Tag: nature is beautiful

Aurora Borealis

Megh and I enjoyed a collective life goal tonight: seeing the Aurora Borealis with our own eyes.  I’ve wanted to see this for nearly my entire life, ever since I saw the movie Antarctica.

The sun is at a peak of the current solar cycle. A CME was detected the other day, and it’s arrival tonight was predicted by the Space Weather Prediction Center.

Megh, Beta, and I found a dark spot near Rockport, arrived as dusk approached, and waited for the fireworks. Nature did not disappoint.

It started before the sky was completely dark, and initially appeared to be a whitish haze across the northern part of the sky. We started to despair that high clouds were going to interfere, until we realized… the show had actually started.

aurora borealis reflection
I really like this one because the Big Dipper constellation is visible behind the aurora.
aurora borealis spires
The camera’s “night sight” mode not only brought out the colors, but also enabled us to see the reflection off the water.
red and green aurora borealis
You can really see the classic undulations and spires
red aurora borealis
The colors were so strong in this shot, the camera didn’t really add much to this photo. I really enjoy the strong break between color and night sky.
aurora borealis apex
The aurora climbed the northern sky until it was overhead, which is when I caught this photo.

These photos are color-accurate, but a little brighter than what we actually saw.

Bird-watching at Wildwood Cemetery

Our local library sponsored a guided bird-watching walk through the cemetery across the street.  Most people brought binoculars.  I brought my camera and a zoom lens.  Here are the highlights:

robin in the grass
This robin was bouncing between tree and grass
red-tailed hawk preening
Red-tailed hawk preening in a precarious situation
unbalanced red-tailed hawk with wings spread
A red-tailed hawk finding it’s balance in a precarious situation. A moment before, it was preening it’s feathers.

Walking Through Goldsmith Woodland

Alpha child and I took our cameras on a walk through the Goldsmith Woodlands.

marsh and trees reflected on waterI have a new camera, an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV.  (Their new naming scheme is kind of terrible, but the cameras are still good.)  The last camera I owned was an Olympus OM-4, so using a digital camera is taking some getting used to.

Over time, Alpha has adopted my old OM-4, a Canon EOS DSLR from 2005, and a small number of truly vintage cameras.  Today was a Canon kind of a day.

All of these photos were taken by me on my OM-D.

tree truck with insect and woodpecker holes
One of a number of dead tree trunks in the Goldsmith Woodlands. The grounds are carefully managed, and that includes leaving dead trees in place when possible.
sun through tree branches
Filtered winter sun through tree branches
lone cattail with pond in background
The remains of last year’s cattails, also known as typha
bald eagle in flight
We watched a bald eagle parent taking off; it’s juvenile offspring was still standing on the ice

Winter, New England Style

Ah, winter in New England. Go home, winter, you’re already drunk and it’s barely December.

Last week we had a snowstorm and we were home-bound for three days.  School was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday.  I worked from home both days and slowly dug out in the afternoons.

Snow on the back deck
We finally leveled out with over a foot of snow

A week later, temperatures reached 60° F.  I was walking around in shorts and flip-flops.  (I might be weird, but you have to admit that it wasn’t weather-inappropriate.)  The clouds dropped two inches of water on us.  With nowhere for the water to go, there are puddles and ponds everywhere.

Last night, the temperature rapidly dropped, the rain turned to snow, and we got a couple or more inches.  At least the end of the day cleared up with some sun.  The snowmelt, which became treacherous as night fell, was downright beautiful for a while.

Ice caught in mid-freeze
This water on the back of my car hadn’t finished freezing when I walked by.

Tonight, as I left the house to take the dog for an icy, slippery walk, I saw signs that we had some visitors during the day.  A hawk snatched a meal from our front yard.  Meghan left our Thanksgiving bundle of corn out for the birds and squirrels; it seems that we’re feeding the whole neighborhood instead.

Imprint of hawk wing in snow
Some small animal and a hawk came to our front yard expecting a meal. Only one of them was disappointed.

By this weekend we’re expecting to be back in the 50s with more rain.  The rollercoaster that is our local weather continues.  Whee!