Star of the East

Tonight is the Wolf Moon, according to Fritz (aka Kevin Eubanks KSL weather- but every weatherman is Fritz since living in So Cal!)

I wanted to capture the moon in all of his beauty; but you know what? I never can. All I get is lens reflection and blurry, over or under exposed photos. I can see that I will need to study up on how the *big boys* get those awesome photos with all of the craters etc.

So, for tonight, you get to see the beautiful Star of the East. I've always loved that term. It evokes visions of wise men seeking the young child Jesus, come from afar.

(A quick internet search indicates that this star might actually be Jupiter.)

OK... and because I am basically a sunset-addict I had to share this one from earlier this evening.

Truly our Heavenly Father has created a beautiful world for us.

204- Hobble Creek Canyon Moonrise

We took a little explore up Left Fork looking for *God's little creatures*. It is just such a nice restful drive up the canyon. The sun was going down, turning the sky pink in the west and its partner, the moon, was peeking over the eastern mountains. I love this time of year... long evenings, cool breezes, and contentedness just hanging in the air.



We saw a herd of horses with one that looked like he could have been Blue's grandson. The funny thing is that we had to get almost back to our house before we saw any deer. We saw one big doe still while still in the canyon, but the handsome young buck, with his antlers in velvet, with his little companion were on the steep bank right by 30 Oaks Drive!

060- Winter Moonrise

Oh my... so many things to blog about today! But this is what won out- a moonrise over Hobble Creek Canyon. My friend Debra called and said I needed to get outside with my camera and capture this. Funny girl! Doesn't she know it's cold outside? I love how the clouds are curled around... it looks like a scene from Nightmare Before Christmas!


FONT- Albemarle Swash, BRUSH- honnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6, St Patrick Day brushes by ObsidianDawn.com

On the other topics-

Today is the 1st day of March and it was a beautiful day; sunny, warm (well, warm for Utah, in the 50's) and promises of the end of winter. I can't/won't complain about our mild winter. I've enjoyed the break.

We had a special visitor today, but you'll have to wait to hear more about that later. (Don't you just hate it when people do that?)

336- December Full Moon

Yes, I know I just had the moon on my blog two days ago... but, come on... who could resist a shot like this! I just love the *light of the silvery moon*. And wouldn't you think that the light would look the same no matter what season it is? But, no, it changes with the seasons. Can't you just feel you nose and toes getting cold? I promise mine were!

334- Moonrise

I happened to be outside at exactly the right moment tonight... just as the sun was setting and turning the mountains gold and the full moon was peeking over Hobble Creek Canyon. What a beautiful sight.


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160- Full Moon

The chances of me getting a photo of the day much earlier in the day than this one are pretty slim! It was taken at 12:13 am!



I just love the moon and her beautiful, silvery light. I love the way that silvery light filters in through the blinds into my bedroom.

I noticed that the moon was going to rise over our mountains as I was cleaning up the kitchen. Ahh, says I, I have a good reason to try out my new $25 tripod (Yes, I know, Scott Kelby would have a fit... ) I had plenty of time to get it out of the box and set up before the moon would make her appearance. I wish you could have been a little fly watching me in my jacket,slippers and glasses (well, I had on other clothes too!) trying to set up just the right shot. The clouds were floating past the moon and gave the shot even more character.

I was also surprised at how black and white this photo turned out. This is not a converted b&w... just the way it is at midnight!

A Change of Heart...Project 365

So I know I said I wasn't going to do project 365, but now I'm looking at all of the cool photos and blogs that are doing it...

Noel Joy has got the coolest frame and format. Yeah, I can like that!

Liv had a good thought. Take a photo everyday, but you don't necessarily have to post every day! Hmm, *thinks I*, I can do that!!

Then Amanda Taylor says why put it off for a whole year just because you are a few days behind. Why indeed?? So I will play catch up, make-up and insert and get up to speed now on day 12!

