Skywatch Friday

Since I discovered 'Skywatch Friday', I find myself watching the sky much more closely.  We have a lot of somewhat hazy days, but when you get the right conditions the sky is truly beautiful (or ominous - right now we're under a tornado watch and severe thunderstorm warning).  But these photos are from one week ago today, when it was sunny, clear and very blue for my paddle into Bell's Lake.

As we started, just after 9 a.m., the sky was totally clear and brilliant blue, perfect conditions for a nice canoe exploration!  Some pretty great reflections too!

After about an hour, a few fluffy little cumulus clouds had begun appearing in the west, slowly moving our way, but not enough to block the morning sun.

Within what seemed like only a few minutes the fluffy small cumulus clouds started spreading and multiplying.  I understand the basics of the sun warming the morning air, the warm air rising and clouds forming.  But I presume the air temperature must reach a threshold up there at cloud level where clouds suddenly start forming all over the sky.

By the time we were finishing our paddle half an hour later, the sky was dotted with white clouds from horizon to horizon.  I watched during the rest of the day, and quite quickly in early evening the process reversed itself, and all the clouds started disappearing until the evening sky was totally blue again.  An interesting sequence of cloud formation, spread and dissipation over the day, that I noticed all because I'm keeping a closer eye on the sky.

 Check out sky pictures from around the world at:

And I'm linking to Weekend Reflections here:

Keppel Henge

To continue the story of Keppel Croft Garden, perhaps its most fascinating feature is the Keppel Henge that has been erected in the field behind the garden.  A genuine stone circle on a mound surrounded by a ditch, this is a henge designed as a way to celebrate the millenium in 2000.
 

This is the view as you approach the henge.  It was designed to throw shadows that would indicate celestial events such as the solstices and the equinox, usually tied to sunrise or sunset.  Thus each individual stone has a name and is placed in such a way as to be astronomically in the correct location, while the taller thin 'Pointer Stone' is in the centre to cast a shadow.

You approach the field through another bit of whimsy, this interesting gate which certainly leaves you with the feeling that you're going someplace special.  Then you follow a mowed trail through the tall grass until you emerge into the henge.

The stone closest to us in this picture is the Winter Solstice Stone, while the stone on the left is the Winter Sunset Stone.  On the far right is the Winter Sunrise Stone, and second from the left is the Summer Sunset Stone.  Note the allignment of smaller stones running south to north in the centre, all of which have a purpose.

The pointer stone is marble rather than limestone like all the rest (which came from a local quarry), and it is taller, and on a small mound in the centre of the circle.  Construction of the henge was a major undertaking, especially in getting all stones in the astronomically correct locations, and was accompanied by appropriate ceremony.  A fascinating garden feature!

As if that wasn't enough, there are two analemmatic sundials nearby.  In this one, your own body becomes the gnomon casting the shadow.  The smaller vertical stones represent the hours of the day, and the flat concrete date scale is the base on which you stand - in slightly different positions depending on the month of the year.  The plaque on the taller post provides the instructions..

    

 Here I'm standing on the month of July, and my shadow falls between 11 and 12 a.m.; it was just past 11.30.  I'm so intrigued by this I'm thinking of trying it in our own back yard.

There are a number of other small constructed 'zen' stone gardens along the path through the field, which look to me like fascinating pieces of art.  The henge is just visible in the background right against the trees.

 And of course there is more whimsy as you leave the field through the thyme garden.

Remember the cobble beach I said the garden was built on?  This is the beach today; millions of perfect skipping stones.  The ancient beaches Keppel Croft is built on are at a higher level, from a time when glacial lakes pushed the shoreline higher, but imagine building a garden on a bed of stones!

This is what lets Big Bay claim to be the 'Stone Skipping Capital of Canada'.

The Keppel Henge and the sundial are a project of both the Keppel Croft gardeners and a neighbour.  You can find a lot more interesting details on the garden's website.  All in all a very fascinating place!

I have linked this post to:

 

The Moon

It was the so-called 'supermoon' a few days ago, and I did try some moon shots recently - with better results than ever before, thanks to more experimenting with exposure, a good tripod. and some intensive cropping.

The half moon was shining nearly two weeks ago, when we gathered on the shore of Lake Eugenia to try sunset shots, so this was taken while the sun was still sinking, well before dark.  I was astonished that some of the craters actually showed up on this.

This one was from the night of the full 'supermoon', when the moon is at its closest to earth, and therefore looks a tiny bit larger.  I'm not sure it makes much difference, but here it is.  Linking this post to Skywatch Friday.

Sunrise

Believe it or not I was actually up for a sunrise a few days ago.  I forget why, but the sun rises pretty early by late May, so there must have been some special reason.  Maybe that was the day the chipmunk got in the house.  Anyway, it was quite beautiful, with clouds swirling in the east giving an interesting red glow under the blue-gray clouds higher up.  It's almost enough to make me want to get up early occasionally.