We’ve done well in terms of sunsets lately. Here is the third in a week. I don’t know, honestly, if they actually come in bunches or I simply happen to notice them in bunches. Either way, I’m happy to have them whenever we do. This one was really nice, with parts of the sky a mix of deep blue with a thin layer of magenta/orange over it. Hard to describe and hard to photograph. This shot was taken to the northwest and I like it quite a bit. Just above the orange band at the top, the sky was a more uniform color. I took a few with my wide angle lens but the orange colors in this part were a bit washed out.
Tagged With: Sky
Sunset
We took dinner to a friend this evening, after learning that her nephew had passed away. It was so good to see her and although it was a sad occasion, it’s always good to see old friends. And we do go back a ways with this one, who was in our wedding almost 36 years ago. On the way home there was a lovely sunset going on behind us. As we got off the Inter-County Connector (a.k.a. MD 200) I decided to stop at the commuter parking lot and see if I could get a picture or two. When it was first built, the hill next to the lot was nearly ideal. Now, however, the trees that have grown up on it are starting to block the view enough that I had a much harder time getting a clear view of the clouds, which were fairly low in the sky.
Rainbow
I had gone out to take a few pictures of the clouds, which were pretty dramatic. Then I went inside and was reading as it started to rain. A little later, Dorothy called me to come back outside because there was a really nice rainbow. It was down against the trees, coming right down to the ground. I got a few pictures of that and then walked out into the rain where I could get a view of the rainbow against the sky. It’s more traditional and I considered posting one of the ground level photos here, but frankly, this one is better, so…
Sunset
I took a few pictures of skippers in the yard today and a couple of them turned out pretty nicely but then as the sun was going down, there was a really nice sunset. I can’t say I’ll always pick a sunset picture over any other but they are generally pretty well liked and they are, of course, quite beautiful. Not as nice as actually seeing the sunset, obviously, but we’ve all seen them enough that a photograph can really evoke the feeling you get when you see it for real. This one is looking northwest over our next door neighbors’ yard and most of the sky was clear, so I used my long lens to get just the area with brilliant colors.
Rainbow
It rained pretty hard last night and continued raining today. We can usually judge how hard it’s raining by the streams across our back and side yard and this rain was relatively hard. There were tornado warnings but the wind was never really all that strong here. There was a lot of lightning, though, and at one point the rumble of thunder continued almost continuously. The storm was moving fairly fast and as it moved out, the sun came out and we got another rainbow, which is always a treat.
Sunset
Sunset is getting earlier each evening now, as autumn marches on. Soon we’ll set out clocks back to real time and it will get dark even earlier. For now, I’m at least done work before it gets dark, but that will change. The clouds this evening promised a really nice sunset and we weren’t disappointed. This is from out back steps, looking between the trees and over the house behind ours. We could have a worse view, I have to admit. It’s good to remember that wherever you live, there are times when it’s as pretty as anywhere else on earth. Well, the sky can be, anyway.
Clouds
Clouds. I can’t keep my eyes off them clouds in the sky. ‘Cause I know it won’t be long, won’t be long.
Song lyrics. Not my song, and yet, it’s a song I sometimes sing to myself as I watch the clouds rolling across the sky. It was a busy week and I’m happy for the weekend. And sitting out back and watching the clouds is a nice way to unwind. Of course, this song isn’t just about relaxing, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. The song, by Barry McGuire, is a reference to Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62, and Luke 21:27–28 (“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”).
Sunset
Cathy and I went for a walk in the neighborhood this evening. We took a different route today because the sun was going down and it looked like there would be a decent sunset. I wanted to be somewhere that I could see it so I could get a picture. As you can tell, that worked out well. We also ran into a friend, which was really nice. She and three kids were heading out to buy some fish for their fish tank and she stopped and we chatted a little while. I took a few pictures of the girls, as well and shared them with her.
Sycamore Tree
This American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is in our neighbor’s yard. It’s a bit, healthy tree and in the summer it is often lovely at dusk with the evening sun turning the bright green leaves a wonderful orange-green that’s very hard to describe. In the winter, without its leaves, the beauty of the sycamore is in their bark, which is a lovely white, especially against the blue of a winter sky. They are large trees and generally better suited to parks and open areas but they also make a fine city tree, being quite tolerant in their habits.
Sunset
Who doesn’t love a sunset? I certainly do. They also come in handy when I haven’t taken any photos and it’s getting dark. I know I’ll have to find something indoors to photograph. But then when there is color in the western sky, it’s such an easy thing to get a picture of that I have to be really busy to pass up the opportunity. They seem to be popular, as well. Response on Instagram (where most people see the pictures posted here) is always strong for sunset pictures. They don’t quite compete with pictures of people, especially people who are popular, but the do a lot better than pictures of things around the house.
Sunset
After saying I was going to stop taking a photo a day, I actually went two more days taking pictures. After this one, there will be a gap before the next photo was taken. The timing was good, because I threw may back out on the morning of January 3 (writing this after the fact) and getting pictures every day this week would have been hard. So, we’ll end the streak of consecutive days at 10 years plus five days—three before I officially started and two after I officially ended. But as promised, photos will be posted when I do take them.
Sunrise
Long weekends are nice. Our company only started giving us Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off last year so it’s something we’re still getting used to, but of course we’ll take it. I slept in this morning until about 7:00 AM and then stayed in bed awake until I noticed the color in the sky. Considering our bedroom windows face west, that suggested there was some good color in the east, as well. So, I got up and grabbed my camera and went out front to get a few pictures before the color faded. This is actually a bit darker than it was, so not necessarily an accurate representation of what I was seeing, but it’s pretty.
Patuxent River
We went up county today and to the border with Howard County. This photo is of reflections in the Patuxent River, which here is the boundary between Montgomery and Howard Counties (taken from the Montgomery County side). We were on Annapolis Rock Road and stopped where it crosses the Patuxent. A little further along we found the parking area for Annapolis Rocks, which we’ll return to at some point. It’s a really pretty area and one we’ve never been to before.
Magenta Sunset
In addition to the bird track picture, I thought I’d share this sunset picture from February 3. The color was all low in the sky, so had to be seen through the trees, but I think it’s a striking enough color that it’s worth posting. I’ve gone through all the pictures I’ve taken from late January through the first week of April and pulled out those I’m going to post and will try to post two or three a day until I’m caught up. I have more still on the camera that I haven’t processed yet, as well.
Evening Light
The hour or so just after sunrise and just before sunset are among the prettiest times of day. The light isn’t always special but when it is, it’s very special. Even a neighborhood scene like this, looking up the street from our house can be beautiful with the late afternoon light on the tops of the trees, turning them a wonderful orange green. This photo doesn’t really capture it completely but if you’ve seen it, then maybe it will be enough to remind you of what it’s like.
Seneca Bluffs
As mentioned in today’s earlier photo, we walked on the east side of Seneca Creek today, on the Seneca Greenway Trail from Seneca Road to a little ways past Berryville Road. Actually, we went off the main trail shortly after Berryville Road and walked along a smaller trail just beside the creek. That’s where the photo of Rob, Susie, and Cathy was taken and also where this photo of the Seneca Bluffs was taken. There is what appears to be a wier or the remains of a small dam across the creek a little below where this shot was taken. You can see the Canadian hemlocks on the bluff, which doesn’t look nearly as high as it did from the top.
Shady Grove Steeple
We started going to church in person today. We went twice last year, when the services were outdoors and with the weather being so nice, we started again today. We plan on making it a regular thing. Although we’ve become a bit accustomed to our stay-at-home Sunday routine, we felt we needed to get out with people a bit more. It was a lovely day and there were a pair of hawks circling the church for a while. I had my camera with me and after the service, I took a few pictures, mostly of the rhododendrons blooming in the woods to the south of the church. With the flowers in the shade and the steeple in the sun, it was a little tricky to get this picture, but I think it turned out pretty well. On the way home from church we stopped at Lake Needwood and I took more pictures of our native Piedmont or mountain azaleas (Rhododendron canescens) in the woods there.
