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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Night Sights

I rode Hickory up to check the rams and fill their water tank last night. It was getting dusky and out from the Frog Pond I saw a waddling cluster of black fur.  We rode down to (carefully) get a closer look.  A beautiful momma skunk and four tiny babies.  I love watching mommas (of all kinds) teaching their little ones how to forage.  

Working on a farm, I frequently find myself still working, watching the moon come up.  Two nights ago the moon rose while it was still really light out.  Last night, one night later, it was almost completely dark as it cleared the trees out back.  I'd like to find a good book that explains why that is (remember, simple shepherd, not scholar, aka limited big words ;-).  Any suggestions?


15 comments:

The Tea Lady's Journal said...

Beautiful snapshot. Last night I looked out to see a very full moon shining down upon us. Wonderful story about the skunk family. Working on a farm must be exciting; but also making long days. Don't know why one day would make such a difference in how dark it was. ?

Peruby said...

Quite possibly the twilight that appears lighter is when the setting sun's rays shine through particles in the atmosphere.

On the darker twilight, there are not any (or as many) particles in the atmosphere for the sun to reflect the light back to you so it appears darker.

This is just a guess on my part.

www.bergamascosbabydollbrigade.com said...

You might have seen the supermoon we had on the 12th?

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with increased risk of events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but the evidence of such a link is widely held to be unconvincing.

The most recent occurrence was on July 12, 2014. The next and closest supermoon of 2014 will be on August 10.

The opposite phenomenon, an apogee-syzygy, has been called a micromoon,[4] though this term is not as widespread as supermoon.

Andee said...

Now that is an explanation! I the neighbor hood gang over last night and they were begging me to take pictures of the moon. It really did look awesome. I'm glad the skunks didn't spray you!

Spinners End Farm said...

"The Old Farmers Almanac"
New lambs at our place this morning!

MarmePurl said...

We let the grands stay up for bonfire night to see the supermoon. We only had it for a few moments between rise over the mountain and tucked behind clouds. But what wonderful moments they were.

Valerie said...

What a lovely sight! =) Beautiful.
Blessings, Valerie

Lori Skoog said...

Love this shot!

Lisa W said...

As above, supermoon! Here is a good explanation http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/13/supermoon-2014-spectacular-pictures-show-first-of-three-bright-full-moons-visible-this-summer-starting-july-2014-4796436

Alice said...

Impressive capture !!!

Tyche's Minder said...

I saw that moon and didn't even stop long enough to wonder what was going on. Bad me, but I'm making a note of Aug 10. Thanks to the poster above. On my own nerdy note, the rotation of the earth, sun, planets, moon etc., has always been one of those things that really baffles me. The geometry is hard to visual, even with all those elementary school props we had. The best explanations I've ever read (and here's where I get really nerdy) were when I took a philosophy of science class some years ago and read some of Galileo's original observations. He was in the position of having to explain and prove his ideas to people who had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Lots and lots of 'ah ha" moments for me. I still think of his stuff when I look at the moon and stars -- not my elementary school lessons. Probably too nerdy, but if you're interested in that kind of thing, they're fun. :)

thecrazysheeplady said...

Great info everyone! I can't wait for August 10th :-D.

Cloverleaf Art and Fibre said...

The moon is on its own schedule, which doesn't match our 24 hour day. It rises about half an hour later every day. On the night of the full moon, it rises at almost the same time as the sun sets. So depending on cloud cover etc there would be a big different in how much light was in the sky for moonrise the day before full and the day after.

This also explains why the new moon appears in the west -- it is setting. As it waxes, we see it later, and larger, every night.

I love this stuff.

small farm girl said...

Did you forget you had your sunglasses on? :0D

Susan said...

Yes, supermoon, also looking to Aug. 10. we have so much smoke in the sky from wild fires that may not be able to see it.......:(

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