I grabbed on to the December POTD project and it was very good therapy for me.

As an aside, for those of you who know me *(and now for those who don't) you know that I lost 2 children 27+ years ago... some years are better than others and frankly year 27 was much harder than some of the recent ones. There were several triggers, if you will, that threw me back in the grieving process or as my sister Sue pointed out... I have PTSD. I am grateful to know that it is ok to have these setbacks and to realize that I will NEVER GET OVER LOSING MY TWO CHILDREN! Does this mean that I don't have a strong testimony of the power of the atonement rought by Jesus Christ and the reality of the resurrection? No, it means that a loving Heavenly Father let me know in those first moments after they'd died that "Joanie, you will be an old grandma sitting in your rocking chair and you will still cry for these babies."

So the point is that with the absence of the POTD the days have been harder. So for more than anything else, I've found something that distracts me, even for a moment and I don't want to lose that positive energy. This project is for me... if y'all want to come along for the ride you're welcome.

So here we go with some catch-up...
let's run this backwards, because that is how the other ones will fall (you know, started at 1 now I'm on 12... oh, well, I'll bet you can figure it out!)

012- Happy 1st anniversary Harley!
We adopted him one year ago today! This is a photo of him on his first day at his new home!



011- DYI
My custom do-it-yourself ice sculpture. This is a little bush outside our garage AND this photo was *for really* taken on the 11th.



010- Reindeer super-highway
All of the deer tracks in my front yard. I wish I could figure out what they are munching on but I'm happy to be of service to my 4-legged neighbors.



009- My wonderful view ...
from my workroom window. I just love it! I ran a Lomo action by PSE Frank on this photo.



008- 12 day of Christmas
I am one of those girls who loves to leave up Christmas for a long time. I got this shot the same night I got out my baby tripod to shot the moon shadows.



007- My favorite #7 guy...
Stuart was frequently #7 when he played soccer. I delved into the mission photos for this one. It is Elder Lewis and Elder Rollo in early 2006. *Is there something in my nose?* (Where does he get that from??)



006- Brandon
Rewind one year ago to 1-6-08 and we were in Katy TX with Erik and family. We went for Brandon's ordination as a deacon. Sure miss those guys.



005- Moonshadows
This photo is *untouched* with the exception of cropping it to fit my format. On 1-11-09 we had a beautiful full moon and I enjoyed the moon shadows.



004- Up Close
Our friendly deer making themselves at home last winter in the ivy patch. This is taken through my front room window.



003- Birthday Boy
Now you may wonder about this one... why a photo of Spencer on his 21st b-day (which was 4 years ago) and on the 3rd, when his b-day is the 22nd... well, I'll tell you! Spencer was due on January 3rd, but didn't come for 3 more weeks! And this is the last time I was with him on his birthday. It was our first year in Utah.



002- Baby Sweet
Our little Riley on 1-2-09 in Palmdale at Auntie P's house. I enjoyed my visit with him. Keep your eye out for this photo in a cool layout coming soon.



001- Here's a *Happy New Year's Suprise*...
a photo of beautiful spring iris from my yard and "played" with several months ago. Auntie P always had January blooming iris at her folks house. So it reminded me of those Palmdale days. (remember having to improvise here! LOL)



So here I am several hours later and feeling much better, thank you very much.

Edit... I forgot to post the credits for these pages- (FONTS- Problem Secretary, CK Cursive, BRUSH- KPertiet_LedgerGrids-9, Overlay- kimi overlay edge 1)

Happy Birthday-Full Moon

Joanie's very own Happy Birthday full moon, just for me!

I love summers! I love the cool air that blows in the window at night. Then if you add a full moon it just becomes magical. I can see the moon rise over the mountain behind our house and it light up the whole yard.

I was delighted last night when I was opening the house to find that I had a full moon for my birthday! What a lovely gift!

* Antique Paper PhotoShop action from littledreamerdesign.com (my current favorite!)