Monday, March 21, 2011

Did you catch a glimpse of the Supermoon?


The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high bower,
With silent delight
Sits and smiles on the night.
~ William Blake ~


Approximately once in every 18 years, the full moon appears larger and brighter than usual.  This is because its elliptical orbital path brings it physically  closer to the earth than at any other time and it therefore appears to be up to 14% larger.  My husband, keen to test out  a newly read-up technique for taking great moon photographs, was out there trying out various options.  I hovered about, drinking in the sheer brilliance of this perfect, creamy orb, whilst  silently ducking beneath my garden's foliage  to discover different perspectives and angles from which to view the perigree moon, requesting, 'photograph it from here, please...and here...and here!'.  The air was perfectly still and for once, silence, so seldom complete in an urban environment, enveloped the scene, adding to the beauty and mystery of the moment.  I asked myself why it is that I don't venture outdoors more often to view the night sky.  I have no reason not to do so...what is your excuse?  

Please click the Read more button below to continue this post...
 



The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.
~ Frederic Lawrence Knowles ~



That is the same moon that looks down upon your brothers and sisters and which they see as they look up, though they are ever so far away from us.
~ Sojourner Truth ~



When I admire the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.    
~ Mohandas Gandhi ~
    

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
~ W.H. Davies ~


~ Gaggy's Moon ~

There is an accompanying tale to the moon in this last picture...when our children were still tiny, my father (an enthusiastic amateur astronomer) used to take them outdoors to view the night sky when we holidayed with them at the Breede River.  Being far, far removed from bright city lights, the nights at the river were dark (jetblack!) and the stars were always extra bright.  He would patiently point out the constellations and tell them wonderful stories.  It was always a very special time for them! On full moon nights, my Dad would take delight in telling the children the moon was his and, as they called him 'Gaggy', a full moon, ever after, became known affectionately as 'Gaggy's Moon'!  When my parents emigrated a few years later, we used to remind the children of this, saying that he had sent the moon to shine down on them, so many thousands of kilometres away, so they would always know he was thinking of them.  Young as they were, it proved to be a foolproof way of reassuring them at those times when they were missing their grandparents more than usual!  I always remember this whenever I see a full moon!
Once again, my appreciation is due to my
patient husband
for having desisted from his own photographic opportunity
in order to first appease me
with my nagging request for pictures for my blog :)
  I tried with my point and shoot,
but the results were
hopeless!!! 
 He's going to have fun practising
on his own again, tonight! 
I'll be good and keep out of his way...
this time!


For more views of the Supermoon, visit Susan, from  East Gippsland.  She's the lovely author of the blog, This 'n That.  She took some beauties!

Here's the link:

http://justbesensiblesusan.blogspot.com/2011/03/some-more-supermoon-shots-viewed-from.html
 

























19 comments:

  1. Absolutely beautiful! Couldn't see it here due to cloud cover. Oh well. What's another 20 years or so. :(

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  2. Beautiful pictures! I didn't realize there was a supermoon until I was watching the late news. By then it was hard to see. We have a wonderful view of the moon on clear nights from our back deck. It's been too cold and wet to go out at night to look at it lately, but in the summer I like to stand out there and look at the night sky.
    Very sweet story about your kids and father :)

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  3. Great pictures! Tell your husband thanks from me too. I love that first one with the white flowers reaching up to the moon.

    I tried with my pitiful little point and shoot too, but there was too much cloud cover to get anything but a hazy blob.

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories of your dad. I still remember the first time I saw the thick band of stars that was the Milky Way. It was of course out in the country far away from the bright lights.

    I managed to get my husband out in the back yard the other night to check out the moon. It was remarkably peaceful out there. I'll have to make an effort to go out in the garden more often at night.

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  4. Absolutely stunning photos of the moon there, so very well done to your husband. Didn't he do well?! I love the little quotes accompanying the photos as well.

