The days lengthen; Eight studies of the new moon; Jimmy wastes my time; man climbs bamboo ladder
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 3:48PM 
The days are lengthening. Here I am, at 4:00 PM, driving to Metro Cafe and I can actually see and photograph this guy and his bike. True, I am shooting at ISO 6400 at a slow shutter speed, underexposed by one stop, but still, I can photograph him even though there are no lights nearby.
This would not have been the case a very short time ago.
Shoshana served me my Americano and cinnamon roll, plus I brought a banana with me. I thought about doing more "Young Writer" studies of Shoshana, but I suppose I should not do them everyday but should give her a break between shoots.
Now here I am, driving away from Metro, on Schrock, toward the Talkeetna Mountains. Before I reach them, I will turn left, to the west.
I sip my coffee. I eat my cinnamon roll. I chomp on my banana. I listen to the news on All Things Considered. The NPR lady who fired Juan Williams has now been forced to resign herself.
NPR tries to get a quote from Juan, but he won't talk to them, so they pull a very embittered sounding quote from Juan Williams on Fox News, where he has been paid $3.5 million dollars to turn around on himself and is doing a very good job of it.
As I continue on, I spot the new moon. I understand that the way one is supposed to take such photos is to find just the right spot, stop his car, get out, anchor his camera on a tripod, shoot will as low an ISO as he can get away with and a stopped down aperture.
But I want to drive, to eat my cinnamon roll and listen to the news. So I shot at 6400 ISO, slow shutter speed, wide open aperture, many of the images through a dirty windshield but some, when the angle was right, through an open window.
This pictures look much neater on my big monitor and I hate to have to reduce them to this size, but that's how it is. They will appear a bit larger in slideshow view, but nothing like on my screen.
Oh well:
New Moon, Study #1
New Moon, Study #2
New Moon, Study #3
New Moon, Study #4
New Moon, Study #5
New Moon, Study #6
New Moon, Study #7
New Moon, Study #8
;)
Well, this battle for sleep continues. I got to sleep somewhere between 1:30 and 2:00 AM and could not sleep a wink past 5:00. I stayed in bed and tried my best until just before 6:00, when I quit trying, got up and headed to Family Restaurant.
I was almost alone there, but not quite.
It appears that the dreadful heat wave is over. It is still not cold: 6 degrees F (-15 C) at my house, but it isn't warm, either. Maybe it will get cold, maybe it won't. I wish it would snow a bunch first, because what little we have left is not so much snow as a hard, crust of ice, but if it gets cold it won't snow, because it never snows when it is cold.
Except for mid-winter rain, cold and no snow is the worst kind of winter weather - except for ice skaters, who get to enjoy long skates on snow-free lakes and marshes.
Any, here I am, having just stepped out of Family Restaurant, ready to drive home.
;)
After I got home, I prepared the pictures for this blog post. It was now about 9:00 AM. I suddenly felt a crash coming on. I had no choice but to go lie down for a bit. Jimmy, my good black cat, came with me. I crawled under the covers and lay on my side. He climbed on top of the covers and also lay on my side.
I decided to leave it up to him to decide when I should get up. When he decided it was time to get up off of me, I would get back out of bed. I figured this could be anywhere from from five minutes to one hour. I was kind of hoping for half an hour.
Crazy cat. He didn't move for 3.5 hours and neither did I.
All that time was lost.
Well, I will make up for it tonight, when rational people are asleep.
And this one from India:
Through the window of our taxi-cab, enroute from Bangalore to Mysore: Man climbs bamboo ladder.
Reader Comments (9)
I like the new moon study. Animals are terrible alarm clocks. Lulu likes to bark at the howling cats outside right after I drift into a nice, comfortable sleep. In the morning, she doesn't stir until long after the sun is up.
ooh, love those new moons. we had one the other nite and i was swooning so i'm glad you caught it for me.
I am so enjoying your posts.
I wish you a good nights sleep tonight.
I got to eat at your Family Restaurant today for the first time. You are SO right about the hashbrowns. A bit of potato heaven!
great new moon studies and i think Jimmy knew you needed the rest
Jimmy unselfishly wasted a large part of his day making sure you got some sleep. I mean, he could have been curled up in a sunny spot sleeping, but no. He was taking care of you. And taking care of you was such a big deal that once you finally got up, Jimmy needed a bit of a nap.
Moon's 4 and 6 are definately my favorite.. I am so in love with the sky here.. I have dreams about it sometimes... even when things are blue.. I still have my beautiful sky..
Juan Williams.. egh!
I'm late on this one. I really like the new moon pictures. I love seeing the new moon. It gives me hope for the future - every month a fresh new moon!
As far as wasting time with Jimmy - I have heard that resting quietly with your eyes closed is 60% as restful as sleep. In other words, if you cannot sleep, you are better off to try to lie quietly and relax than to get up and pace around in the night.
Shaela - Thanks. As for Lulu, she's got the morning down right.
Ruth - To make you swoon is a pleasure.
GA Peach - Thanks. Me too!
AkMom - Awww, wish we had been there at the same time!
Twain - Jimmy is smart beyond his years. That would be 10 and a half years.
Debby - In another month or two, Jimmy might be able to find a good warm sunbeam to sleep in, but not yet.
Rocksee - Yes, the Alaska sky is wonderful. I sure have been waiting for some northern lights though. I haven't seen a good display this entire winter. Maybe Fairbanks has done a little better?
Or maybe the northern lights are just going away?
Mocha - I try that and sometimes it works for me and sometimes it does not.