I went to bed a bit disappointed with the cloud cover. My astronomy club’s monthly star party got cancelled because of lingering overcast. I spent a pleasant evening with my husband watching the first part of Sergeant York while he napped. I only made it about thirty minutes myself before I dozed off.
I woke up to clouds creeping up from the south. I didn’t have any chance at all to glimpse the last vestige of the dying moon (it’s turns new today), so I took the lemons the dawn gave me and made sunrise lemonade.
I went up the hill and setup the camera and tripod east of Lansing City Hall. I took several photos over the course of thirty or forty minutes, right up until sunrise, when it fizzled. To see the best of the photos in an album from this morning, click on the image of pre-dawn Venus (centered) below:
Pre-dawn Venus (Sat 9/15/2012) – click image for rest of album
I started following ASOD a couple of weeks ago to inspire my own nascent sketching abilities. Many of the observing awards I want to complete require that astronomical sketches be submitted as part of the log entries to support the required observations.
To help expand my artistic horizons, I ordered a highly recommend book, aptly titled Astronomical Sketching: A Step-By-Step Introduction from BookDepository.com (free shipping worldwide). I received two books in the mail yesterday, one of which was the sketching book shown at right. I skimmed through a couple of the chapters over breakfast this morning. I will need to assemble a supply list before I take a lunch hour trip to the closest art supply store (just north of me on Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri). And per advice from my artist son, I should just start sketching daily to hone my observation skills and to get familiar with the media (pencils, papers, erasers, smudgers, etc.). I would like to start sketching double stars initially, but will have to experiment and practice quite a lot before I will feel confident in sharing any of my sketches here at my blog.
I ran out of my favorite blend of tea last weekend when my son and daughter-in-law visited us. I waited impatiently Saturday morning for ten o’clock to roll around so I could head north to downtown Leavenworth to visit the local enclave of British teas, foods and sundries: the Queen’s Pantry.
I brought my empty four ounce tin, already properly labeled for Irish Blend tea, with me to the store. The store clerk suggested I try some iced Elderberry tea, one of the two special daily teas made available to customers. I filled a small Styrofoam cup with two or three ounces of the Elderberry and sipped it while browsing through the rest of the store. I liked the sweetness of the tea and asked her if the iced tea had been sweetened with sugar. She confirmed my suspicion that any sweetness came from the infusion of elderberries when steeping the tea. I ordered a couple of ounces to take home, as well as two ounces of Japanese pan-fried green tea, another favorite variety I had run out of.
In one of the windows, a cute four cup tea pot sported the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ slogan from WWII during the Blackout when Germany bombed Britain relentlessly. I found a set of matching salt and pepper shakers that I decided to buy, since I haven’t had a matching set for the dining room table in decades.
I asked the clerk if she had a set in a box, as I didn’t want to take her display ones. She assured me they had several more on display and in the back so she urged me to grab the pair and bring it to the counter. She returned them to their box and rang up my tea and shakers.
Teas: Irish Blend, Elderberry, & Japanese Pan-Fried Green
I slipped in the Tune Shop next door, hoping to find some guitar picks for Terry. The selection lacked the brand and size he prefers, but I bought a half dozen just to make him laugh at my inability to select a proper pick.
I almost didn’t stop by the farmer’s market, since it was already past eleven o’clock. But I needed some honey, and the market is only a couple of blocks away from Queen’s Pantry. I bought my honey and tried a slice of locally grown Gala apples. I couldn’t believe they were already harvesting them. I should probably check my own apple tree to see if the apples are ripe.
I’ll be baking more Honey Wheat bread soon, as the temperatures drop, and we use quite a bit of honey when we make a marinade for grilling chicken. I talked briefly to a local farmer and said “Hello” to a class mate of mine from high school who has a stall of soaps and breads.
My final stop before returning home was the local K-Mart/Sears for some triple-A batteries for Terry. I also bought a couple of frames to finally put Derek and Rachelle’s college graduation photos in.
