I Got Pictures Of A Rainbow

Something I've been telling myself for a long time is to keep a camera with me at all times. The only problem with that is my camera isn't exactly small. It's kind of hard to lug it around unless I specifically intend to use it.

On this particular trip where I got these pictures of a rainbow I didn't have my main camera with me. I was lucky enough to have my new smartphone with me though. I just bought a new Nokia Lumia 521 Windows Phone. I got it because it was very cheap and it syncs up very nicely with Windows 8.

I don't use a phone much but I wanted this thing for the computer. The phone was a nice bonus. It's not the best smartphone camera because this one is Nokia's lower end model. But Nokia is known for its cameras so this one works pretty well anyway.

The whole point is that I'm extremely happy with my new toy and now I'll have a camera with me wherever I go. Now I shouldn't miss a golden opportunity that presents itself, such as this rainbow.

As far as thew rainbow goes, I couldn't believe I had the chance to get it. I never thought I'd get any rainbow pictures. They are so rare and surprising. This one was so strong in the sky though that nobody could have missed it.

The rainbow actually showed up in three different places. There were two ends and what looked like maybe a reflection. And it lasted for maybe fifteen minutes. This last picture was taken several miles away from the first two.

I got to watch the rainbow finally fading away into nothing. It's just amazing that the conditions were just right enough for it to appear. I always think that when I see one. I never saw one until I was an adult. By that time I never thought I would. I'm glad I was wrong. I'll talk to you later.

The Moon Through The Trees

It's time once again for a nighttime adventure, especially since I kind of like going out at night right now. I haven't been taking Isabella for many nighttime walks ever since those orbs showed up. No, it's not that I was frightened away. It's because she likes being out there on her chain, and I have gotten lazy.

But this time when I let her out on the chain I saw something very interesting peeking at me through the trees. It may look like the biggest brightest mysterious orb you've ever seen, but it's really the Moon, and it really was crescent shaped.

I know it doesn't look exactly crescent shaped in these pictures, but that's because the focus is on the tree. I tried to get some good Mooon pictures a little while later, but for some reason the manual settings that I normally use for that didn't work at all this time. And then the clouds came to hide the moon for the rest of the night. I hate when that happens!

You should be able to see a smaller dot below the Moon in these next two pictures. I'm pretty sure it's the planet Venus. I've tried to get planets and stars on camera before, but this is the first time I've had much success. Hooray!

The whole time I was doing this I was also trying to lure Isabell back into the house. It's not that she had been out there for a long time, but she was watching something in the darkness much too intensely.

The other reason I was trying to get her to come in was because of a struggle of wills between us. Isabella still has a strong habit of not coming when she is called. She does this completely on purpose. I know, I've checked. I've been teaching her to be a proper dog, but it's taking time. She's big and she's smart, and she thinks she's too big and too smart.

And here we are approaching the end of this post. The same Moon shines, and the same wind blows. And I'm still out here trying to get this dog to come to me. It works only if I yell at her, but I don't want to do that. I'll let her stay out for a little while longer. I'll take more pictures ofthe night sky.

And my thoughts wander...

So, did you get a chance to go over to Nature Center Magazine and take a look at our Latest News feed? It's really good. We update it several times a day with the very best nature news from around the web. This is very interesting stuff. You already missed a story detailing why your yummy, buttery popcorn smells like a bearcat's butt, and a more serious story telling about a recent near miss the Earth had with an asteroid. Kind of scary. Go take a look. It's free. It's short. And it's very interesting.

And back to this post...

I finally came back into the house to look at my new Moon pictures. Soon there was a scratching at the door. It was Isabella wanting back in. I let her wait for a few minutes. If she wouldn't come when I called her then she was going to have to learn. I eventually got up and let her back in, and now she is lying behind me fast asleep. Good dog, Isabella.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

Somebody's Watching Me

I wasn't sure what would happen when I set out on this warm winter day that hinted of the coming spring. I hoped my recent bad luck would turn for the better, and I had a good feeling as soon as I reached the often used beginning section of the trail. But I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me.

I looked around for the spy, but never found this sneak who watched over my every move. I just had the feeling there were eyes on my back. I didn't think the watcher had bad intentions of any kind. He was just curious. Of course, there have been hidden watchers before. They usually turned out to be curious animals. So I made a decision.

I looked up! I had heard some birds singing in the trees, so I was sure one of those was the culprit. I stopped and kept very still so I wouldn't make the little spy nervous. I didn't want it to fly away. Maybe I could return the favor by watching it right back. And maybe I could get a picture or two.

But I found nothing on my initial scan of the branches. Where could he be? I knew the watcher was there. If only I could find him...

So I decided to take a little closer look. The trees have no leaves this time of year, so anything there would quickly be revealed to my searching eyes. But that's all I was able to see, the bare branches of the tree.

It's been so long since I'd seen anything wild that I wondered if I could still find anything. Would I still be able to take pictures without messing them up? There were definitely some doubts in my mind. But I still felt the love of nature, and that's all I really need. I knew the proper instincts would all come back when I needed them.

And that's when I saw it! I found the watcher that seemed to be hidden so well from my recently unpracticed sight. It had never really been hidden after all. It was waiting there right in the open for my instinct for nature to awake from its long slumber. It had always been there. All I had to do was open my mind to nature again. The watcher was the Moon. And there he was gazing down at me.

Nature is never far away, wherever you go. It's a friend that will never desert you. All you have to do is truly open up to it. You could be in a forest of trees or a forest of tall buildings. Sometimes all it takes to find nature is to look up. Remember that nature is always there waiting... and watching.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

Nothing On The Moon

One night ago I took this picture of the Moon. It looks like a full Moon, but I actually took it one night before the full Moon. I'm not sure I could tell the difference if the two were in front of me. I just thought it would be fun to practice taking Moon pictures again.

The last time I took pictures of the Moon was November 4th of last year. It was the first time I was able to get anything but a white blur in the sky. This one is even better than those. I think my last story might have had more good information than this one though. I include a link on how to do this in that post.

The thing I really thought was interesting this time though was the odd little dot that was moving around on the surface of the Moon. I keep wondering what it might be. I guess it was nothing...

No, really! It was nothing! I'm just kidding. There was nothing moving around on the Moon. Do you hear that, government people!! I saw nothing! Nothing at all!