Shootin’ the Moon

I got to see the moon in all of its full glory as I made my way both to and from the airport earlier this week.

In both cases, it peeked at me through a mask of clouds, gray, yet semi-transparent. And through all of the various twists and turns of my trip, it shone down on me like a spotlight.

So Wednesday night, as I stood in the doorway, I found her facing me at eye level as she began to rise behind the neighbor across the street’s house. The nights have been comfortably cool this week, so I decided I would go out to greet – and capture – her. Even though it was now a waning moon, it seemed to shine just as brightly as the night before.

I grabbed camera and tripod and out the door I went. I set up quickly, soaking in the lovely night air and before I could even focus … OUCH! And then again. And again. And again. I slapped my arms. My legs. My feet. My face. Mosquitoes!

Funny, I had just been thinking how this summer I had barely been nipped by these tiny vampires from hell all summer. It’s been too hot, even for them. But here they were, rabid and ravenous, making up for their absence with a vengeance. I killed at least eight before losing count.

Last night, I tried to count the number of bites that are now itching like crazy. Some I can’t even see (they bit my scalp!). It’s in the neighborhood of 35-40. And I was outside less than 10 minutes. I shudder to think how bad it might have gotten had I stayed outside longer.

But the moon? Oh, I got her.



I wasn’t out long enough to really play with manual stops to see if I couldn’t magnify it just a bit more but these aren’t bad, at least not for a first try. Maybe another moon when the mosquitoes aren't so hungry ...