I’ll get Terry to hang them up in the dining area on either side of the front window. I also found a new steamer on sale but none available to purchase. I made it all the way home and all the way to the end of this blog post before realizing I forgot to acquire a rain check for the steamer. I guess I’ll be making a second trip to K-Mart later today to assure I get the sale price on that item. The steamer we have is too small (tiny really) and we’d like a new one so we can steam an entire head of broccoli, not just half or a third of one.
I think I’ll warm up some leftovers for lunch and steep some of the Elderberry for a fresh glass of refreshing iced tea to complement it.
Early Morning Trio – Venus, Jupiter & Aldebaran (click image for rest of album)
Cool, because at 72 degrees, that was as cool as it was going to get on Friday, but also because I could clearly see bright Venus (lower left of triangle), slighter dimmer Jupiter (top of triangle) and even dimmer Aldebaran (middle right of triangle). I like the cloud arrangement this morning a bit more than yesterday, but either one provides refreshing relief from the heat. Here’s a close-up of the trio:
I heard on the radio this morning our forecasted high was set for 105 degrees (our third or fourth day of excessive heat) with an extension of our heat advisory until next Wednesday. Ugh. My daughter in Texas is enjoying cooler weather than I am in Kansas. That just seems wrong.
Wispy Moonless Sunrise (Thu 19 Jul 2012) – click image for entire album
I didn’t plan to get my camera out for the third morning in a row this week. There was no chance of seeing any moon, since only six hours had passed since the old moon became the new moon.
But when I went outside to take out the trash, I looked east and saw some nice pastels caressing the thin wispy clouds. I could still easily see Venus and Jupiter and barely discern Aldebaran, at least for the first few minutes.
Then the bolder colors began to shine forth.
At one point, I could see Venus shining brightly through a pink cloud. The photograph I took did not do justice to what I actually saw with my naked eye, but if you look closely, you can probably spy Venus behind the cloud.
Sunset Saturday 14 July 2012 (click image for rest of album)
I can blame nobody but myself. I gave up the opportunity to sit in an air conditioned smoke-free bar (Woody’s Watering Hole in Leavenworth), where I could have listened to my husband and his band buddies perform classic rock to support A Ride for the Wounded. I could have supported a worthy cause through my presence and donations and had a great time with old friends.
But no, I thought I would have a better time with my co-workers at our firm’s summer event, where the beer, barbecue and baseball were all free. And so was the scorching heat and unrelenting sunshine beating down on us on the unshaded Bud Light Party Deck in right field at the T-Bones stadium.
Sizzling on the Bud Light Party Deck
Since I don’t drink beer, I walked back down along the concourse to purchase a very tall and cold glass of lemonade. The bottle of water I’d gotten on the Party Deck with one of my two free drink tickets had been warm. I hung out with coworkers, many of them people I see everyday, Monday through Friday, in our small corner of the universe called IT. I ended up giving my other drink ticket to my of my female coworkers, but not before attempting to exchange it for something first (like another lemonade?).
I hardly noticed when the game started. The T-Bones played against the Wichita Wingnuts (who used to be known as the Wranglers when I lived there in the 80s and 90s, but that team name has since moved to Arkansas). Staring directly into the sun from right field and unable to clearly see the scoreboard behind my right shoulder, I completely missed the Wingnuts scoring a run in the second inning. I did notice multiple rookie errors on the part of the T-bones. The only scoring for the home team came with two home-runs (with no one on base). I gave myself a headache staring into the sun for nearly an hour, when it finally hid itself behind a thin cloud bank approaching from the northwest.
With no comfortable seating available on the Party Deck (and because I’d opted to take a ‘left over’ ticket for the firm’s summer event), I decided enough was enough and left the park during the bottom of the fifth inning. Five innings, two runs and five errors on the part of the T-bones. The Wingnuts had no errors and two runs. I could see where this game was heading. As I walked to the van, I could tell the sunset was shaping up to be a fiery one (click first photo above for entire album).
