September Morn

The morning of September 20 gave me spell-binding surprises. I'm speaking about the gifts of nature that may seem commonplace to others but can also be a source of a dose of daily joy that helps us stay strong amid life's constant struggles.

I woke up that morning to find the grass in silver hue. Ah, a gossamer blanket of woven dews! So what's so big about these little dews? They're just a common morning element, eh? True, but if we look more closely, they're not that little, ordinary thing at all. Let me start the zooming process from this wider view:

Do you see a set of footsteps here?

Let's get a little closer. Each tiny bead actually reflects the colors of light as seen from certain angles.

Look at these withered tiny weeds. They have turned into a bowl brimming over with minute sparkling dewdrops!

What about cobwebs? At first sight, they're just plain white flimsy things straggling on the grass.

Up close, each strand holds astronomical beads of dew that looks like interwoven strings of tiny crystals!

These are just some of the beauties existing under our feet.

Now, for a surprise over our heads, as I engrossed myself into poring over the grass in quest of those little things, I was also aware of the radiant sun above me, which caused all those dewdrops to sparkle. And so I shifted my view toward the sky, and, ta-da! A sundog complete with a rainbow-colored halo! As usual, I followed its development and took several shots.

The Creator of the mechanisms that produce these things once asked a faithful man of old, named Job:

"Does there exist a father for the rain, or who gave birth to the dewdrops?

Who put wisdom in the cloud layers?...

Who can exactly number the clouds in wisdom,

or the water jars in heaven - who can tip them over?"

(Job 38:28,36,37)

Of course, Job had no answer to these humbling questions, nor any other man in existence. Only our Creator knows everything.

Back to that morning, when this heavenly phenomenon melted away, I turned my gaze down, between heaven and earth, and saw how beautifully the small flowers in our flower bed bloomed in this particular morning. They were the last flowers that closed the summer and ushered in the autumn.

This September morning was indeed packed with wonderful things which appeared to be nature's lovely way of saying goodbye to summer and hello to autumn.

"Heaven in under our feet as well as over our heads."

- Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Linking up with

Skywatch Friday

Today's Flowers

Neither Summer Nor Fall

Some days in early September seemed like a time period that didn't belong to any season. Okay, this is not my original idea but an echo of one blog that I'm following, though expressed in another way. But then, that's exactly how I saw and how I felt about those days too. Granted, they were in between summer and autumn, and yet, they had the characteristics or qualities that were uniquely theirs. Hard to explain, but it's just like that and I leave it that way.

They were beautiful days too, with several pretty things in nature to offer. I'm only writing this to showcase and perpetuate the scenes that adorned those days.

Here are a few of them:

There's just so many wonderful things around that drive away loneliness and boredom. No matter the season, they're always there in different forms to amuse and lift us in different ways. And sure, we can learn life's lessons from them too if we take time to reflect deeply.

Linking up with

NF Inspiring Photography - Catching the Light

Today's Flowers

My First Aurora Sighting This Year

When the sun spewed out large solar storms again last September 9 and 10, skywatchers looked forward to high auroral activities. Expectations went high too, especially among those living within the auroral zone, the northern latitudes of the globe.

For some days from Sept. 12, activities went as high as 5 kp, but I was able to watch the dancing lights on the first night only when they covered the entire sky all over our place at 11 pm to past 12 midnight. Actually, the lights were not so vibrant that time on account of the intense brightness of the waning gibbous. But then, cameras have a way of compressing the scattered colors of light (or whatever this process is called), making the pictures appear luminous. On the following nights, the auroras came earlier when the sky was still bright so that we could not see them.

As always, whenever the activity is high, such as 5 kp and above, the lights cover the whole sky over our place, making it impossible to capture the entire view. The night of September 12 had 5 kp, and as anticipated, the colorful lights danced all over the sky, shifting gradually like a beautifully choreographed waltz around a royal ballroom.

For a moment, I was hit with the urge to spread a  blanket over the grass so I could just lie down and enjoy the show. But then, the grass was so wet from the dew and it was too cold out there in our backyard, and that I would freeze if I would stay motionless. So I kept walking around with head bent upward while waiting for the long exposures to finish up.  Watching the show strained my neck, but it was worth it. I didn't mind the slight pain as long as I didn't miss this marvelous spectacle.

My images are just fragments taken from different sections of the sky. But the diverse shapes tell a whole story of how dazzling the dances of the aurora had been. (I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. I merely used an old compact camera here.)

And once again, as always, my heart danced with the northern lights. And my whole being definitely floated in bliss!

Linking up with 

Mosaic Monday

Skywatch Friday

Supermoon-dazed

Interestingly, the supermoon in September 9 was also called a harvest moon. Some days before that date, the weather had been favorable, affording me opportunities to follow its development. And so I took several pictures from its waxing phases to the first waning phase.

waxing gibbous phases

 Supermoon rising

clouds starting to gather

clouds thickening

supermoon conquering

waning gibbous

Whereas many of us today are dazed by this heavenly phenomenon, I know that this will become a common occurence in the new world where righteousness will prevail. We will have the chance to witness it year after year through all eternity. Faithful is He who promised these words concerning a life without end:

"In his days the righteous one will sprout,

And the abundance of peace until the moon is no more."

Psalm 72:7

Of course, the moon will never be put out of existence. It will always be there as our planet's helpful companion. So will true peace abound, to be experienced by righteous mankind. Forever.

Meanwhile, I keep myself bedazzled by the marvel of the supermoon and even the moon's non-super state. Just the sight of it can add up to the many things that can make our life in this present world a joy to live.

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WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD

SKYWATCH FRIDAY