Lunar eclipse

A once-in-a-lifetime lunar event happened this weekend.  The September 2015 full moon was a 'super moon', when the moon is at it's closest point to the earth in it's orbit.  Only 7% closer, but when the moon is on the horizon it certainly looks bigger than usual.

Saturday evening we zipped out onto the lake in the pontoon to snap a few photos of the moonrise.

Sunday evening we were treated to a complete lunar eclipse - and at a reasonable hour.   No trying to get up at 3AM for a glimpse.  The eclipse began as we were driving home from the Lake.  Clouds were gathering to the north, but cleared as we drove south.  The farm fields gave enough clear viewing that we were able to keep an eye on the disappearing orb in the sky.

At home in the city the trees are so tall and close to the house that we had a difficult time seeing. But the skies were still clear.  Finally, I had enough sense to grab a camera tripod and walk down the block and across the street to get a clear view of the moon, just as it reached total eclipse.  For those of you who had a cloudy evening -  here's what it looked like from Bloomington.  The photo was taken with the 'fireworks' setting on the camera.

It was so tempting to howl at the moon just for fun!  And I think some appropriate music for watching an eclipse would have been nice...Moon River?  Moonlight Serenade?  Cat Stevens- Moonshadow or Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon?

I skipped out again just before heading to bed, and snapped this shot as the eclipse was nearly over.  The moon was too bright for the fireworks setting, so I tried 'night landscape' which had a shorter exposure time.

The end of a beautiful summer

September nights are cool at Smith Lake, and the days are noticeably shorter.  What happened to our 9 PM sunsets?  There is a hint of color in the leaves and soon their spectacular autumn display will arrive.  A boat trip out on the lake after dinner to drop a line is a quick trip these days.  Sunset comes before you know it.

Woody Woodpecker

Do you remember Woody Woodpecker from Saturday morning cartoons in the 1960's?  The cartoons were produced by the Walter Lantz animation studios.  Woody first appeared in 1940's film cartoons, and then from 1957 to 1972 on television.  The Woody Woodpecker Theme song was a 1948 hit, and was the only song from an animated short ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song!

The Pileated Woodpeckers frequent the Smith Lake area in the summertime, and my sister claims that their call sounds just like the Woody Woodpecker Theme!  Can you hear it in their song?  The pair near our cabin successfully raised two young this year and they are getting big!  All four were looking for bugs in the grass on Labor Day, but only two were willing to stay around for a photo.

August skies

A neighbor reminded me that I have been negligent in posting photos recently.
Looks like I have some catching up to do!
Summer thunderstorms in August are so typical in central Minnesota.  The towering Thunderhead Clouds can be seen for miles.  This storm blew through early, and after the storm passed, the storm clouds on the eastern horizon were highlighted by the sunrise.

Not to be out-done, the western sky put on it's own spectacular show at sunset.