Good Harbor Beach
After we finished getting things ready for tomorrow’s wedding (or at least did as much as we could get done today), Dorothy and I went to Good Harbor Beach. We sat on blanket on the sand and read our books while the sun was setting behind us and the sky turned that wonderful blue that you can only see after dusk or before dawn. There was a layer of low clouds over the ocean and the picked up some wonderful color, which was reflected in the water. Add the moon and here’s what you get. And in case you’re wondering (as I was), Zillow says that house is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $6.5 million. I think you can see why.
Sunflower
We took another visit to the Ag. History Farm Park today and Dorothy was there with us. I took more butterfly pictures, including a few of a black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). I decided, though, that I’d post this photo of a sunflower, instead. It was a lovely day with a beautiful, blue sky and the combination of yellow and blue is so nice, I just can’t get enough of it. We missed the sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area this year, so it was nice to get a small taste of them here.
Sunset
We were out between Darnestown and Poolesville this evening for Dorothy’s Thursday Evening Worship, although Dorothy wasn’t there this week and we were led by Adam and Michael. It was a lovely, cool evening and the sun was going down as we started. I took a few pictures, including this one of the sunset. Not the most spectacular sunset in history, but pretty for all of that. We had a lovely time and naturally we stayed and visited with everyone afterward. I especially enjoyed talking with Michael about keeping aquarium fish, which it turns out we both do.
Sunset
We were out at Anna and Greg’s for the bi-weekly worship night and there was a lovely sunset. The color was mostly down near the horizon so I took a few pictures with my 100mm lens. The photo presented here is a panorama made from two of those, stitched together with Hugin, a panorama photo stitcher (https://hugin.sourceforge.io/), that does a really good job and over the years has become more and more automated.
Clouds At Sunset
We went for a walk at Redgate Park this evening and spent most of the walk on the phone with our friend Lisa. It was warm and muggy but good to be outdoors. When we first called, Lisa had been in the bank and was anxious to get out. Another customer was being very belligerent and she wanted to be somewhere else. We tLked abiut that and all sorts of ither things. We saw a few deer and lots if geese and then towards the end of the walk the clouds to the southeast of us were lit by the setting sun and turned an intense orange.
Sunset
As we near the winter solstice, it’s getting dark before I leave work, which is one of the things I like least about the winter. Still, it does mean that I’m more likely to see the sunset, as I’m not home and engrossed in some book or other. This was taken through the window of my office. Until last February my office window faced north so I rarely so the sunset directly through it. Now I face west, although, as you can see, there are trees along the back of the parking lot so the sunset is only seen through them. Still, pretty colors.
Sunfish Pond
We went for a walk today, heading down to Sunfish pond, walking around it, and then coming back. It’s a pleasant walk and there are a lot of things coming up. The water in the stream was fairly high but we were able to cross on rocks just below the large rock that forces the creak to turn 90 degrees. The reflections on the pond were nice and I think this sort of captures them. We’d been quite busy lately and haven’t been able to get out as much as we’d like and for the next month or two we don’t expect that to change much. Still, we’ll go when we can.
Partial Solar Eclipse
We had quite a few friends to traveled to various places on the path of totality to see the main event. We stayed home and took about 1.5 hours off from work to enjoy the partial solar eclipse. I set up my camera with my long lens zoomed out to 600mm and auto-focus turned off. I set the aperture to f/22 and the shutter speed to 1⁄8000 second. I wasn’t about to look through the camera at the sun, so turned on the LED screen to view the sun on that. Even with those settings, the sun was much too bright and I was unable to get even reasonably good photographs, except when light clouds darkened the sky enough. That happened early in the eclipse but by the time this photo was taken, the sky was clear. Even with only this small amount of the sun visible, it’s way too bright to look at unfiltered, even at those extreme camera settings.
