Splendor in the Sky

"America's Next Top Cumulonimbus"

2011-08-13T11:32:00.009-04:00

Moonrise over Warwick Neck and Narragansett Bay, August 10, 2011

What I missed most during our decades in the city were big skies. I wanted to see the sun coming up in the morning and setting in the evening, as we had during our years in Little Compton. I longed to be a spectator at nature's cloud shows – not just staring straight up between buildings and trees at fragments of white and blue and gray, but taking in the awesome sweep of incoming fronts, squall lines, and tumbling cumulonimbus.

We moved to our bayside location four summers ago, and I've been like a drunk at at a frat party: greedily inhaling the sky shows with my eyes and, really, my whole being. This blog was born of my compulsive need to record sunsets in particular but also other sky and cloud phenomena. Something's always happening up there! And we get to see it all, from sunrise and moonrise over Warwick Neck to scary storm systems overhead to painterly sunsets. Edna St. Vincent Millay spoke for me in her poem, "God's World" (1917):

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists, that roll and rise! …
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart…

Several evenings ago, a gloriously threatening line of thunderheads (above) began bundling together just north of us. The largest one was blown into a characteristic flat-topped anvil by high-altitude winds. Out on the beach path with Yogi, I followed these billowing wonders with my camera.

Thunderheads loom over our neighbors Tom and Karen's house.

We did not, after all, get the storm (it struck farther north) – a pattern fairly typical here, possibly because warm air rising over Narragansett Bay forms a barrier to weak incoming fronts. Instead, we watched a runway show of whipped-cream cumulus models strutting their stuff, shaking a platinum mane as if to say, "We've got your number."

Prisms and rays

2011-08-09T14:57:00.008-04:00

An intense pop-up thundershower raced through Warwick from the northwest, leaving beauty in its wake – including this rainbow over Warwick Neck. Wave "hi" to the moon.

Sunset over Oakland Beach (above and, shortly afterward, below).

Bye, bye, birdies. A little girl had just run down the beach, waving her hands and yelling happily at the gulls.

Later, receding thunderheads reflect the red setting sun.

If you click on any photo, you can see it larger and with better detail.

Surprise

2010-10-03T21:19:00.004-04:00

I wasn't expecting to see this sort of show tonight. It had been overcast and gray (and chilly!) when I walked Daisy around 6 pm. But Mother Nature wasn't done with us. I glanced out our front window and ran for my camera.

My mantra when photographing something beautiful in the sky: Turn around and see what's happening behind you. This was the sunset's reflection in our front window.

Click to see the photographs larger.

Cloud carnival

2010-06-07T20:41:00.007-04:00

The first photo was what I saw when I stepped onto the front porch a short while ago. Crazy clouds!

I walked down the street onto the beach and watched charcoal shapes that looked like whirling tops and charging elephants, shot through with coral spotlights. It was all weirdly festive.

And a little sinister, too.

Wheee! That concludes tonight's show. Thanks for watching.

Windswept magnificence

2010-06-07T06:53:00.009-04:00

You shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow,
For the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you …
(Isaiah 60: 5)

Reflected sunset over Greenwich Bay to our southwest, June 6, 2010.

Sometimes I can't get beyond gushy clichés when it comes to these photo entries. Last evening we had a tornado watch, but thankfully instead of a twister we got a fast-moving, rumbly thunderstorm and high winds. Just as the rain (but not the wind) stopped, I walked the path around our beach and caught the sun as it set in the west-northwest.

The fresh breeze was exhilarating after two days of drippy humidity. In my tank top and shorts, I shivered a bit – but mostly with the sheer fineness of being by the sea amid such glory, the adored scents of salt water and wild roses, the rough caress of the northwesterly wind. My toes dug themselves into fine sand as I braced the camera and fired off shot after shot.

Photography advice: Turn around. I did, and captured a bit of the sunset's reflected glory on retreating storm clouds to the south and east over Narragansett Bay.

