“Super” Moon June 22 from Waterrock Knob

Panorama from the trail up to Waterrock Knob

“Super” Moon 6/22/2013

View of the moon from the trail up to Waterrock Knob

Moon over Lake Junaluska

Lake Junaluska at night

Original view from trail up to Waterrock Knob

Edited view from trail up to Waterrock Knob

Sunset from the trail up to Waterrock Knob

Michaux’s saxifrage (Saxifraga michauxii)

Blackberry blossom (Rubus sp?)

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

So this year’s “Super” moon was upon us and I went with my roommate up to Waterrock Knob along the Blue Ridge Parkway to photograph the event. Ended up with less spectacular moon shots and better dusk and sunset pictures, definitely a lesson in patience. A “super” moon occurs when the moon is both full and at perigee or closest to the Earth in its orbit. This happens about every 13-14 months, per the linked article. Aside from the moon there were a lot of birds hopping around but I only snapped one decent shot. There was also a lot of Michaux’s saxifrage about, named after the French botanist André Michaux. I played with photoshop a little on one of the vistas along the way up to the knob, giving the picture a rather surreal look. Finally, we stopped by Lake Junaluska to see how the moon looked on the lake. It was a little early and the lake wasn’t still enough to get a decent reflection but a couple of the pictures turned out nice nonetheless.

Classic Hikes of the Smokies: Fontana Lake Experience

Fontana Lake Panorama, from near Dam

Moon at Fontana Lake

Hydrangea at Fontana Village

Asiatic Dayflower (Commelina communis) rather sad looking

Unknown Damselfly (Order: Odonata) species at Fontana Lake

Fontana Dam

Mist on Cheoah Lake

Unknown Wildflower

Grasshopper (Order: Orthoptera)

Lily at Fontana Village

Snail

Fontana Dam Visitor Center

Grasshopper (Order: Orthoptera)

We concluded this was most likely Venus

Unknown flower at Fontana Village

Coral Fungus

Friends of the Smokies took an overnight excursion to Fontana Lake, NC June 18/19. I had a wonderful time and despite some rainy weather the first day the weather for our hikes on the second was excellent. I lead a 5 mile back and forth hike along the Lakeshore Trail where I talked about pollinators in celebration of National Pollinator week, which I learned about from my last internship with Pollinator Partnership. Unfortunately there weren’t many wildflowers to see on our hike aside from a few blooming rhododendron, asters, and Striped Pipsissewa, Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) (no picture sadly). So this meant that the pollinators weren’t out and about as much as I’d have liked. Still I feel confident that I gave a decent introduction pollinators and maybe spurred some interest!

Year in Nature Photography – Day 165

Long shot of the crescent moon

Closer shot of the crescent moon

not my greatest night time shots of the moon, I’m still practicing. It was neat though to have captured some of the stars through the break in the clouds.

Year in Nature Photography – Day 128

Day 8 of Arizona backyard photography.

Final day, leaving Tucson. Captured a full moon behind a saguaro the night before. The prickly pear cacti looked rather wrinkly when we first arrived but after the rain the plumped up storing what water they could get. One last picture of the bird of paradise bush. It’s quite remarkable how much life there is in the desert, though in the high parts there is less diversity than in the lower parts and we were in a city. However, as you can see from the aerial pictures, farming is still possible, with lots of circular fields for easier irrigation. I hope to get the chance to head back sometime and maybe see other parts of the desert in this country or elsewhere in the world.

I hope people enjoy the expanded information I’ve provided with the posts from this trip. I’m quite backlogged at this point so the next bunch of posts will not have as much information to them in order to get caught up. I’ve also grouped this trip in a separate sub-category so they can be found again and edited if I learn more.

Year in Nature Photography – Day 9

For today’s pictures, we have the Moon! The moon is responsible in part for the tides and has for many years been used as a calendar. Enjoy!

The moon and clouds

The moon and clouds, closer and brighter

The moon and clouds, closer and darker

The moon, ready for its close up

 

Year in Nature Photography – Day 1

So for my first photo post-a-day for a year I attempted to try and do some night time photography to relatively little success. Over exposure and too much light are some of the culprits, but will definitely be working on it some more. So besides the moon I took a picture of the family dog.

Moon, 28 February 2012

Holly, the family dog Jack Russell terrier, (Canis lupus familiaris)