Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
Seasonal happenings
Nothing fancy this year except the date and time stamp of this post.
Makes this year extra special.
Even my favorite baking supplier got in on the pseudo geek holiday with special shipping sale today only.
Tor.com also had a cute post and photo up a few days ago.
I probably won’t get to see this. Snow is forecast for this afternoon in the KC metro area and continuing cloud cover for the next couple of days. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and my eyes on the western horizon as I drive home tomorrow night.
For those of you with clear skies, enjoy a triple conjunction of the bright planet Venus, the red planet Mars and the two-old new Moon.
Whatever you do, just start watching the western twilight sky. Set a reminder on your phone if need be. The planets and moon won’t be up for long after sunset. And the views will be spectacular from now through Saturday night!
Earthsky, “Venus, Mars, moon after sunset February 19“
Gorgeous photo of the new moon courtesy the U.S. Naval Observatory
Learn more about today’s new moon in this Earthsky article: New supermoon – and Black Moon – on February 18, 2015
You can always count on Hallmark and Crown Center to pull out all the stops at Christmas time. I drive through the heart of Crown Center twice a day during my commute. The December mornings are especially pretty in the pre-dawn darkness:
This past weekend wasn’t quite as rough as the previous one. Porthos has fully recovered from his upper respiratory infection and is now eating like the Rottweiler I knew he was (i.e., if there’s a bowl of dog food handy, he will snarf it or inhale it, whichever is faster). Terry is still recovering from his viral mishap, so we didn’t do much besides sleep and watch television.
I did manage to get Porthos and Lexy out for walks on Sunday afternoon. Saturday was too miserable (cold and damp and sometimes drizzly) to walk or even let them in the backyard. Sunday was still overcast but at least not wet.
I walked Lexy first so she wouldn’t feel slighted. She did her usual amble around the neighborhood. She really doesn’t like walking back among the houses, where I feel ‘safer’ or less worried about traffic. Lexy likes to walk along the main thoroughfare into our neighborhood, which involves a slight uphill climb to where the Community Library and City Hall are (about a block away). When we turned around and headed back north, I regretted not grabbing my ears muffs. My ears were stinging by the time we got back to the house.
For the first time in years, Terry and I were not hosting Thanksgiving nor were we dashing 500 plus miles south to North Texas to join our children for the holiday. Our daughter has moved to the northwest and is no longer within easy driving distance. Our son and daughter-in-law had hoped to drive up north from Texas to join us, but the weather was uncertain so they spent yesterday with close friends near them. I phoned my dad on Wednesday night and told him Terry and I were going to take it easy on Thanksgiving day and not have any set schedule. I did promise him one of the two pumpkin pies I planned to make (the recipe makes two pies and Terry and I will not need to eat both of them). The sticky buns, on the other hand, would not survive to be shared. I urged him to spend Thanksgiving with his step-daughter’s family.
DEAR READERS: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and no Thanksgiving would be complete without my sharing the traditional prayer penned by my dear mother:
Oh, Heavenly Father,
We thank Thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank Thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank Thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank Thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
That Thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.
Have a safe and happy celebration, everyone! — Love, ABBY
Posted today on Dear Abby’s blog.
My sincerest thanks to all veterans for your service, dedication and courage.
Freedom is never free and I am forever grateful for the freedoms I enjoy that your sacrifice secures.
Last night after grabbing a quick dinner and running some errands, my husband and I made a quick trip through Mount Muncie Cemetery just before sunset. I took several snapshots with my smartphone, and liked this one the best:
This morning, after commuting in the pre-dawn darkness and parking almost underground, I emerged to find this pink sunrise greeting me on this fabulous Friday morning:
And in honor of the World Series bound Royals (first game is here in Kansas City next Tuesday evening) enjoy this snapshot from one of my many lunch walks around the Country Club Plaza, where all the fountains are overflowing with Royal blue:
Have a great weekend everyone!
I went to bed slightly early last night, but first I set my alarm for 4:45 a.m. Central. As I noted a couple of days ago, I wanted to get up early to observe a total lunar eclipse. As usually happens, I woke up early at 4:15 a.m. Who needs an alarm?
I decided to go ahead and throw on my clothes, grab my purse and smartphone and take the van to Dillons to fill it up. While I drove west (one mile) and north (two miles), I noted that the full moon was already missing a good chunk in the upper left-hand quadrant. After filling up the van, I continued west on Eisenhower Road, crossing Tonganoxie Road and heading up over the ridge. I crossed over 187th street, leaving the paved roads behind and continued until I was forced to turn left at 195th street, just south of an electrical substation (talk about light pollution out in the middle of no where). Continue reading “Observing the Blood Moon Eclipse”