Thrilling!
(Remember to click on any photo to see it large.)

Shining golden in the sun's slanting rays, this tree at the end of our road tossed its head wildly.

Southeast over Narragansett Bay: Dark clouds, red reflections as a long June day ends.

Another view of the cloud show over Greenwich Bay.

Detail of cloud just above the setting sun.

As I walked from the western end of the walking/bike path back home, I couldn't resist one last photograph of the now-dimming, still colorful sky to the south.

Been saving these

2010-06-03T21:52:00.023-04:00

June 2, 2010: Clouds rearrange themselves in the rosy evening glow after a storm.

My blogs have been going through a dry spell. This week, I took some nice evening sky photographs and thought I would get back to business here.

For months I feared losing my job, and lo, it came to pass. Several months have gone by since I got the news, yet occasional pangs of anger and sadness still surprise me. I find solace in our world's constants: water, air, sun, growing things, love. I also look forward to new projects, perhaps the chance to add to my skills, and some downtime this summer. I especially anticipate writing more for my own pleasure, something that slid to the bottom of my priority list. For now, I'll ease back into the blogosphere with some colorful memories.

Please click on each photograph to see it larger, and enjoy this walk with me back through the months between Christmas Eve and last night on the shores of Greenwich Bay.

June 2, 2010: Many shades of taupe, pink, and lavender.

Memorial Day eve, 2010: A glorious day approaches nightfall.

Memorial Day eve: Our sunsets have meandered far up into the northwest sky over Brushneck Cove.

April 23, 2010: Serenity

March 26, 2010: Daylight's last streaky banners.

March 1, 2010: Brilliant accents for a gray time of year.

January 12, 2010: Fiery "waves" crest over East Greenwich.

Early January, 2010: A spray of clouds bursts like fireworks over Narragansett Bay to our south.

Early January, 2010: Moments later, the clouds blossom farther across the sky to the southwest.

Early January, 2010: The grand finale, looking west as the sky begins to dim. Bravo!

January 1, 2010: Nature's graphic design project.

Christmas Eve, 2009: A very bright benediction over Greenwich Bay.

Snow ... aglow

2009-12-21T15:30:00.002-05:00

On the eve of the winter solstice, the sun peeks out below departing snow clouds with her promise of longer, warmer days to come.

Through a screen, darkly

2009-12-10T16:17:00.004-05:00

Sunset, December 10, 2009

The Sony digital camera I use at work couldn't get its mind off the window screen, and I'm not sure how to turn off autofocus. As it happens, I rather like this effect.

Racing toward the solstice

2009-12-06T21:48:00.003-05:00

Today at around 3:45, as I was updating the address-label document I keep on my computer for Christmas cards, I realized with some shock: The sun is setting. Fast.

Where did the day go? Where does the time go? How can it be December already? Time, you old rascal. There's just no stopping you.

We appreciate the sunsets, if not their premature arrival.

Click on the photo to see it larger.

In the still of the morn

2009-12-04T14:29:00.003-05:00

6:55 am, moonset over Brushneck Cove. Not even a whisper of wind.
(If you click on this photo, you can see the brant geese.)

This morning Lady Moon was caught by the bare branches – a pale moth in a tangle of hair.

Back to Standard Time

2009-11-01T22:04:00.004-05:00

After sunset, looking down the cove at Greenwich Bay (RI). I missed the bright colors while I was grocery shopping this evening, but this was lovely in its own purple way.

Click on the photo and find the landing light of an incoming plane headed to Green Airport!

L'heure bleu

2009-10-30T18:50:00.001-04:00

Brushneck Cove, Warwick; taken from my car on the way home last night.

Better late than never

2009-10-25T21:08:00.003-04:00

The best part of tonight's sunset occurred when Kevin and I were in the parking lot at Target, putting bags in the back of the Santa Fe. It was … panoramic and multicolored and stunning. I nearly wept that I couldn't capture it with my camera, which was at home.

