Skywatch No. 12

I biked out to catch this sunset over a cornfield a couple of days ago. Cold, but nice. I ended up with a nice set of pictures... I might pull a few of them out for another Skywatch.

Well, I Wish I Were That Good.

Recently, as I was browsing around for formal gowns, I happened upon this classy number. I'm normally not one to be enthralled by hours and hours of clothes-shopping, but this one really caught my fancy. It's just... elegant.

Now, as it just so happens, I'd bought this delicious crinkled/pleated fabric some years ago in this spectacular blend of lime and celery green (I've spent a great deal of time messing with the white balance, but to no avail. This is as close as I can get the color). It's nearly the exact same material as the skirt portion. Now that I have inspiration and an actual use for the fabric, I think I'll have a go at it. As the only sewing machine I am in possession of is currently dysfunctional, well, let's just say this'll be one heck of an interesting experiment.

A Sunrise

It's finally been getting to that point where the sunrise starts its subtle glow in the early hours in the morning again. I still wake to a dark sky but by the time I leave it doesn't feel quite so... desolate, for lack of a better word.

Where I live, most plants haven't budded sufficiently to make it look like it's spring, though it officially has been for week or so. However, the improving weather, in conjunction with the onset of spring break (meaning a week off classes starting today) has put everything in a considerably better light, personally. 

Traffic- Feedback Please!

Traffic analysis tools have become very helpful in determining what sort of things people are looking for when they visit. Please help me by leaving some feedback. I'm not going to beg for attention, but the more you let me know about what you're looking for, the better I'll be able to adapt. Now:

I've noticed that most of you who arrive on Darkglow come from one of three places:

1. Google searches for craft-related items, mainly paper mache. You usually end up here. I'm impressed that I show up high enough on the results to be getting so much traffic for the same thing, but is this single post what you need? Should I expand? Are you disappointed by the content of the rest of the site, most of which has little to do with what you searched for?
2. Skywatch. I enjoy participating, although those posts cater to a narrower audience. I've noticed that if you came from Skywatch, you've only ever commented on Skywatch posts. Does this mean you read exclusively for it? If the posts relate to something else, do you just not read it at all?
3. Facebook. Okay, if you came from Facebook, I probably know you, and you know me. It'd be nice to have some honest feedback. Would you return? Is there anything you are particularly interested in that you'd like me to write more about?

Skywatch No. 10

Still experimenting with night shots. Maybe it's just the inexperience of an amateur speaking, but I find it extraordinarily difficult to focus on a dark sky. Either way...

I still prefer my last night sky photo though.

The night is bitterly cold, but clear, which is what counts. I went out with the intention of shooting the stars; there's something to be said for the less-oft-photographed night sky. Instead, I became distracted with the moon. The moonlight is surprisingly bright- enough to light landscapes under longer exposures- but that's a project for next time.

Here Comes the Sun

The weather is beautiful today. Sunlight, fifty-seven degree high, melted snow, the finally-visible greens of conifers and hardy mosses, the whole deal. Even the insects, birds, and squirrels are out. This is the only "nice" day, per say, for the time being. Spring, we must continue to tell ourselves, begins this month. 

Daylight savings time also begins this weekend. I find it unfair how it always occurs just when it's starting to get a little light in the morning. For those of us who are forced to rise at six, it's often a relief to be able to recognize mornings as being mornings (as opposed to the middle of the night) when looking out the window. 

Also, I am not a fan of post-daylight savings time beginning-Monday mornings. Just thought I'd share.

Remember to adjust your clocks.

I Found

...a video of our marching band this past season. It's only the last half of the show, and yes, I'm posting several months late, but this is state finals after all, and I'm quite glad to have found it. Thanks to whomever took and posted this!

It's Musical Season

We fumble blindly down a set of concrete steps in the darkness, emerging in a low-ceilinged room with the feel of a disused basement (which it undoubtedly is). Occupying the majority of the space is a makeshift sort of plywood stage. Everyone gingerly navigates the steps up. The platform is covered in a rather musty-looking carpet and a tangle of cords and wires. The only light comes from the opening in the ceiling, around which chairs and music stands are tightly clustered. This is pit orchestra, and once again the height of musical season approaches. We're here to play.

Up on stage someone is tap dancing. A gentle shower of sawdust drifts down from the stage floor overhead. Moments later a stampede of chorus members thunders over our heads. The sound system isn't quite coordinated yet- sometimes we can't hear what's happening upstairs, and they can't hear us. It's okay though. This is merely a rehearsal, and although opening night is tomorrow, this counts as being on schedule.

Typically, I audition to join the cast. The lure of bright lights of the stage, the energy, the freedom of unrestrained singing, and the pure satisfaction of giving it your all right in front of a live audience is strong. It's still something I would enjoy doing, but recently I've been finding the backseat, more out-of-view supporting role just as appealing. Playing in the pit has been, in a different way, an experience just as satisfactory.

From outward appearances, I seem to devote more time and energy to vocal music. It's easier, it feels, to fake experience at singing than at playing an instrument. But I was an instrumentalist before a vocalist, and deep down, if I had to choose, I would not give up my longer-standing skill. It often feels that many are divided along an unspoken line, in which those who play instruments are dry, distant bores and those who sing are fluff-headed, flighty creatures. Few are those who belong to both camps. I, who have been part of both, have gained a respect for both. More people ought to give the other a second chance.

Heat Wave

We're currently sitting in the middle of a nice mass of warm air. The temperature topped 50°F yesterday, and that qualifies as a heat wave. An unseasonably warm day in February, for us non-equatorial norther-hemisphere dwellers, feels exceedingly pleasant. Most of the snow has melted; the massive plowed mountains, the kind built up in parking lots, are now small car-sized piles. Grass is once again visible. It's trampled, yellowish grass, but grass nontheless. There's mud everywhere, and the sound of running water. Even the river has started to thaw a little near the middle. This morning, an opaque fog shrouded everything. It's like spring come several months early. 

All this is very well, but it's also slightly worrying. The number of unseasonably warm days has been increasing recently, as well as record high temperatures and more extreme weather- this past winter has been harsher and had come earlier. It's frustrating to see that a number of people don't realize what even small seasonal shifts mean. Human biological patterns may not be directly or noticeably affected, but many other species are. If one population collapses, it leads to others- its competitors, its predators or prey- undergoing other, often unfavourable changes. That's not too good for us either.

Skywatch No. 8

As you may have noticed, the majority of my photos all seem to be the same place. And admittedly, it is. (I'd like to compile a 365-day journal someday, taking daily pictures out this window.) It's unintentional, really. Where there's a large west-facing window, count on me to use it. I'm a sucker for sunsets. This view usually offers better results than trudging outside in the freezing cold. When the leaves come in I'll have to stop being lazy and actually go out to get my sunsets...