Moon in the Morning

One morning last week the moon was full and beginning to descend in the western sky . . .  as I walked around the block a few times, I took the opportunity to play around a bit with perspective (the last two photos).

 

Hawk

 

I was able to get out early enough last week for a morning walk that I saw the neighborhood hawk high up in the cypress tree, scouting for his breakfast!

 

Moody Photos

Taking photos is one of my favorite things to do.  I don't really give it much thought, and I only use my phone camera, but I am always looking, looking, looking, without even realizing it.  Whenever something grabs my aesthetic sense and says "here I am!" I respond if at all possible.   Many decades ago I had an SLR Canon with all kinds of lenses and knew how to load the film, adjust the aperture, the focus, and so on (I can barely even remember what was involved!) for each shot.  But now, it's a simple matter to point and shoot.  Suites me fine!  The best part is not needing to wait for the film to be developed; the results are instantaneous.

Here are a few moody shots taken recently. 

 

1.  Cloudy night sky and the ever present "three sentinels," as one friend has dubbed those palm trees.

2.  More palms on a slope, in the early morning as I walked around the block.  It wasn't half so dark and moody looking to my eyes.  I guess we all know that taking photos directly toward the rising sun, even when shrouded by clouds, makes for this sort of result.

3.  What greets my eyes when I return from my morning walks and enter the still darkened house.

4.  Plumeria and palms; another early morning view.  I do like the silhouette effect.

I suppose it sounds like I have been doing a lot of walking; I wish it were true!  It's so warm and sticky outside these days even at 6:30 in the morning.  I have been lazy but I plan to get back to it soon (as in right away tomorrow morning),  heat or no heat.   I always feel so much better after a good morning walk.

Around the Neighborhood

Walking is good for you.  We all know this.  But, sometimes, it's just not possible to be very diligent about it.  There are many reasons.  On Monday, though, I did have a chance to take a nice, long walk around the neighborhood at 6:30 in the morning.  Our days have been very warm lately, so the earlier, the better, where walking is concerned.  

When I stepped out the door, the temperature was already 70F/21C. The air was very still, and so were the birds; hardly a chirp to be heard anywhere.  I enjoyed the quiet of the morning, and the light covering of clouds, keeping it a bit cooler for the moment.

Here are some views for you. . . 

 

Walks, Views, Waterlogued

Just a few artsy views, all of them created with the Waterlogue App from my own photos.  From walks around the neighborhood, and from a little day excursion we took a couple weeks ago out to Point Loma Lighthouse.

 

Morning Sunshine

Here are a handful of photos from this week's morning walks around the neighborhood.  The week has been mostly clear and sunny, even hot; but rain is coming for Christmas Eve and forecast to be with us for three days.

 

The Moon on Saturday Morning

The moon on Saturday morning . . . when the weather was still reasonably chilly.  Today however, while we continue to be blessed with clear blue skies, the temperature is soaring to 83 degrees!!  I have been compensating for this dearth of winter weather by posting lots of snowy Christmas scenes on my Instagram stories. It helps.  

 

Foggy Morning Walk

Early one morning last week, on my hour-long walk . . . 

 

Sun Circle in the Early Morning

On a recent morning walk, there was something we don't notice too often--a circle around the sun.  Because the sun was still low in the east, the circle was only partial from my point of view. . . .

Here is an explanation of what causes these halos around the sun or moon . . .

The wide-angle feature on my phone caused a bit of distortion in this shot.  The sun circle only lasted a few brief minutes, so I am thankful to have been in the right place at just the right time.

Simple Things

A simple collection of found things . . . acorns, a two-tone pebble, a piece of bark shaped like a heart, a pine twig of some sort with what appear to be baby pine cones clustered at the tip.  Kept together in three nested wooden bowls.  

The first bowl, lighter, smallest, is carved from torrey pine wood, purchased in the little gift store at Torrey Pines State Nature Reserve, about a half-hour's drive from my home. 

The second, shaped like the symbol for the Ace of Spades, was bought about 70 years ago by my grandparents when they visited Hawaii . . .

The third, largest, which you can only glimpse part of, I saw at a local well-known discount department store, and bought on a whim.  Just because I love wooden bowls, because it has iron handles, and the price was right.

The pine twig I gleaned on one of my morning walks.  Also the heart-shaped bark fragment.

The acorns are from a local public garden and also from a trip to Julian.

The pebble I found in my garden years ago, and oiled it to make the colors gleam.