Super Blood Moon - The Aftermath! St. Sava Orthodox Church Jackson, California

I love night time.  I've always really been a night person and just love to be out and about in the beauty of the darkness with the stars and moon shining above me.  That's one reason why I get so excited about lunar events like super moons and eclipses.  

This month was no exception as we experienced the Super Wolf Moon a couple weeks ago.  But I had some real, REAL! technical difficulties so I decided to edit some more photos from last January.  Haha!

This post kind of piggy backs on my trip to Mendocino for the Super Blood Moon, so I will post up the links here for that trip.  Be sure to check them out because it was an amazing trip full of beaches, flowers, and adventures!

The Super Blood Moon and Bowling Ball Beach at Sunrise

Beaches of the Mendocino Coast and the Gorgeous Birds that call them Home

Oh So Amazing Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Dragons, Bugs, and Fuzzy Flowers

Beautiful Food Photos at the Gardens By The Sea

I got some amazing photos and had a wonderful trip, but I've got to admit that every time I go on a road trip for a Supermoon, I have misgivings once it's over.  I always worry that I didn't get good photos or wonder if I should have done something different.  

In this case, I had thought about a trip to Jackson, California because I thought it would be cool to get photos of the moon with the beautiful St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church there.  So a couple days later, I realized that the moon was still Super, even if it was no longer bloody! (Okay, that didn't sound right.)

So I made the relatively short drive to Jackson, got set up beside the church, and started snapping away. 

The church is on a narrow street which has a hill on the side the church is on.  There are some steep steps leading up to a sidewalk that runs just in front of the beautiful cemetery.  

Day or night, this is one of the most gorgeous churches and cemeteries I've seen.  I need to go back during the day and see inside if that's possible. 

Pretty soon the moon began to rise, almost directly behind the church!  My plan worked!  (So many times it doesn't or I don't follow my plan, more accurately, and then get myself in trouble.)

Okay, I'm not going to lie (and you can probably already tell!) but that's a composite I did of two photos.  I'm not skilled enough to get truly clear pictures of the moon with the church clear too.  But I did get some excellent shots of both!

The moon is a little misshapen because this was a few days after the full moon as these were taken on February 2, 2018.  But the craters are spectacular detail in some of these shots!  I amaze myself with my amateur equipment sometimes. 

I did get one awesome shot of the moon and you can see the roof and monuments from the cemetery too. 

But it was too difficult for me to get detail in the moon when zoomed out.

This was the more normal result. 

Here's another weird one.  But I like weird.  It looks fuzzy and almost painted and yet there is some detail in the moon and the church shows (at least part of it) so I'm happy with weird art.

This is the beautiful entry gate; built in 1894.  

This next one I shot from across the street.  I had to shoot from the side, so everything first appeared crooked.  I had to straighten then and in doing so, cropped off some of the wide views.  I'll have to go back and see if I can get some shots with the stairs and other angles. :)

And, last but not least, a couple of final rudimentary composites!

xoxo

Nikon D3300

Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge Trip Number Two!!

A bird came down the walk:

He did not know I saw

He bit an angle worm in halves

And ate the follow raw.

~~Emily Dickinson

It is in the hopes of seeing birds and more of God's creatures that I often feel strongly drawn to get outdoors and go.  Preferably somewhere I can drive and see different sights and sounds than I see every day in Sacramento.  

I feel so blessed to have the National Wildlife Refuges to soothe my soul, fulfill my passions for nature, wildlife, and birds, educate my mind, and provide me with countless opportunities to take photos.

And the Klamath Basin complex is just absolutely one of the best.  

In the last post, I saw coyotes, bald and golden eagles, and hawks galore!  And the last time I was there, I had close up encounters with eagles, ducks, and even a bobcat eating breakfast!

Next I was headed to Tule Lake, just down the road.  The last time I was there, it was a little later towards Spring and I saw some amazing grebes, ducks, and geese galore!   This time, I wasn't sure what to expect since it was still technically winter.  

The sky was still amazing!

The first bird I saw was a Great Blue Heron on a telephone pole. 

And another one on this farmer thingie.  

I was a little disappointed that the lake wasn't covered with birds as it had been in my last visit.  But the lake itself was even more beautiful. And I do love the opportunity to get some good landscape shots!

Practically mid-shot, one of the heron's flew alongside the lake.  I'm so glad I got a half-decent shot!

And Oh. My. Goodness.  I love weird things.  Beautiful, weird things like these Hooded Mergansers which I had never seen before!

Then on my way back home, I had to literally stop in the road to let an entire herd of deer cross in front of me!

They were bound and determined to get to these pine trees in someone's yard.  Their butts peaking out were so cute!

I wasn't the only one stopped for a few minutes.  But I don't think either of us were complaining since we had such a nice, fun view. 

Some were obviously youngsters and they were especially cute.  

They all looked so velvety and gorgeous.  

It was funny, but the stream of deer seemed neverending! About 15 had crossed the road and there were more in the field on the other side.  They didn't seem in a hurry though, so I moved along myself. 

I stopped by the Visitor Center where I had seen the bobcat the year before.  No bobcats this year, but I did see this cute ground squirrel.  

And then, just as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I had the feeling of being watched.  I looked around and then up.  And saw that I was indeed the target of a pair of baleful eyes!

Did I say baleful?  I meant to say beautiful! A big and beautiful Great-horned Owl!

I thought I couldn't possibly be more blessed on this trip.  But I couldn't be more wrong.  I stopped at the vista point beside Lower Klamath to take one more photo of Mt. Shasta. 

And in the farmer's field on the other side of the road, I saw many, many birds apparently full from their morning meals and enjoying the sunlight!

Four Bald Eagles and countless Ravens and Hawks. 

And then they started swirling like an avian tornado!

In this next shot I count at least five Bald Eagles, a Golden Eagle, and at least seven Ravens. 

Here's another Golden.  Or they could be juvenile Baldies.  

So incredible!!  These birds are so huge and so powerful.  To see them in nature, up close and personal, is such a dream. I need to start planning another trip up there.  And I still need to get to the Upper Klamath!  Each time I've gone, the Upper Klamath had too much snow on the ground for my little car to navigate.  Maybe next year.  :)

xoxo

Nikon D3300