1/11/11 - Going, Going, but not Gone

Although the air temperature did not rise above the freezing mark today, the abundant sunshine started melting the snow. By a little after 3 p.m., when the above photo was taken, the asphalt on the roadway had warmed enough to completely clear away the snow, but what remains on the ground had shown little sign of melting.  I left deep tracks where I walked on the way to and from bird feeders.

While I was looking at icicles hanging off the roof edge on the north side of the house,  my attention was diverted to a white half-moon standing out clearly in the dark blue sky.  I cropped and otherwise fooled around with the photo a bit with my Picasa editing program, but I like the effect.  If you look closely, you can see two eyes and a nose, and a bit of a grin (for those with a good imagination.)

I have lots of work to do during the remainder of this week. Monday's routine church work, which was put off because of the weather, has to be done before the vestry meets at 5:30.  Our church's annual congregational meeting will be held this coming Sunday after church, and I have budgets and reports to prepare before then.

That about wraps up day eleven of this new year. Tomorrow is also a day.

New Year's Day Sky Watch - Faster than a Speeding Bullet

Not a cloud in the sky today, this first day of the new year. When I lifted my eyes to the heavens, about the only thing that caught my eye was an airplane's contrail as it approached a very pale crescent moon (you have to look closely to even see the moon; it's that little white speck almost dead center of the frame above and just ahead of and slightly below the leading edge [right] of the contrail.)

Seven seconds later, yes, just seven seconds (I am amazed at the information stored by my camera), the photo above shows the relative positions of both. The moon sliver is almost centered below the visible contrail. That plane was moving pretty fast.

Sky Watch was created by Dot and expanded upon by our retired friend Tom. This weekly theme post is brought to you by Klaus, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Wren, and Louise. Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Sky Watch Friday - Hello! Can Any One Out There Hear Me? - Post 31

When passing by my church's bell the other evening, I looked up into the still bright sky and found a tiny moon showing amidst some criss-cross cloud patterns. (It's at about 11 o'clock above the bell.) The image found its way into my camera, of course. The bell reminded me of a megaphone and thus this post's title was born.

Sky Watch Friday is hosted by Tom Wiggers at Wiggers World. I invite you to visit his site to see sky photos from all over the world. Thanks, Tom!