This is what was left after we brought the groceries in. It was pretty in its own way, like a lingering memory.

What Kevin saw

2009-10-21T22:35:00.008-04:00

The fiery edge of night: He caught it!

Hurtling at 70 mph down 95 South this evening, I grew frantic: The sun was setting and the sky looked sublime, with a large dark cloud cutting straight across a melon-hued sky above the sun. Where the contrasting shapes met, an edge flared as if afire.

I speed-dialed Kevin at home: "Grab my camera and go outside. I think this sunset will be a good one." I told him how to turn off the automatic flash on my Canon G-10, and hung up.

It's a seasonal aggravation: As the days shorten, I can't beat the sunset home. Can't capture those colors and contrasts and flares as I drive.

Luckily, tonight there was a new eye peering through my camera, the fresh sensibility of a 17 year old. While he aimed at approximately the same elements I generally do, I believe Kevin saw them in a new, distinctive way. I'm thrilled with these images made by our son. Enjoy. Please click on the photos to enlarge them.

Wings. Lovers. Contrail.

2009-10-19T23:22:00.006-04:00

October 10: Sometimes real life is like a picture-postcard, in the best possible sense. Click to see larger.

October 14: Asymmetrical sunset.

Between the lines

2009-10-08T00:00:00.002-04:00

Fronds

2009-10-06T23:30:00.002-04:00

Soft September evenings

2009-09-28T22:56:00.001-04:00

Number 9

2009-09-10T06:58:00.002-04:00

What a date yesterday! 09-09-09

It means nothing, but is fun to see all written out like that.

The sky last night, however, reacted more somberly.

Labor Day

2009-09-07T19:38:00.003-04:00

I'm awfully glad I happened to glance out the window just now. Cool night, gorgeous after-sunset glow. End of a beautiful weekend.

Remains of the daylight

2009-08-31T21:49:00.004-04:00

The slanting, tawny light of late summer draws me to the beach after supper. Make that me and 2,000 hungry mosquitos. But who's counting.

Can air be wistful?

Peek-a-boo, Lady Moon.

Clouds on “fire”

2009-06-29T21:03:00.002-04:00

A gorgeous evening. Lots of people strolling the beach, fishing, boating, as the sun set golden behind mounds of cumulonimbus clouds.

Nightfall, June 27

2009-06-28T22:33:00.001-04:00

Sun vs. clouds

2009-06-27T16:37:00.008-04:00

The sun came out. The people came to the beach. Yay!

Everyone was watching the National Guard Air Show at Quonset Point from the sea wall.

The Canadian Snow Birds precision jet team did amazing loops over the bay. A seagull tried to outdo them.

Thunderclouds threatened from the north and west, but they held off long enough for the air show to conclude.

Click to see larger.

Unsettled

2009-06-26T20:35:00.004-04:00

Stormy with a chance of sunset.

Please click to see larger.

Sky lines

2009-06-07T23:42:00.005-04:00

Can you see the orange jet contrail parallel to the electrical wire in the cloudy evening sky?

Sometimes I like to chop the sky into these abstract chunks with my camera. These photos aren't flashy, like sunsets, but there is an artiness to them, like a color-field painting.

"Duality" by Leon Berkowitz

A jet takes off from Green Airport nearby.

After the cloudburst

2009-05-31T23:40:00.003-04:00

Criss-cross

2009-05-20T20:25:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I curse the telephone and other utility wires and cables that obstruct parts of our view. Tonight I didn't mind. The black lines and silhouettes seemed to frame this sunset and make it more vivid.

Western lights

2009-05-10T21:17:00.004-04:00

Last night's sunset progressed from soaring beams of diffused light to a brilliant fan of color and shadow across the sky.

Spring light and shadows

2009-05-03T12:16:00.005-04:00

While it is still chilly here on the Bay, the hopeful slanting light of a spring evening brings out sailboats on the water and walkers on the bike bath.

