When we arrived it was almost noon on Father’s Day. We made our way to the hotel and waited there til our room was ready. We had a beautiful snack and drinks then spashed some water on our faces and took off for a walk around the city. We only had one full day here before leaving for Venice but it was filled with lots of beautiful architecture, river views, and meals along the beautiful streets of Paris.
It has been over a month since my last blog, more about that at a later date. Each time I do one of these astronomical shoots I glean a bit more experience and see so much of the challenges it gives me. I didn't really start to see the red until it got nearly covered by the Earth. I have a full day ahead of me so I hope you enjoy these photos of the lunar eclipse.
Look for a blog post soon.
As I continue down the road of grief I am struck by the things that take me from such great joy to weepy tears. I'm not even sure how to quantify it or give it a number on a scale. I spend a lot of time reading and listening to books. As I've shared in other posts I am listening to a book on Heaven and a book on waiting. Both of these areas in my life have been a struggle. Kinda like that kid that wants to be president at the place that they work even before they learn how to count back change at the register. As I've said in previous blogs Heaven has always been abstract to me and because my faith points me to Jesus and the bible I don't really want to speculate about it. I want to know what the bible says as that is foundational...my center. On top of reading/listening to many books I am attending a faith-based small group on grief called Grief Share. All these things keep me a float...keep me moving...processing. They keep me reaching out to grasp what is really not something you can grasp. So what it does is give me strength. It gives me Faith to look beyond what I can see and it gives me Hope that what I think and believe are Truth and that at some point it will bring peace and understanding.
Roads are a funny thing. I've spent most of the summer on the road either on the east coast or west coast but always on the road. I went on a road trip this last weekend and we had times on this trip where the highway was smoothly paved. The road noise was minimal. You could hear the stereo in the car without having to crank it up and the skies were clear....smooth sailing so to speak. We then had places where the road was so rough from years of weather and chains from vehicles that you could not even hear yourself think. You couldn't hear the radio. You couldn't even have a conversation as the noise in the car was so loud and storms that nearly blinded you as you drove down country roads in the dark. Sometimes you turn down a road that you think is the right one and all of a sudden you are at a dead end. You make a plan that you are going to leave at a certain time. You stop just to get food and go to the bathroom no extra stops just to realize it took you about the same amount of time as it did when you enjoyed the journey. Stopped and looked at the sights. Made memories and took your time.
I share all of this because grief is very similar to the road trips I've been on and to be perfectly honest life is this way as well. It takes me to places I didn't want to go. Sometimes I enjoy where I'm going and the effects of it leave me refreshed and my burden is lightened. Sometimes the noise is so loud I can't hear what is being said to me and I zone out. Sometimes I just want to get home...to do it my way. I forget about all the beauty that is around me and if I had just stopped...walked around...and practiced pondering I would have gotten home in just the right amount of time and enjoyed the journey.
Evan, we love and miss you so very much. Every memory is bittersweet and filled with the what if's and why not's. As I travel this road I hope to have less of those questions but for now...It is September and that means that you have been gone 10 months....but really it is for eternity. e·ter·ni·ty əˈtərnədē/ ~ noun ~ infinite or unending time.
http://www.visitcalifornia.com/attraction/sundial-bridge
https://www.amazon.com/Real-Heaven-What-Bible-Actually/dp/0801016134
https://www.amazon.com/Wait-See-Finding-Peace-Pauses/dp/0781413559
Late post here but I've been really busy and have a bunch of photos to edit but I was able to get these beauties done. It was hard to find a place that I could get a clear view of the moon as it was rising. While I finally found a spot it was near an open creek with a bridge so I got a quick shot of the reflection. Next time I might need to bring along my trip-pod. This moon was so reddish orange when it was rising. Hope you enjoy these. Here are the names of the full moons taken from the Farmer's Almanac http://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names
Today marks not only the beginning of summer but a rare occurrence that hasn't happened since 1967. Two astronomical phenomena will occur at the same time. This evening's "strawberry" full moon will occur at the same time as the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. EarthSky.org said that a full moon on a summer solstice is a rare event, and we will not see another until June 21, 2062. As I will not be here in June of 2062...I have left this gallery here for those who will come after me. Enjoy!
The photos are a little fuzzy as there was so much heat rising from the earth.
