Showing posts with label look at the stars. Show all posts

déjà vu & photo club

(I spy Cassiopeia!)

(backdated publishing at its finest—this post has been languishing in my drafts and documents our research for night photography for a photo club stargazing outing. We realized our kitchen table studies were a throwback to undergraduate days, and the realization was startling in its marking of the passage of time.)

Great Basin Gals


No such thing as overpacking ;)


highlights:
-prior to leaving for the trip, Jess was praying in the car, and mid-prayer, full-volume suddenly blasted: "ANY WAY YOU WANT IT, THAT'S THE WAY YOU NEED IT, ANY WAY YOU WANT IT." (a good sign, wouldn't you agree?)
-realizing our out-of-breath-ness was due to the altitude (8000+ feet) rather than our being severely out of shape as we originally thought
-I broke in my new sleeping bag (and I love my new sleeping bag)
-lots and lots of laughter
-tin foil dinners (we've got this down to a culinary science)
-the incredible night sky (although it was cloudy the second night/night of the ranger astronomy program, we still got to see Jupiter with its spot and three of its moons through the telescope!)
-our campsite was nestled among pretty aspen trees and by running water which lulls you to sleep in the best way
-on night one, we were making the pre-bedtime bathroom rounds. When Vanessa turned on her electric toothbrush, Candace burst out of the bathroom, bewildered and thinking it was an animal (still dying over this one)
-while touring Lehman Caves, Jess scared me so badly, and I didn't scream but I jumped proportionately; she knew I would and grabbed onto me so I wouldn't step off the narrow path (Jesster's always got my back)

Wheeler Peak and the bristlecone pines were inaccessible due to snowpack in April, but a return trip is in the works.

starry nights

Tonight as I was walking up to my front door, I looked up at the night sky; the stars were brilliant and bright. (How is it that the wintry cold seems to sharpen the view of the constellations?) As I paused to take in the inky expanse dotted with stars, a shooting star lit across the sky. It was one of the longest shooting stars I've ever seen, trailing across the sky directly above me. It was magical and ethereal and perfect.

This quote came to mind, one of my very favorites:

"We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence." –Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, p. 373
How beautiful and how true this is.

constellations

I saw this painting by Brian Kershisnik the other day and I love it! The blues are beautiful and I love this portrayal of contemplation and wonder. It immediately made me think of this favorite Jane Eyre quote:

"We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence." –Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, p. 373


P.S. if you are currently in the state of Utah, have you seen his Nativity recently acquired by BYU's Museum of Art? Please go see it at your earliest convenience! It's incredible.
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