This couple out for a stroll happen to be friends, Maureen and Jerry, from a block away. They had just waved and "hello-ed" before resuming their walk.

Please click on the photographs to see them larger.

Fire!

2009-03-23T07:11:00.002-04:00

Fiery sunset, that is, behind Buttonwoods.

First day of spring

2009-03-20T19:15:00.004-04:00

Curtains of snow hang from the low clouds this evening. None reaches the ground, but we feel its chill.

Shivery

2009-03-19T19:39:00.005-04:00

Chilly! But at least we're still getting some great sunsets to compensate for the usual tardy New England spring, which officially starts tomorrow. (Snow showers are predicted here.) Please do click to enlarge photos.

The sunset vantage point has moved along with the Earth's seasonal angle, so instead of our front porch, I took this from the end of Strand Avenue and the parking lot overlooking Brushneck Cove.

We had light showers this afternoon. They left behind some sparkling jewels on the leafless vines along the walking path.

Morning moon, lavender sky

2009-03-13T14:38:00.004-04:00

6:55 a.m., March 12.

The rising sun is reflected in windows of the two houses across the channel from ours.

Click on photo to enlarge.

Single file

2009-03-09T22:23:00.001-04:00

Flare

2009-02-21T12:48:00.002-05:00

February thaw

2009-02-08T17:28:00.004-05:00

When we went to bed last night, our yard and everything within sight was still blanketed with snow. We awoke to find temperatures in the low 50s and large puddles everywhere.

The sun is setting later now: just after 5 pm tonight. We are all ready for signs of spring but have months to go. New England: our cruel and beautiful mistress.

Going... going... gone

2009-01-20T18:53:00.004-05:00

Snow silence

2009-01-19T00:14:00.003-05:00

Feeling gray

2009-01-13T19:40:00.001-05:00

Sunset, January 11, 2009

The setting moon, early morning, January 13, 2009

Stands alone

2009-01-10T14:01:00.003-05:00

The jungle-gym near Iggy's at Oakland Beach stands deserted on a cold winter afternoon.

Click to see larger.

Brush strokes

2009-01-04T18:29:00.003-05:00

Somebody was busy painting the late-afternoon sky today. Magnifique!

Post-solstice

2008-12-29T18:04:00.002-05:00

We're more than a week past the winter solstice, but the days aren't noticeably longer yet. The sun began setting shortly after 4 pm today as Daisy and I left for a long walk along the cold, windy beach.

There are rewards for early sundowns, though. Like this view from the walking path.

Better and better

2008-12-02T17:07:00.009-05:00

A virus kept me home from work today. The silver lining is that I was able to see and photograph an especially vivid sunset. It started with a dome-like yellow halo over the just-set sun (above). The sky got richer and lovelier with each passing minute. I could scarcely keep up.

I hope you'll click on the images to see them larger.

Birds and geese filled the sky at times, busily honking and crying to one another over the bay.

Slightly to the south, the crescent moon winked above the bare trees.

Darker and richer yet.

Until only a crimson stripe remained above the black horizon.

Thanksgiving Eve

2008-11-26T17:03:00.003-05:00

After the sun sets, we can appreciate the sky's more subtle palette. I'm thankful for these restorative views literally in our front yard. In the crowded city, where the only distant view was straight up between buildings, I missed seeing big skies, looming purple cloud banks, and watercolor washes of peach and lavender from the horizon up to the evening star.

Illumination

2008-11-23T22:13:00.003-05:00

This evening the sun was almost down by the time I ran in cheek-tingling winds to the beach at the end of our road. The sand and grasses glowed faintly peachy-pink. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

As I watched the sun set, a flock of gulls wheeled toward it. Eventually they disappeared over the trees just as the sun sank behind them.

There is one more photograph of tonight's sunset at my regular blog.

November 20, 2008

2008-11-21T20:23:00.003-05:00

Just after the sun set in late afternoon, this pretty sky blossomed over the bay.
Click on the photograph to enlarge.

Last light, moonlight

2008-11-02T21:32:00.002-05:00

In person this sunset afterglow was the rich color of rare steak. The moon winked at us over the bay.

October light

2008-10-21T19:25:00.002-04:00

Click to see larger. Photo by Michael

Finally got a new camera

2008-10-18T12:38:00.003-04:00

Last night's sunset reflected in our front window.

Labor Day

2008-09-05T17:28:00.002-04:00

My brother took this photo from his boat in Mattapoisett Harbor as evening fell on Labor Day, September 1, 2008. I guess sunset appreciation runs in the family.

Click to enlarge.

O Tannenbaum

2008-08-30T10:19:00.009-04:00

Thursday, August 21. Colliersville, New York. 10 a.m.

I think a moon atop the Christmas tree is every bit as good as a star, don't you?

Click photo to enlarge.

Wet and wild

2008-08-08T22:14:00.003-04:00

Today started out sunny; Caroline and I walked the beach at mid-morning and picked dandelions.

By mid-afternoon the storms started rolling through from the west: lightning, thunder, and a series of heavy rains. Even as I took these photographs from the bike path and the beach tonight, another storm was heading our way from the southwest.

They are quite beautiful, especially when viewed along the sweep of Narragansett Bay.

Click photos to enlarge.

Nightfall, July 16

2008-07-16T22:12:00.002-04:00

Click to enlarge.

See more here.

Stardust. Golden.

2008-07-10T21:30:00.003-04:00

This cloud to our southwest turned different colors as the sun continued to set. (See more at my other blog.)

If you click on the photo above, you can make out the towers of the Newport Bridge. Soon its cables will be outlined in lights against the darkening sky.

Wait a minute

2008-06-30T14:10:00.003-04:00

Please to click on pic.

You know what they say about New England weather.

This storm was spectacular. Be sure to visit my personal blog to see some creeptastic photos!

All's well that ends well.

Summer solstice plus one

2008-06-21T20:19:00.005-04:00

Colorful sunsets are primarily a winter phenomenon here, but just now I glanced outside and saw this sky. The earth’s summer angle means I can’t easily photograph the sunset over water, but these colors are stunning nevertheless. A perfect end to an absolutely sublime June day!

Click to enlarge.

Goes out like a lamb

2008-04-09T20:28:00.002-04:00

Early-spring sunset over Buttonwoods, Warwick, Rhode Island, from the west side of Oakland Beach.

Daylight Savings Time

2008-03-12T19:08:00.006-04:00

One of the best decisions made by the government in recent years was to begin Daylight Savings Time on the second Sunday in March, rather than in April.

I cherish this extra hour of time along the shore with my camera, the setting sun, the floating gulls, and patterns in the sand.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Appetizer

2008-03-06T18:27:00.002-05:00

While I was waiting for a pot of green and wax beans to boil for supper, I glanced out the front window and saw this.

Painterly sky

2008-03-02T18:02:00.005-05:00

Brrrrr, it's cold outside. The wind is brisk, and where I stand with my back to the rock jetty on the point, I'm unprotected from chill blasts from the northwest.
Click on any photo to enlarge.

The sky makes all my shivering worthwhile. Tonight's show featured whispery brushstrokes, feathered clouds, and bands of subtle color.

These seagulls had somewhere to be – in a hurry.

Click here to see last night's sunset.

After 5 p.m.

2008-02-27T17:37:00.002-05:00

The sun is setting later now.
Click any photo to enlarge.

But it's still winter – the tail-end, dirty-snow, muddy muck time of year.

Moving right along

2008-02-21T08:14:00.004-05:00

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Now we begin to see the approach of spring in the northward march of each evening sunset. In a month or so I will no longer be able to photograph it over open water as I have since late fall; the lovely homes of Buttonwoods will intervene.

On the other hand, sundown arrives later and later each day and I will more often be home to catch the show from our porch.