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  5. And there I thought the moon was just bigger and brighter because it was my birthday! Thanks for sharing all those lovely little poems - I especially loved the one about the moon shining on those far away. I used to sing this one to my kids and now to my grandkids "I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me"

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  6. Thanks for the photos! Mine were hopeless too!

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  7. A simply beautiful post Desiree.
    The pictures, quotes and the lovely family story of the Gaggy Moon.

    I had a little chuckle at you running around the garden seeing it from different perspectives. I was like that too. A touch of Moon Madness? ;-)

    Thank you for sharing them with us all :D)

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  8. Wonderful pictures! I'm sending your husband my thanks too. And I loved the quotes you chose.

    We look at the moon quite often as we have a good clear view of the eastern horizon -- magical!

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  9. Stunning photos, congratulate hubby for me. I tried with my DSLR but couldn't work out the settings and it refused to take any. I need to read whatever he did.

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  10. No, dang, I missed the whole thing. Didn't know about it until i heard someone talkinga about it.

    However, thanks to your photos I actually got a better view of it. My favorite ones were the 4th and last one.

    He did a wonderful job. The quotes you found to go with them were perfect. What a team!

    kt

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  11. Karen:

    Glad you got to enjoy it here :)

    My favourites are the same as yours!

    Hugs,

    Des xo

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  12. Wauw....stunning pictures.....did you make these pictures ????? I really love them....
    I showed them to my husband and he liked them to....
    Thanks for sharing.
    Love and hugs Bianca

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  13. I tried but mine came out blurry too.

    Thanks for your kind enquiries about my mum. She isn't well and it will be a long haul with an uncertain outcome, but my sis and I will try to be there for her when she needs us. So far I'm managing to keep the blog up to date but it might be harder when she starts having chemo. I appreciate your concern.

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  14. Aw thank you kindly Desiree for the referral!
    Between all the bloggers who took photos.... the others who weren't able to, will get a good look at that big old Supermoon!
    Cheers :D)

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  15. It is kind of neat that even though we are far, far away from you in Africa, we still see the same moon.

    Your husband's photo experiments turned out pretty well. I also enjoyed the story about your dad and "gaggy's" moon.

    My husband and I made a point of watching for the Supermoon. It did not disappoint and was bigger and brighter as predicted.

    Hope you are having a great week.

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  16. Hubby even stayed up so he could view it...it was beautiful but shrouded in cloud here. Your photo is phenomenal. I adore the night sky. In France the other week we were giving Ted his 10 pm walk and we saw two shooting stars. The skies were awash with stars. We should all go outside more and appreciate the heavens.
    Now young lady I have dashed over to you first. I just logged on and I think I might actually have split my sides today laughing at your comment. You do realise that people don't come to read my posts...they come to read what you have to say about them.
    Desiree you are a star.
    If you email me @ cewyer@hotmail.co.uk I'll send you my pathetic seaside drawings. Now I must love you to send you these because no one else will be shown them.
    Thank you so much for commenting on my post. I am always so eager to see what you write.
    Hugs and appreciation
    Carol

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  17. I should have written myself a note, because I forgot to go out to see the moon that night. I was so disappointed! I'm glad I made it here to see your husband's awesome photos! One of my favorites was the one that looks like a frame for the plants.

    I don't remember if I thanked you on your blog for your encouragement and ideas for using the parts of the tree when it comes down. I did on a follow-up comment on my blog. I was thinking the main trunk may be too big for paths, but some of the branches may be a good size for that.

    I hope the people I called for estimates show up today. The guy who came yesterday said the tree was too big for his equipment.

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  18. I missed the moon and I missed your post too, sorry... This week I managed to take on a pretty tedious project and haven't had time for anything.

    I love these different ways of taking pictures of the moon. They are all very beautiful. I wish I had seen it all with my own eyes too.

    The moon has always been special to me and during a full moon, there was so much light in my room, that I would stay up and look out the window.

    It's really sweet that the full moon reminds you and your children of your father. That is a very beautiful memory.

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  19. Thank you so much for the beautiful photo of the moon! It was too cloudy here to see anything. Also love the photo of the baby squirrel.

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