Day 417

Today, John and I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art while the Scalin family headed to a different museum and the Eastern State Penitentiary. On the way to our destination, we came across a small butterfly garden. There were two wrens being noisy. After observing them, I realized it was a mother bird feeding a baby bird bread. Behind them were tall lilies and even taller sky scrapers.

Also in the garden were a few beautiful pigeons. The photograph doesn't capture the irridecent purple and teal of their wings.

Later, before we headed to dinner with the Scalin family, rain started pouring down. This is our hotel window.

The rain had stopped by the time we returned back to our hotel room. The clouds were breaking up, which allowed the full moon to shine through.

Day 416

Today, my husband and I headed to Philadelphia, PA to meet up with the Scalin family for Noah's birthday, and Skull Appreciation Day on Monday. The clouds were beautiful on the way there. There was a clear sky with a full moon at night.

Day 387

Today, there was a full moon. I first noticed it with beautiful clouds around it, but by the time I could photograph it, the clouds had dispersed.

Day 379

Tonight, John and I ventured into the back yard to take photos of the moon. I love how this shot came out. The  details of the craters at the top right are fantastic with the shadows across the rest of the moon.

Day 371

During our first full day, we did a lot of visiting. We went to breakfast with my grandmother. In the afternoon, we went to my aunt and uncle's cattle farm to visit them and let Alex see the cows. In the evening, we meet up with my other aunt, my other uncle, their daughter (my cousin), and my parents (who had just arrived in TN) for dinner. After dinner, we went to my aunt, uncle and cousin's house for dessert.

The car windows were frosted over. My husband was defrosting them. As the frost was melting, I took photos, to the amusement of my grandmother, who after all these years is used to me having a camera in my hands and taking "weird" photos.

My uncle took Alex and I out on his Kubota (like a golf cart, but more sturdy and for farms), to see the herd and the farm. I never realized how large the farm was. The dark horizon line under the tree line is a river. To the left is a bit of flooding in the lower field. The cattle were all on the upper field...which you will see in a moment.

There were several calves in the herd. This one was having a snack.

This is part of the upper field, where the cattle were.

As we were headed back inside the house, I noticed how lovely the sun was through the trees and the long tree shadow it was casting.

This is the full moon at my other aunt, other uncle and cousin's house.

Day 365

While I was pumping gas, I noticed these vibrantly colored crape myrtle trees in the near by parking lot. Since today is the last day of this project, there will be more photos than normal. Oddly, this set turned out a lot better than past sets. Maybe 365 days of practice helps...just maybe...or yes.

I've been tracking the moon cycle all month. It's sort of perfect that tonight it's a full moon.

Day 333

Tonight, we had a full moon and lightly cloudy sky.

Day 273

The sun was glistening on the window in a way that showed spots with the streaks on the window. Also, the shadows from the crape myrtle were interestingly spaces out where the tree was clearly seen through them. Later in the evening, we had a full moon.

Day 216

Today I took photos of the sun pouring through the Holly tree and the full moon.

Day 158

Tonight, I wanted to take photos of the full moon, through the light clouds.

This is from inside the house, through a living room window.

This is outside, from the parking lot.

While I was outside, I heard insects landing on the lamp by the steps.

Day 128

We went to the West End to go to Hobby Lobby, which is new to our area. After shopping, we went to eat lunch and ice cream.

This median strip had yellow daffodil and pansies at the end.

There were birch trees along the sidewalks.

As we were driving back to the Southside, I took a photo of the river from the bridge we crossed. 

The sun was glowing nicely through these trees.

The sun was setting behind us.

Earlier in the day, my sweet husband bought me a new camera, a Canon Power Shot. I saved using it for the evening, as I knew there was going to be a large full moon, known as a "Super Moon". My old camera isn't capable of taking clear photos of the moon, easily. This camera is.

This is from my balcony. It took a few tries, but I got the camera to focus nicely where the branches right in front of the moon showed up. These branches were far away from the house. I'm impressed with the power and clarity of this camera.

The camera has a "hand held twilight" setting. It rapidly takes 6 photos in low light and then make one clearer shot. This prevents the blurring that taking night photos without a tripod, can create.

This is from the parking lot. I love how powerful the camera is. It picked up stars too!