Monday, January 12, 2009

Sky Lust

MOONRISE January 12, 2009

The past few days I've been feeling a powerful desire to be out under the sky. The air is so clear, the stars so brilliant. The weather systems moving through cause dramatic changes in the clouds and light as the days and nights move along. The moon has gone to full and past since Friday.
Saturday evening we lingered what seemed an hour up at the crossroads, chatting with neighbors going back and forth, watching the sky change, the clouds roll in, that amazing thing where the sky has gray clouds hanging low, but the sun as it sets cuts beneath them, lighting up all the tree tops along the eastern horizon, it's a surreal effect.
I missed the full moon rise last night- too cloudy. My brother Jon called to ask if I had seen it and we talked for a good while. He is sounding very content, enjoying winter in his new home. Tonight I thought I would slip up to the corner and watch the just past full moon rise. Luna was coming up golden and lopsided through hazy clouds. Venus* was still shining in the west. I hoped Jonny was watching the same moon wherever he was tonight.
I tried to capture what I was seeing, three dark power lines overhead cut cross ways by a white, disintegrating jet trail that fell slowly across the sky, slipping through Orion. But what I got was the shot above, interesting, but not what I saw with my eyes at all. I lingered there a bit, watching the hazy clouds roll in, covering up the stars and planets, until the moon slowly glided behind a cloud.
* The other day I said I saw Jupiter at dusk but I researched, and Venus is brightest in the evening sky just now. Jupiter is hidden near the horizon during sunset. oops

No comments: