Looking Toward The Skies

Marietta, Ohio looking at the Ohio River - West Virginia on the right

A recent sunset over  Beckley, West Virginia

 

Linking to Good Fences and Skywatch 

This Week's Skies

A rainbow behind new green leaves. 

 

 Right before sunset a watercolor sky!

 

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Pastel Painted Sky

Sitting in the car Tuesday waiting for Hubby to pick up a new shower hose from the home improvement store I noticed pastel colors in the sky. I had my camera with me and took the first two images. The last photo was taken ten minutes later on our way home. I'm assuming this is what is known as a sundog. It was early afternoon and the sun higher in the sky than I would have expected in regards to seeing a sundog. However, the last shot depicts more what one normally sees. Click on the first to enlarge and enjoy the slide show.

  

 Linking to Skywatch.

Midweek Blues and Skywatching

I happened to be in the right place at the right time when the hospital helicopter near my Mom's house was taking off. From the scenes we watched it appeared they were just practicing.

It was pretty neat being this close. I did take a couple of more shots as it got higher but the drab gray day and flat sky all but washed out the helicopter.However, the next evening gave way to lovely pastel colored skies!

Linking to Mid-week Blues and Skywatch.

(click to enlarge all images)

Spaceship In The Clouds

Hubby and I were on our way to check on some new tires for the Jeep when I noticed the cloud formations in the sky and asked him to pull over so I could get out my camera. It struck me how much this cloud looked like pearly white spaceship hiding among the clouds. At least in my own mind that's what it reminded me of. Others might see whales or sharks or just plain clouds. Regardless it was a warm day with lots of sunshine and the skies overhead were gorgeous. Linking to Skywatch.

Watching The Skies

Meet Bobby. Bobby is our resident groundhog. At least we think he might still be a resident. Bobby came to live underneath our little shed this summer. It is nearby our garden; but we don't think he ever went into the garden. This picture was taken the end of September. It's the last time I saw him so we aren't sure if he is hibernating under the shed or took off to spend the winter somewhere else. I'm going to be on the lookout for him today. Should he peek his head out I'm hoping the sun stays hidden and he doesn't see his shadow. We have had two straight days of sixty degree weather and it has made me long for more of the same and for the warm days of spring. Six more weeks of winter just isn't appealing. Bobby, you need to stay hidden. Do you hear me!!

`

I took this photo Monday morning from my front porch. It was a stunning sunrise. As I'm typing this to post just after midnight the weatherman is predicting rain and maybe even thunderstorms overnight so as dawn approaches it probably won't be this lovely. So again Bobby, no need to come out - STAY HIDDEN!!!
Linking to Skywatch.
Update: I haven't seen Round the Bend Bobby but heard the news that the more famous Puxatawney Phil has seen his shadow and six more weeks of winter is upon us. In my world today even though the sun is shining brightly (darn those shadows) it is expected to be fourteen degrees colder than the previous two days. (sigh)

Skywatch

Hubby and I had driven all day to get to our daughter's home in Virginia. It was the day before Thanksgiving. This was the scene from her driveway shortly after our arrival. This shot is just as I took it - straight out of the camera. It was a lovely way to start our visit!

Linking to Skywatch.

Fly Me To The Moon

The Monday after Thanksgiving I was at my daughter's home and had taken little Lily and Lucy out shopping. When we returned home this is what we saw in the sky. The contrails seemed to start at a point on the horizon and fan out. It was the same in two directions. The sunset was reflected in their vapor trails. It was quite a sight to see. As she lives near the Norfolk Naval Base it wouldn't surprise me that these were left by jets doing military maneuvers.As I finished taking pictures I turned as I walked through the front door for one last look. That was when I saw the moon among the trails. As I looked at these this week on my computer I started humming Frank Sinatra's song - Fly Me To The Moon.

"Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like

On Jupiter and Mars" ...........

Linking to Thursday Theme Song and Skywatch.

A Potpourri of Skies

On a recent evening the night came closing in on what was left of a cloud covered blue sky.

When you were little didn't you love looking at the clouds and picking out the shapes? Don't you still love it? What do you see? I think Miss Piggy was floating around looking for Kermit.