After taking a few photos from West Mary Street, I returned home to discover the bass player’s car parked where I usually park the van. I thought that was odd, since it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet. I found Terry and Sean in the nearly empty band room, eating a late supper and reporting that the gig went extremely well. This perturbed me to no end. Since my home hosts most band practices for this group, I get exposed to the best and the worst of the amplified rock music. So I had a somewhat jaundiced view of this latest collection of musicians’ ability to pull it together. Who knows, if I had attended, I probably would have jinxed the performance. But it still would have been nice to sit in a cool air conditioned bar and drank something other than beer (or lemonade … unless it was Hard Lemonade) and listen to my husband sing Cumbersome (which he’s not).
Terry singing (and playing) Cumbersome (Sat 14 July 2012)
For the last couple of months, Terry has been scouring the Internet in search of a female Rottweiler to rescue. He spends hours on the PetFinder web site. He has found several beautiful Rotties, but unfortunately they end up being two or three states away, and even then, when we call, they’ve already been adopted. We may even take a roadtrip one of these weekends to Omaha to a Rottweiler rescue organization up there.
Terry’s frustration with the search for a female Rottweiler has been first and foremost the poor quality of photographs taken of the adoptees. His second gripe is misclassification of dogs as Rottweilers. He has almost reached the point of purchasing a pure-bred female from a breeder.
I can understand how difficult it can be to capture a canine in a photo. Especially if they are young (puppyish and frisky) or even old (and tired and lazy and not wanting to be bothered). A Rottweiler looks best in profile, usually standing. This shows off the breed’s distinctive characteristics to best effect. Over the seven years we enjoyed with Roxy, I managed to capture her in profile numerous times.
Roxy (Feb 2005)Roxy (May 2005)Roxy (May 2005)Roxy (Dec 2005)Roxy (May 2006)Roxy (May 2006)Roxy (June 2006)Roxy (May 2007)Roxy (Apr 2008)Roxy (May 2010)Roxy (Dec 2010)Roxy (May 2011)Roxy (Nov 2011)Roxy (Mar 9, 2011 – two days before she died – and the last photo I ever took of her)
I woke up Sunday to nearly complete overcast. In fact, I went to bed with the same sky, or so it seemed when I looked out my bedroom window. I should have returned to bed for more sleep, especially since I had my first night as a volunteer staff team member at a public night at Powell Observatory in Lousiberg, Kansas and didn’t get home until close to midnight. Even though the skies started clouding up before sunset Saturday, over sixty people stopped by in the vain hope of seeing Mars, Saturn or even some of the spring galaxies visible this time of year. We (meaning other members of the ASKC) entertained and educated them with a program on galaxies, featuring M31, commonly known as the Andromeda galaxy. We were able to lock up the observatory a bit early, but the hour long drive home still put me three hours past my normal bed time.
I wiled away Sunday reading sixteen chapters of Insurgent. My daughter spent the afternoon with friends and planned to attend the Tbones baseball game that evening. As the afternoon wore on, I could tell from my library window that the clouds drifted away and more blue began to dominate the sky. After six o’clock, I started transferring the telescope and photographic equipment to the vehicle for transport to the spot I had picked out to observe the solar eclipse.
Meade ETX90 with Solar Filter and Shield on the front and Pentax on the back.
I got to the site a bit after half past six and began setting up the scope. I called my dad and woke him up from his nap. He said he would be on his way in just a few minutes. I called him back and asked him to bring a level, since I had forgotten to grab one from the garage before I left home. Just as I had everything hooked up and ready to go, the sun slipped behind an extra large cloud and stayed there for several minutes. Since the solar filter only lets through one one-millionth of the light emitting from the sun, I couldn’t orient the scope until the cloud passed by.
