Day 2 Aurora photos

The predictions were off. Although I did catch a few lights,  they were only visible with the camera and not much brighter than the light noise caused by yard lights and distant cities.

A faint glow of the Northern Lights

I have to admit that the reds mixed in do give it a unique and beautiful effect. 

Light noise from nearby cities mixed with the Northern Lights

And I got a perfect picture of the big dipper! 

Big dipper and a faint Northern Lights

Don't miss the Northern Lights tonight 9/29 & 30/2016

Prediction of the Northern Lights is as challenging as predicting the weather.  Still there are agencies that give it their best shot.  Last night was the first of 3 days that are predicted to be excellent viewing by the naked eye.  Here are 5 of my favorite photos from last night beginning at 2:30 AM.  (The clouds were in the way earlier in the evening.)

Gates to Heaven

Led by a pillar of light

Crown of Glory

Northern Lights and Big Dipper

Northern Lights and Big Dipper

What's going on?

The shingles were delivered Thursday for one of the sheds. It is a good thing that we have a large driveway.

All of the large animals were out at the fence line. Checking out what all is the noise was in the driveway. 

What'chya doing?

I snuck into the pasture to get a picture of them. But they heard me. I guess that I don't sneak too well.

Wait .... do I watch or come over to say "hello"?

Saturday my nephew,  Isaac, and his friend, Cayden  watched the dogs for me while I did church books and ran errands. They were rinsing out barrels and the cows were once again wondering what was going on over there!

People watching

Aliens over Farming?!?!

As I was taking pictures of the sunset the other night, the sun reflected on the cell phone camera lens.

Aliens at sunset?

I had to laugh as I saw what some would interpret as a UFO. I played with it for a while making them fly away.

Aliens at Sunset?

I'm warmed up again. Time to go outside. The Northern Lights are predicted to dance tonight. 

Smiles

I love to look for the little things in life that bring smiles to my day. Skyler's favorite spots are sitting at feet or laying on a couch 5 feel away.

Our free range chickens

At lunch I took the dogs for a walk.  The pasture was busy with chickens, roosters and all the other animals. 

A lazy day in the pasture

Then the sunset during evening chores. I'm not sure why but sunsets always bring a smile to my face.

Sunset 9/27/19

Okay, maybe I do know why. 

Sunset 9/27/19

They have character,

Sunset 9/27/19

 ~ personality,

Sunset 9/27/19

~ and beauty! What more can anyone ask out of life?

 Sunset 9/27/19

How did that get there?

Have you ever noticed that some things in life have become instinct?   I don't mean the ordinary things,  I mean odd things that trigger a memory.  First of all, I was being appalled that Halloween candy is already up in the stores.

It might be small, but it's frozen and fun

But then I found myself picking up a bag of fun size Milky Way candy bars.  I wasn't thinking,  it was just automatic.  But why?

It looks normal BUT...

I put them in the freezes soon as I got home. Again, without thinking.  Dad and Pat were staying overnight that night.  They arrived as we were eating a late supper. I normally don't do anything for dessert but Saturday night I opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen Milky Way for everyone.  Dad reached out and accepted one while he was saying "We used to have these all the time. Frozen Milky Way candy bars."

Freeze the candy bars for a different treat!

The nougat freezes like taffy. The caramel becomes crispy. And the chocolate crackles off and melts in your mouth. Normally you don't freeze chocolate because it turns white.  These don't last long enough to change color.

Coming in for a landing - Eagles

I promised more pictures: The beauty of having a camera that can shoot 3 frames per second is that I get a beautiful sequence like this.  No cute little story between the pictures.  Please enlarge them to full screen and enjoy the eagle landing in the tree!

Airborn

There is nothing more beautiful than an eagle in flight.

It soars high above, rotating it's head from side to side. Nothing below is missed by it's watchful eye.

I enjoy watching the Eagle fly.  But it is not mutual.  The eagle does not appreciate the watchful eye of humans.

I set my camera at an ISO of 400 1/2000 sec. f/8 and I zoomed in and out as the eagle flew overhead.

It was flying to fast to allow the auto-focus to run.  I had to keep my fingers on the focus ring and slowly turn it as I zoomed in and out.  From the over 200 photos about half of them did not turn out.  I really appreciate my digital camera!

I have a few more photos to share later. Enjoy! 

Road Kill Cafe

Is serving up raccoon. Be careful cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles have no respect for the patrons. Look both ways around the curve, obviously the raccoons didn't observe this rule.

Eagle entering Road Kill Cafe

Do I have your order ready?  Just pick up the piece that you want to.  It is a self-service buffet.

Decision time at Road Kill Cafe

Sorry to see you leaving so soon.  The buffet will be open all day for you, stop by and pick up another piece when you've eaten this one.

Food to go from the Road Kill Cafe

I saw three eagles total.  Two adults and a young eagle.  I could hear them in the tree.  I suspect that the parents were using the dead raccoons to teach their young how to hunt.  I didn't stay very long.  I wanted to make sure that I didn't case them off.

Wow! What a power take-off!

Ka-bow! Ka-boom!

The thunder rolled through the air like a band of timpani drums.

Forks of lightening and flashes of light danced across the sky to the beat of the timpani drums.

The wind whipped and whistled through the silos adding the pan flute to the song.

The wooden doors shook and rattled like a rebel in the percussion section of the band.

Rare moments of near silence took your breath away with anticipation of the next big blast!

Do you hear it in the distance?   ping, ping, ping the rain is finally coming and I hear it first hitting the tin roofs of the barns. The next verse of the song begins. Rapidly and growing strong, it was time to retreat from the heavy rain. 

The final verse is more subdued. The winds blew hard while the thunder became more distant. Without the flashing of the lightening the clouds were illuminated by the distant tower lights.

Watch your backside

Last night the Northern Lights were predicted at a probability factor of 5 (9 is the highest).  I went out to the end of the driveway to capture some sample pictures.

I didn't see any Northern Lights, but I was texting with Kelsey and I told her there was an unusual flashing white light. She teased me that the aliens were coming to get me.

When I turned around, I saw the thunderstorms to the South. They were amazing to watch but difficult to photograph. The moral of the story is, don't get so focused that you miss the best view.

They were so far South of us that they looked like they were at the horizon. The stars were visible in the sky above!  I will need to print these in order to see the drama.

Wait until I can get my computer plugged in and download photos from tonight's storm. (I don't like to plug my computer in when it's storming outside.)