Speaking of shows, last night's lunar eclipse was crystal-clear in the sharp cold air, and ravishing. Hope you caught it; the next one is in 2010.

A P photo

Unsettled

2008-02-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
238 PM EST SUN FEB 10 2008

...ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW SQUALLS EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING...

AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL CROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

IT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY ANOTHER BAND OF SNOW SQUALLS...WHICH HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE BRIEF WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...GUSTY WINDS...AND POSSIBLY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.

Update, 5:00 PM EST (Sunset)
Forecast: Partly cloudy, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as -8. Breezy, with a west wind between 18 and 23 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph.

Pregame Show

2008-02-03T18:01:00.001-05:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday! Go Pats. But first, we pause for sunset.
Click on any photo to enlarge.

A line of geese stretches down the middle of the bay.

January sky theater

2008-01-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

Act I: On a blistering-cold blustery day (below), low clouds release plumes of snow ... which evaporates in the dry air before reaching the ground.

Click to enlarge any photo.

Act II: The moon rises over our dead-end street; house windows reflect the setting sun.

Act III: Did I mention the setting sun?

Act IV: The now-frozen photographer and her dog retreat to their warm house, where a roast chicken, a shot of brandy, and two good NFL conference championships await.

Curtain.

Snow is on the way

2008-01-13T17:00:00.001-05:00

Without interesting clouds, sunsets could get monotonous. Winter weather brings frequent changes and varied displays, like these.

The forecast is calling for 4 to 12 inches of snow between midnight and the end of the day tomorrow. Clouds are gathering as we watch the sun go down this evening. Outdoors it is shivery-cold and ominously still. Several of my favorite feral cats have crouched under our cars for the night – no dummies. They know what's coming.

Sundog, sunset

2008-01-12T14:36:00.001-05:00

2:20 pm

Click on any photograph to enlarge.

4:40 pm

Technicolor

2008-01-08T19:31:00.001-05:00

Click to enlarge.

Today's color is ... magenta

2008-01-02T16:40:00.000-05:00

My camera didn't want to focus in the low light – or maybe I was shivering in the cold wind on the front porch – but you get the idea. Our late-afternoon view was unusually colorful today.

Morning glory

2008-01-02T11:01:00.000-05:00

7:30 a.m., looking east toward Warwick Neck from Oakland Beach. The sky is as sumptuous, in its pearly early-morning way, as the western sky at sunset.

The geese like early mornings, too.
Click photos to enlarge.

Beyond the blog

2008-01-01T17:30:00.001-05:00

Many thanks to Steve for featuring one of my sunset photographs on his Sunset Pictures Web site! I'm in wonderful company there. Y'all go over and take a look around.

New Year's Eve fireworks

2007-12-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

Top photo by Kevin. Click to enlarge.

Swirl

2007-12-29T20:48:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve 2007

2007-12-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

Esprits Divins

O happy night, first night before the day,
night that is no night but perfect radiance,
night that still shines and shall forever shine:
.... Your clear beauty masters the shadow.

– Claude Goudimel (d. 1572)

Almost solstice

2007-12-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today I was giving grandbaby Caroline a snack at around 4 p.m. when I happened to glance out the front door and see this:

The sun had hidden behind brooding clouds most of the day. At the last moment it tore a hole to make a token appearance, complete with rippling reflections on Greenwich Bay.

Click on pic to enlarge.

Snow on the way

2007-12-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow's forecast: four to six inches.

Today: WINDY

Click on photos to enlarge.

P.S.
My husband takes some beautiful photographs, too. See below:

Splendor in the grass

2007-12-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

7:30 am: Jack Frost stopped by last night.

Remember, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

Dreamin'

2007-12-07T10:31:00.000-05:00

All the leaves are brown...

And the sky is gray.

I went for a walk on a winter's day.

Hello, Mr. Mockingbird.

