm disappointed with my shots as I know I can get them crisper.  Last night I couldn't figured out why this wasn't happening as I adjusted ISO, shutter speed and F stop.  It just wasn't working me.  I gave up at 1:30 and went to bed.  This morning when I woke up the first thought I had was to check my image stabilizer on my lens and sure enough, I had forgotten to turn it off.  Grrrr...keeping it on when the camera is on a tripod can cause camera shake.  I think this might have been the problem.

On Sunday night I was anxious for the moon to come up.  I even took a walk to the school looking for it hah hah.  No moon yet by 10:00 and I was getting pretty tired.  Between church services I had done some research and I wanted to try my new found knowledge.  I was pretty tired from staying up so late the night before so I ended up going to bed. I just couldn't wait any longer.  I did however set up my camera (checked the stabilizer as well) and left it on the tripod by the front door.  In the event that I woke up in the middle of the night I thought I might go out and try again. Sure enough I was awake at 1:00 and the moon was shining brightly.  I got dressed and went outside.  Tonight you could see the moon as well as Saturn and Jupiter.  I really wished that I had a telescope as the sky was so clear.  I could see a really bright light in the sky to the west of the moon but my camera couldn't pull it in.  It was too far.  I am however very happy with my new moon shot as it has much more detail than what I was able to get the night before.  Here are the most important things to remember:

1. Turn your stabilizer off
2. ISO and Shutter speed should match ie. ISO 100, SS 100
3. F stop of 11 works well
4. Set your camera meter to spot metering
5. Use a tripod
6. Focus on the edge of the moon, not the center

Success!!  Considering that the moon is 1/4 million miles away I am very happy with the details that I was able to capture. The night before I wasn't able to see the ridges and lines on the surface, while on this one you can, especially along the right edge.  It was worth getting up for!!

Canada Day

This summer we have been blessed with some beautiful hot days.  On Canada Day Ralph and I got up early to miss the crouds and went down to the lake for a couple of hours to see the sun rise.  There wasn't much cloud in the sky to add a lot of interest but it was so peaceful while sitting there.  It was easy not to think about Covid and just enjoy the beauty that the Lord has given us.  

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Date night

With restrictions still abounding, its hard to get out for a date night. We used to go out for a casual dinner after grocery shopping and enjoyed the time to catchup and relax together. With COVID-19 we spend most of our time with each other except when Ralph or I are golfing. We’re usually in the backyard puttering, enjoying a fire sometimes in the evening or watching a tv show or movie.  What a treat it was to go out on Saturday evening to do some photography. We had discussed the possibility earlier in the day and checked the weather forecast and it looked promising.  I love having clouds in the sky when we take sunset pictures. There is just something magical that happens and it brings so much drama into the shot.

As we were driving up highway 27 we both commented on how overcast it had gotten when looking ‘west’ which is the way the sun sets. Sometimes that happens and as a result there isn’t much you can do except hope that there might be a break in the clouds allowing the sun to shine through.  When we got to our spot and we looked around there was a good break in the clouds to the east and there was lots of beautiful red and yellow starting to show. Sadly the field was covered with Hydro wires and  didn’t offer a very nice composition. We didn’t give up though and spent our time wandering around testing different shots and waiting to see what would happen. Eventually the sky started to break up and we were able to capture some really nice pictures.  It is often said that the best colour comes after the sun sinks below the horizon. We waited patiently and continued shooting. Heavy storm clouds were coming from the northeast which eventually started to release some rain which convinced us that “date night” was coming to an end.  It sure was a nice evening to be out.

As the evening progressed the sky started opening up allow some colour to shine through.  We could tell a storm was brewing though as the clouds were getting pretty dark.

Creepy crawly things

One of the challenges on the photography websites that I belong to is to photograph small things in the garden. 

While I sit quietly I can observe lots of activity with smaller bugs.  The kids actually found the bee for me and Ralph pointed out the moth.  The moth was about the size of my baby fingernail, it was so small.  Interesting as well was that to the naked eye it looked pure white but when photographed with my macro lense it actually showed brown in the feathers.  I love how furry it looks;

The dragonfly actually flew into my window and was a little stunned.  I picked it up and placed it on the leaf of a plant to help it rest. I sprayed a few drops of water as well for it to drink to gather it's strength before flying away.

Bugs are actually quite fascinating when you see them up close. God is such an awesome creator.