Cloud Conditions During Solar Eclipse (Lansing, Kansas)
Dad arrived before the sun peeked out again. Using the level he brought, we fine tuned the tripod for better tracking in a polar mount configuration for the telescope. I had barely enough time to take a few test photographs of the sun to attempt to get the focus dialed in as much as possible. Focusing the telescope with the Pentax attached to it can be very challenging. The telescope becomes a large telephoto lens for the camera, but the digital camera is completely unaware of the telescope because the camera normally talks to a ‘smart’ lens which feeds it information about light conditions and focus. The telescope is completely passive and completely manual (except for the tracking motors which slew during observations to keep the object centered in the eyepiece).
To focus the Meade ETX90, whether using the eyepiece or the camera, I need to turn a small knob on the back of the scope that adjusts the mirror inside the scope. The viewfinder of the camera gave me a live image of the sun about the size of a dime (or smaller). I tried using my naked eye and my reading glasses, but neither one would resolve the sunspots to a fine acuity. I had to hope I got the focus ‘close enough’ for the camera. I don’t know of a technique to correct focus after the fact with photo editing software, so if I didn’t get it as close as I could, I would be stuck with slightly blurry photos.
Pre-eclipse photo of sun (click image for rest of album)
The eclipse began earlier than I thought it would, by about five minutes. I took several photographs over the next hour, as the sun (and moon) continued to sink through the clouds towards the western horizon. I had some problems with the wind and of course the clouds. With about ten minutes left before the sun (and moon) dipped below the horizon, I detached the camera from the telescope and instead took some photos of the stunning sunset occurring simultaneously with the solar eclipse.
Sunset during Solar Eclipse (click image for rest of album)
Several people stopped by and asked about the eclipse. I could even show them some of the photos I’d taken using the preview feature and the view screen on the back of the Pentax. Here are a couple of crowd favorites among the shots I took:
I gained great experience during this solar eclipse. I feel more prepared and confident for the Transit of Venus, which happens in just two weeks from tomorrow! I’ll be in the same spot, clouds permitting. Otherwise, I may be forced to settle for a webcast of the event, because one way or another, I will witness it.
Sunrise, Friday, May 18, 2012 (click photo for rest of album)
The sun rises early enough now that I can take a few minutes out of my morning routine to setup the tripod and camera to take some nice photos. I took all of these from my driveway while eating my cereal. Gorgeous morning! I had hoped to capture the tiny sliver of a crescent moon, but the pink, orange and gold clouds obscured it.
Tomorrow morning, I walk in the KC Heart Walk. Tomorrow evening, I have my first night as a team member at ASKC‘s Powell Observatory, with a topic of ‘Galaxies Galore’ to learn and observe. Sunday, I hope to get a chance to catch my breath, and maybe catch a movie.
Five years ago, my daughter, Rachelle, wrapped up her senior year of high school. This year, the day before Mother’s Day, she graduates from college, which is probably the best present a mother could ever receive and I am truly thankful Rachelle persevered, am proud of her achievement and excited for her future adventures and dreams.
Back in 2007, Rachelle spent her senior year creating beautiful art, including a large self-portrait in oils that hangs in our great room next to the fireplace, several 2-D pieces, and another oil portrait of Roxy. She also received a I rating at the Kansas State Music Festival for her solo.
Roxy and Her Portrait (May 2007)
As a special Mother’s Day gift back in May 2007, Rachelle painted a portrait of Roxy in oil on gesso masonite, using the photograph I took below (in August 2005) as a basis for her painting. She finished it in just three days. This photo (below) of Roxy is one of my favorites, and spent months as my Windows wallpaper back in 2006.
Roxy (Aug 2005)
The portrait of Roxy hangs in a place of honor in my kitchen/dining area and is almost the first thing you see when you walk in my house.
I even managed to include it in an updated avatar profile picture I took with my cell phone. I spent the rest of that Sunday afternoon updating all my avatars at various social networking sites, replacing the one I had been using (a closeup of Roxy from last fall) with the more recent one you see to the right. At least this way, people can recognize me and I can still provide a tribute to my favorite ditzy Rottweiler, Roxy.
Today marks the second month anniversary of Roxy’s death. We still miss her and continue to think about her often.