By stacking two polarizing filters over the lens and turning them perpendicular to each other, I was able to reduce the light to an acceptable level. With the two filters perfectly perpendicular to one another, however, the image recorded was a deep blue color. By turning one of them ever so slightly the image turned white and that’s how it was set for this photo, taken a few minutes before the maximum solar coverage.
Pennsylvania Sunset
Cathy and I drove up to Pennsylvania late this morning to join Dorothy and some of her friends. Two of them had come up to work on their music bit and then after we came, they helped me plant four dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) and ten Fraser fir (Abies fraseri). There is already one Metasequoia that dad planted something like 50 years ago and we planted the new trees in that same area to hopefully produce a small grove eventually. The firs are planted as Christmas trees and the plan it to plant ten or so every year for a while and then perhaps every other year after that so that we have a good, constant source for our own Christmas tree. These were little plugs, only measuring four inches or so above ground, so it will be a few years before any of them are ready to be used.
In the evening I built a fire and started cooking dinner only to have a rainstorm put out my fire. After the rain I was able to get the fire going again and then proceeded to overcook dinner. But we ate it anyway. And we got this sunset, which was pretty nice.
Sunset (with Moon)
We had a beautiful sunset this evening and had the bonus of there being a crescent moon in the southwestern sky. The first photo is to the southwest, showing the moon. The second it looking northwest over our next door neighbor’s house. We haven’t had a lot in the way of sunsets lately. That is, the sun has set once per day, as usual, but they haven’t been anything to look at, much less spectacular. But this evening it was really something.
The summer has been very hot, humid, with very little rain. Rainfall in June was only 48 percent of normal ranking among the 20 driest and the fifth hottest Junes on record for Maryland. We also tied our record for the greatest number of June days with a high of 90°F or higher with 14 days. With this sunset, though, I’m hoping things are changing and we’ll get some rain and some cooler weather (like with highs in the mid 80s) sometime soon, hopefully before September.
Clouds over Great Falls
We went to Great Falls today. It’s one of those things we used to do fairly often but then didn’t quite so much when they started charging so much for parking. Now that I have my America The Beautiful Lifetime Senior pass, it doesn’t cost us any to get in. That was definitely a well spent $80. The sky was very dramatic while we were there, as seen in this photo taken from Olmsted Island looking southwest towards the Virginia shoreline. As you can probably tell, this is an HDR image, made from three separate exposures.
A little later, as we were walking on the canal towards Wide-Water, it started to rain. We got under the branches of a tree and I put my camera under my shirt and managed to keep it pretty dry, although we got fairly wet ourselves. The rain stopped and we continued on. By the time we turned around and got back to the car, the sun was shining again.
The Moon
We went up to Sisters today and walked around a farmers market. I bought some flank steak at the Sisters Meat Smokehouse, which I’ll fix in the next day or two. We also went up Pilot Butte in Bend, which is a nice place to get a view of the town and surrounding area. As for the surrounding area, it was fairly hazy and there were clouds so we couldn’t see the tops of Mount Bachelor or the Sisters. To the north we could see Mount Hood, although it looked a bit more like a dark cloud than the top of a mountain. Late in the evening we looked for Saturn, which was in the sky not too far from the moon. I got a few pictures where you can actually see that Saturn has rings, but they aren’t going to win any awards. This photo of the moon won’t, either, but I think it’s a nice shot, anyway.
Sunset, Bend, Oregon
We had a pretty spectacular sunset this evening. This panorama is stitched together from seven shots taken from in front of Brian and Lisa’s house, which faces west. The two peaks partially behind trees about a third the way from the left are Middle and North Sister. South Sister is hidden behind the tree on the far left.






