Wednesday, November 28, 4:30 pm

2007-11-28T16:58:00.001-05:00

Click to enlarge

The moon is down

2007-11-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

7:15 am, the morning after a hard rain. Look up: there's the moon!

Look down at the road: there's the moon in a puddle.

Everything is a bit topsy-turvy this morning, in an interesting way.

The geese always know which way is up. More importantly in late November, they know which way is north and which is south.

Remember to click on the pics to enlarge.

November 25, 2007: 5 pm

2007-11-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.

Sunday, late afternoon

2007-11-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

November 18, 2007. 3:50 pm. Cold and still. The days are getting short, indeed.

Earlier, a sailboat returned to Brushneck Cove from the bay.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Daylight

2007-11-14T13:55:00.000-05:00

Frost silvered the beach grass early this morning. Click to enlarge the pics.

A flock of Brant geese seems to have settled in for the winter. I've seen them on Greenwich Bay near our beach and up Brushneck Cove for two weeks now. The geese honk softly to one another. They swim to ...

...and fro.
Have you ever noticed how odd the word "fro" looks when separated from its "to"?

Now it's early afternoon, and granddaughter Caroline is napping upstairs. Over the water, sunbeams dance among gray clouds.

Rorschach sunset

2007-11-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge.

What does it remind you of?

Fall back

2007-11-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

November 7, 2007. Cold and clear.

With the time change, I won't be seeing many sunsets at home until late winter.

Before Hurricane Noel

2007-11-02T18:55:00.000-04:00

November 2, 2007. 5:45-6:00 p.m.

I could see this sunset developing as I drove home from work down Strand Avenue. This time I shot photos from the beach at the end of our street.

Halloween treat

2007-10-31T21:16:00.001-04:00

This All Hallow's Eve brought not one beautiful sunset but a sequence of them, like a child changing costumes for each stop on the trick-or-treat trail.

An offshore wind pushed interesting clouds across the western horizon, altering the view from our porch minute by minute. Remember to click on the pics for larger views.

The sun's rays slanting upward through layers of clouds create a prism effect.

Time out to shmooze with the friendly neighborhood feline. What's Halloween without a black cat on your porch? This one is in costume as the "Got Milk?" ad.

We live near the airport.

Back to Mordor.

Spooky faces in the sky: A ghost (dark "eyes" at center) and a jack-o-lantern, a detail from the first photo in this entry. Boo!

By now it was getting dark and I figured the show was over. I went down the road to take some of Melinda's home-baked Halloween cookies to little Jake and chatted with his mom Karen while she carved their jack-o-lantern. Fifteen minutes later I got ready to leave. On their doorstep I realized the sky held yet one more treat, and I ran for my camera.

October 24, 2007: Gray day

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Sometimes shades of gray are as intriguing, in their subtlety, as a brilliant sunset. Today we walked along Oakland Beach with Caroline, our nature-loving granddaughter.

As always, click to enlarge.

October 22, 2007

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Please click on the first photo. The "artwork" in this evening's sky was spectactular - worth seeing larger!

October 20, 2007

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The sun was a baleful red eye on the horizon.

This shot reminds me of Mordor.

You can make these larger

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I should have mentioned in my first post that if you click on the photographs, you can see them in larger versions than the ones on this blog page.

Morning after the big rainstorm, October 12, 2007.

October 16, 2007

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A big "bird" takes off. Meanwhile, a flock of migrating birds brackets the sun. (Click to enlarge photo.)

Welcome to the show

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September 20, 2007

My regular blog was getting cluttered with the photos of sunsets I can't seem to stop capturing from our front porch by the bay, so I decided to open a photo blog here. Sometimes I may write a long caption; other times it will just be the view.

I hope you'll take a look now and then. I find the skies so soothing to watch. There will be more than just sunsets here, because the show goes on 24/7, every day of the year... and I always have my camera charged and ready. Thanks for stopping by!

- Anne

October 5, 2007. In memory of Mom H., born Oct. 5, 1922.

October 1, 2007

October 1, 2007