Summer rolls in

Summer is here.  The weather is beautiful and sunny.  We are still cautious when we are going out, but are moving into a new phase of the "new normal".  I find that masks are difficult to wear and my glasses continue to fog up. It makes grocery shopping difficult and I much prefer ordering online now and simply picking up what we have ordered. Generally we can plan this well and as a result don't end up buying unecessary food items along the way.

I continue to enjoy the golfing and love seeing all the flowers while we're at the course.

We went up North for two days of golfing.  While the weather didn't behave very well on the first day, it was still fun to get away for a mini vacation.

I continue to enjoy growing the vegetables but it is a never ending battle with squirrels and I am learning that the weather can affect them as well.  My spinach was harvested today and gave me a small crop (enough to add to scrambled eggs).  I will try planting more in September. Sadly it got too warm too quickly and they started shooting into flower. This morning I also see that some onions are starting to flower. This could have been caused by the cold snap that we had in May where we got that snow. We’ll see what happens. I have read that flowers can been added to your salads and still be enjoyed.

I feel  the squirrels (or maybe raccoons) are winning in the lettuce battle. One of my pots is almost decimated. Tonight or early tomorrow I will cut the lettuce in the other pot and we can enjoy a a nice fresh salad for fathers day.

We were once again spoiled by a visit from the Coopers Hawk.  It is so beautiful.  Look at those eyes!!  I was able to walk through the house with my camera out into the backyard and take this and many other pictures without it flying away.  It definately is not as skittish as other birds are.

Last weekend we enjoyed a nice visit with the family to celebrate Fathers Day.  It was so nice to see them.  I miss our carefree gatherings and the hugs and kisses.  Brody brought along a Robins nest to show me.  I love how it is heart shaped!!

It was fun watching everyone interacting with the bird feeders.  We had a good variety of visitors and they were must as curious as our family was.  

Is it June already?

My where has the time gone?  It's June already.  Where did April and May go?  It seems that the time flies by even though we spend the majority of it at home.  The past couple of days (at the start of this blog) have seen some unsettled weather.  It's gotten a little cooler, the wind was blowing more and rain comes and goes.  The sun still shines for short periods which is nice.  We've started seeing some young hatchlings around the yard.  The robin with one of it's young was on the fence bringing it worms. It was cute to watch.

I've been enjoying the dandelions and today tried "focus stacking" which is a series of multiple pictures which are all stacked on top of each other in an effort to focus on multiple points in the picture and blend them together.  This is my first attempt (well actually this is my fourth attempt during the first time I tried the technique).  Because the camera picks up so much detail I found myself using tweezers to "pinch out" little hairs which I found distracting.  I could have taken them out in photoshop or lightroom but I figured it was much simpler and less work to just pull out the tweezers.

A few weeks ago Ralph went to his Aunt Gre Mulders funeral.  I am thankful that her suffering is over and we know that she has gone to be with our Lord.  The funeral itself was available via "live streaming" so I was able to watch from home. I think it was a really nice thing that this was done so that more people could join and watch the service. It was a good message that was delivered by Reverend Bruinsma.  It was easy to hear that he knew her well which was a blessing for the family.

I'm thankful that we have been able to get out golfing a few times per week. At least we can practice our social distancing with this sport.  It's been fun and the weather has been really good as well.   We've also been able to get out and visit with my Mom a few times. I'm glad that we are able to do that. 

                                         

I've continued to practice with my camera.  The birds are still active and bring us much enjoyment.  We've seen the hawk a few times and have noticed that the population of doves is dwindling.  We also have seen a family of racoons and a skunk in the yard prompting Ralph to block up underneath the deck.  These furry creatures seem to have left, but I guess time will tell.

I've been practicing my developing skills as well using some of my older pictures. A benefit of extra time spent at home has been the ability to slow down and spend more time learning.  I've also done a major cleanup on my photograph files and will continue to work through them until I'm satisfied that everything is catalogued and properly filed.  My trash basket has certainly gotten a workout.

These past couple of weeks I have been intrigued by photographs that have been posted where the individuals have been applying a textured overlay to the background to give it a more artistic look.  Ideally this technique is used to help fix up a picture that might otherwise have an unattractive background or something that is really dull and boring.  I decided to give it a try using this cardinal picture at the feeder.  It's an interesting technique and might be useful for cards.  I'll have to play around with it a bit more when time permits. 

I do find that I am able to keep myself quite busy these days working in the garden. It is growing well although I am surprised at how much work it is.  I weed at least twice a week and have decided to do it daily to keep the work down.  I'm happy it's doing well.

"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you."  Deuteronomy 31:8