He thought a little September sun couldn't hurt....

Never met a sky I didn't like



Oh, HAIL NO.

This is the photo you get when you sleep in--oh man, I was having the weirdest dream, I'm pretty sure Justin Beiber was in it, and I sure did just admit to that, okay moving on--so you wake up too late after a night time hailstorm, happen to look outside and realize that there is ICE all over the place, but the sun has already melted most of it, so you scramble outside in your tank top, ACK! COLD! and you start taking pictures in hopes of capturing something, but melted hail is just not very impressive, so you gather up a whole bunch that has collected against the back of a chair, and well now, THAT is an impressive little, tiny, itty-bitty mound of hail.

Brrrrrrrr.....

The Pacific ocean is so deceivingly cold. This is as far as I went.

Chasing clouds

I had an hour or so to kill today, so armed with my trusty best friend--the camera--(you know I should really come up with a name for her), I hit the streets in search of a good photo. As I drove north along the PCH, the clouds were so amazing, they were almost affecting my driving. Almost. I was so drawn to them, they were so hypnotising (yes, the sky has that effect on me) I decided to drive a bit out of the city, to get a better view. I concluded that the best view would be from the Salinas Valley, I imagined the clouds would look very dramatic over the vegetable fields, and I would get a great panorama. On my way there, it suddenly got very dark, as the sun had been completely engulfed by a monster cloud. Demonstrating my awesome driving skills with a quick pullover, I tried to get the shot before the "moment in time" passed.

The moment did pass, but I did manage to capture the dramatic sun peeking back out. It was just beautiful. I am pointing the camera directly up here.

Once down in the Valley, I tried to find a good spot to set up on the two lane highway--somewhere I wouldn't get run over my an artichoke truck or something. Dressed to impress, in my workout pants and running shoes, I braved the mud, wind, and veggie trucks whizzing by...my hair flying around like a crazy person. In the attempt to capture a "weather" shot for my photography class, I snapped a few illustrative images.

  This, is MUD. This mud, is DEEP. Deep mud does not go well with running shoes...or floor mats.

This, is WIND. Wind is windy.

Now, feeling great that I at least got my homework done, I was determined and excited to get my panorama. Doing my best not to get sucked up by the quicksand-mud-stuff, and not get any dirtier, I found my spot, and got my shot.

I shall call this, "Simpson's clouds".

Howzit hanging?

~~Yellow flower fairy dust is not magical, but it does make the snot fly~~

Addicted to the sunrise?

Well, that cannot be right. I am totally a sunset chic.
Anyone who knows me well, and maybe those who don't...know that I LOVE to sleep and I am NOT a morning person. I have always been that way. An early memory (to my step-father's chagrin) is being woken by a pitcher of cold water to the head...I just don't like to get up.
But as the weather shifts, the fog has cleared for the moment, and cloud patterns in the morning have been phenomenal.
Every morning, I do the same thing.
I press "snooze" fifty times.
I brush my teeth.
I wake the boys.
I turn off the heat.
I open the blinds to see what awaits me. Lately, the anticipation to see what is behind the little metal slats is invigorating enough to clear the blurriness from my eyes.
Sometimes, it's clear skies.
Sometimes its foggy nothingness.
And sometimes.....

By the full moon

~~Crazy huge full moon, low in the sky, orange and bright!~~

Sometimes it's okay to stand alone.

Press PAUSE

A Friday Hike

The hubby and I have officially made time for eachother...something that has been hard to come by in our 10 years with our three crazy kids. He has fridays off, and before things get too hectic and he has to take those days to study, we are putting the littlest in daycare, and dedicating our fridays to US. The last two "us-days" we have had a nice breakfast out and then gone hiking, exploring the trails behind our house. The dreary winter rain has subsided for now, the sun has been out, warming the air, slightly. Having an adult converstation with your spouse, and not having to speak over spilt milk, snotty noses, shrill shrieking, is refreshing. Now, of course we have been lucky enough to take vacations in the past where we spent quality time together, but I think having a weekly escape, if only for a few hours, is priceless. 

Of course, I took my camera to capture the pretty things on our journey.

I didn't have to change a diaper, threaten a "time-out", or find a potty spot!!

Okay, I may be lying on the last one.  