Days after the Harvest Moon I was out trying to capture a photo for my little granddaughter Lily. She had seen the big ole moon and remarked to her Mommy that 'if that moon comes over here maybe I can sit on it." Ah, the mind of an almost four year old!

The moon seemed very big and bright but there were many clouds the evening I was trying and they kept getting in my way. When I downloaded this one it looked like the 'Man In The Moon' was posing for me.

I was able to get this egg shaped image before I gave up.

Posted for Skywatch.

Skywatch: Strawberry Moon

Posted for Skywatch.

Skywatch: Last Saturday's Sunset

(from my front porch)

Posted for Skywatch.

Skywatch: Wednesday Evening Skies

I glanced out my front door last evening and thought it looked like there was going to be a lovely sunset. The day had been warm with temperatures in the mid-sixties and by evening the wind was warm. I grabbed my camera and proceded to go out through the garage door. The image above is the sight I saw as I walked outside. I know my jaw dropped. The texture in the sky was unbelievable. I wonder if this was the kind of sky that influenced Van Gogh when he painted "Starry Night"?

Seven minutes later I caught the sun dropping behind the trees. My goal is learning how to take sunburst images and if I had remembered to change the aperture on the camera I might actually have gotten more than a one-sided one. :)

An additional seven minutes later the sun had dropped over the hill out of my view. Soon the dark horizon would meet the light blue sky and blend effortlessly into night.

Posted for Skywatch.

Sky Watching In March

March is one of my favorite months to enjoy looking at the sky. Lots of crisp windy days with a lovely blue covering overhead. To me there is something romantic about a daytime moon. It's always a surprise to look up and see one.
“The future is like the daytime moon, a diffident but faithful companion, so elegant as to be almost invisible, an inconspicuous marvel.”Robert Grudin

That same day provided wispy clouds above the trees and a perfect day to capture contrails.

"What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot on the moon but that they set eye on the earth."
~Norman Cousins

The Supermoon on the 19th.

For more Skywatch click here.

A Foggy Sunrise

This was the view one foggy day back in July.
I love the thick fog off our back deck.

This was the view from the deck one day last week.

For more Skywatch click here.

Skywatch

The sun sets behind the hills as I look out over the driveway. Perhaps I should have saved this for Halloween week now that I see what appears to be a jack-o-lantern face in the clouds! :)

For more Skywatch click here.

Skywatch and Weekend Reflections

Sunday night I looked out my sun room window and noticed the moon glowing high in the sky.
The cloud formations behind the moon reminded me of a beach with the tracks of dune buggies embedded in the sand. Often when I take shots of the moon I get the green reflection that I know distracts some folks; but I like that it gives the photo an otherworldly feel. :)

Seventeen minutes later when the clouds had dissipated I took this more traditional photo of the moon high in the sky. There certainly was a big ole' moon that night.

Thursday at just past noon the sky was filled with fluffy white clouds in a beautiful blue sky.

The Black Pearl (that is indeed the factory named paint color for my Jeep) had just been washed and waxed and was a perfect canvas on which to capture these sky reflections.

For more Skywatch click here.

For more Weekend Reflections click here.

Skywatch

"The Simpson's"

:)

For more Skywatch click here.

Skywatch: In Between Storms

(enlarge to see greater detail)

This was the view outside my sunroom window on Monday. The day before it was pouring the snow down and I was out in twenty degree weather trying to take snowflake shots. What a wonderful difference a day makes. Of course it changed right back the following day to snow flurries and overcast skies and we haven't seen blue skies since. For me this is a wonderful reminder of what a really beautiful winter day can look like.

For more Skywatch please click here.

The Last Summer Moon

For more Skywatch click here.

Skywatch - Signing the Sky

Sky Watch is hosted by Tom at Welcome to Wiggers World. If you would like to see other participants or join in on all the fun just click on the icon and it will take you to Tom's place. We all live under the same sky; but you'll love seeing other's views from all over the world.

"A sunrise is God's promise the world should go on, a sunset his signature."

I took these images on June 14th. The first two are from my front porch and the rest from the open field just below the hill I live on. They are posted in the order in which I took them and were taken in the span of about thirty-five minutes. It was amazing to watch the color of the sky change so dramatically over the course of those few minutes. While watching this wonderful transformation of color I turned and there was the moon high in the sky behind me.

On this evening God's paintbrush left a beautiful signature!