Foggy Sunset

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Skywatching in a forest . . .

Sometimes you can’t see the sky for the trees . . . or something like that! you can see glimmers of blue and all that dazzle is the sun shining through the trees!

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Neighborhood friends

I wonder how many of you have Ravens as neighborhood friends . . .

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Sky Watch – Sights You Don’t Want to See

Usually, looking skyward is a soul renewing thing.  You watch clouds or birds or both and wonder at the universe.  Sometimes though reality hits you via the sky and it makes for a less pleasant set of realizations.

Here in California, it’s Fire Season.  We’ve had one big (for us) fire in our mountains this summer complete with evacuations (not of us) and smoke-filled skies (cough-cough) and fear for a neighboring community and the realization that it could happen here, as well.

Thankfully, our state fire department (Cal Fire) and the local departments who rush to aid them are really, really good at their work.  In August’s fire in Bonny Doon (called the Lockheed fire), they managed to keep any of the homes in the fire area from burning, despite the rugged terrain and difficult access.  They kept it from crossing their firelines and getting into the more densely populated areas of Bonny Doon.  In short, they rock!  And, we’re all grateful for their skill, expertise, and dedication.

But you don’t want to see 3 Cal Fire planes circuling over your house.  Thankfully, this time, they were guiding a bucket-carrying helicopter to a water supply so they could quickly put out a small, nearby fire and not getting ready to fight a fire just above my house as I initially feared.  Still, it was alarming.

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Eerie skies

Belated SkyWatch.  First week of school is kicking my butt.  The ridiculous heatwave we’ve been having is kicking my butt.  And, a phone call I got (but am not ready to talk about) kicked my butt.

But, I refuse to stay kicked so, I’m going to get caught up on my posts and plan for upcoming week.

I think my mantra is going to be “I Will Survive” this year.  With the budget cuts in California, I have more students and more work to do.  My district has done a fantastic job of keeping the cuts away from the students.  However, it has meant that more work has come to the teachers.  Figuring out how to balance all the work and still reach each and every student is my challenge.

And, it’s a doosie.

Sky Watch – Circling the Skies

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Santa Cruz Skies

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Sky Watch: Starry, Starry Night

Being above 7,000 feet has good sides and bad sides.  On the negative, for me, is the lack of oxygen.  Being slightly anemic and a life long asthmatic, I like to have a plentiful supply of oxygen, thank you much.  Another negative is the dry air.  Having the water sucked out of my body slowly over time isn’t a lot of fun.  There are good things too . . . alpen glow, Quaking Aspens, and the stars.

If you are lucky enough to be above 7,000 feet on a clear, moonless night . . . . well, you’re lucky enough!

Cameras can not capture the moment but knowing that did not stop me from trying.  At 2am, one night, I woke up, got a drink of water (it’s really dry up there, did I mention that?), and went up to the cab of the motorhome to look out the front window at the stars.  Breathtaking.  Despite it being 42F, I put on my flip-flops, grabbed my tripod and camera, and took some shots.

It was most disappointing, however, not only was I unable to capture the starry skies beautifully enough, I only got like 2 stars showing up in each shot.  Oh well, FAIL.  No big thing.

Fast forward to my getting home and processing all my pictures.  Just for fun, I asked iPhoto to punch up the shadows and . . .

TA! DA!

I know I’ll enjoy the fireworks tonight in honor of our nation’s birth.  But part of me will be longing for the simple, complicated beauty of High Sierra Fireworks!

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High Drama in the High Sierra

Summer skies at altitude
Clouds whisper in and build the drama
Will it storm or dissipate

All content written by Liza Lee Miller unless otherwise noted.
© 2009, Liza Lee Miller.

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Amazing Clouds

Looking up in Carson City, Nevada last weekend resulted in seeing some nice skies . . .

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