Winterness

When the bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves -Welcome wool sweaters.

~~B. Cybrill~~

Lunar Eclipse 2010

Last nights eclipse was the first total lunar eclipse to occur on day of the Northern Winter Solstice (Southern Summer Solstice) since 1638, and only the second in the common era. (Thanks Wikipedia)
I set up my tripod,camera, and beer at around 11pm, hoping to capture it.
When I walked outside, it was clearer than I had seen it in weeks...and very cold. The shadow of the earth was about half way across the moon, it resembled a cresent moon. Unfortunatly I don't have state-of-the-art lunar eclipse catching equipment, but the images I did get I hope shall be sufficient for you fun lovin blog readers. In about 15-20 minutes, the shadow moved and completly covered the moon, and the lunar eclipse, a bright orange color, made the inner nerd in me giggle. It was extremly clear and very beautiful. The air was crisp, my fingers were ice, as I kept changing the settings on my camera, hoping I would stumble on the "eclipse" feature...

~~My first look, half way to the eclipse~~ 

~~Even though using a tripod, the San Andreas fault is working against me~~

~~You cannot tell, but trust me, only a sliver of the moon is left, the rays are amazing~~

~~One or two minutes shy of the big show~~

~~Total eclipse of the Moon. I know, very disspointing I couldn't capture it on my non-NASA camera~~

December sky

There is a reason we say "Keep your head up".

~~Jenny Fitch~~

Brrrr.....its cold outside!

So, most of my adoring fans will chuckle at this post...but you gotta understand....its COLD for us! We are on the central coast, so "chilly" is our middle name. But latley, CHILLY has a whole new meaning. Temperatures have dipped into the 30's in the evenings for a week now, and this morning, frost dawned the cars and sparkled in the sun. I just put up my tree last night, and decorated the house, so waking up to frost made it all the more Christmas-y.
I am ready for the season of giving, indulgence, and happiness.

Heaven above.

I will ALWAYS make a special trip, hike a mountain, stop everything, do whatever it takes....to photograph a beautiful sky.

Celebrating the autumnal equinox

Big day! I know I will throw a party in the honor of the center of the sun being at the same point as the equator....that's what it means right?? Maybe I should have googled it before I blogged it.
You like that? I am sooo computery.

Evening in the fog...

     The other day my friend generously took the boys for the evening, so the hubby and I had a rare Saturday where it was just he and I, and our little girl. We went straight for the coast, as it was near perfect central California beach weather, and for those who do not know what that is: it is low 70's, blue sky, and NO wind. I was especially excited because this was a great opportunity to take some landscape photos for my class...the blue sky was so inviting. We eagerly hit the sand with no shoes and strolled the cool sand with one very cute and wobbly girl. The beach was close to empty. It was gorgeous.

~Carmel River ending just south of Monterey...filled with picturesque reflective reeds and white egrets.~

   Now, us Monterey-ers are used to the sneaky and intrusive habits of coastal town fog, but this day, was extraordinary. We had not been there but five minutes, and the very familiar wall of fog came bearing down towards us. Abruptly changing the hue of the sky, it took over the jutting rocks in seconds.

Before we knew it, the fog had swallowed the entire beach. Uncharacteristically, the wind remained at bay.

   At the mouth of the river the sun still beamed through the thickness, creating something I had never seen before. It was a rainbow. But it was unsaturated. No color whatsoever. It was a fog-bow. A definate arch, and a definate result of sun meeting moisture....it was incredible.

~Treasure at the end of the fog-bow~ 

   Deeming my landscape photo project a bust, I became almost more snap-happy. (is it possible?? you sigh...) Loving the new surroundings, as I rarely shoot in the haze...I beamed at the images I captured, they filled my hungry artisic belly for the day (oooh... that was a good analogy...back pats) and my hubby even humored me and let me take more than one of him.

                            

                            

~I don't know this lil' guy. But he inspired me. haha~

   Most days, the fog is met with distaste and a little cursing. Here in the central coast, we rarely look at the milky atmosphere as a good thing, so seeing it in a positive light was pleasing. I never use the word pleasing. I just couldnt think of any other word. But, it was indeed pleasing. I never use the word indeed. I just couldn't....oh, never mind.

It was a nice day.