Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Moon was at a Fiesta.

The moon in a crystal clear sky at night drew me outside to practice using my tripod.
The activity caused me to lose track of time.
My fingers however soon protested that it was below freezing outside.
  I couldn't manipulate all the equipment with mittens or gloves on my hands; of course one can't manipulate equipment with frozen fingers either.
In fact, it was the fact that I couldn't feel the shutter button that finally woke me up to the fact that I had better knock off taking moon shots for the night.

Maddeningly, an even better moon picture taunted me on the way to work yesterday.
The sky was still barely lit with the breaking dawn and the full moon hovered like a giant pink pearl above the dark blue and snow white rugged mountains to the west.
To the east the sun struggled to crest above Mt. Olympus.
It was simply magical seeing the pink moon retreating from the valley to hide from the approaching sun.

Did you know there was a children's book written about when the moon and the sun are both in the sky at dawn?

You see, the sun is supposed to reign during the day and the moon by night, but sometimes it happens that something really exciting happens at night, something exciting like a fiesta!

Sometimes the moon just can't bear to leave the fun before it is all over and when that happens, sometimes the moon is caught in the breaking light of dawn.

When that happens, the author said, the reason is quite obvious:

The Moon was at a Fiesta!

Isn't that a fun little story to tell?

The book "The Moon was at a Fiesta" is a wonderful story and the link above will allow you to take a peek at the book.

I was lucky enough to have the author come to visit the school library back when I was a school librarians (my all time favorite job!) and I got to hear author Matthew Gollub read his book in person!

 

8 comments:

Vee said...

I was outside with my tripod last night as well. Brrrrr...no jacket, no gloves, yes, brisk. Perhaps that accounts for the really poor photos. Also there was a lot of moisture in the air and so there were no clear contrasts...everything was just fuzzy in pictures. In real life, it was quite enchanting. I'll go see about the children's book now.

Lovella ♥ said...

OH your grands will have the best time with you since you know all the best children's books. I had never heard of that book.
I loved going with my kids to the local library to hear the librarian do story telling.
I could enjoy that job too...I think.

Judy said...

I never lugged my camera out...but stood at the window to watch the 'moon at the fiesta' this morning. Must check out the book!

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

I was photographing the moon about 7 am this morning, as it was setting over the roof of my neighbor to the west! Times like this I wish I had a better camera and a tripod!

The book looks really good...and I love the first name of the illustrator.

Kathy said...

I must have still been having my all night siesta....missed the whole thing. Thanks for the book suggestion. It's good to have some educational books around for the kids.

Vicki said...

I don't think I've ever heard of that book before. I lugged my camera out over the weekend (before the moon was full) but only managed to pull out the cell phone camera for the full moon. It had been a long day and I was heading for bed. :)

Thinking of your tripod being set up on the back deck makes me smile and brings back pleasant memories of our visit. I still haven't carted my camera and tripod out for some practice yet...

Pondside said...

That sounds like a good recommendation for the Valentine's box I'll be sending to my grandsons. I'm very particular about the books - don't get me wrong, I think reading just about anything is good, but why not start the children off as you hope they'll continue?
Thank you for your hat comment - it was so helpful. I think I'll wear a hat, if my daughter likes the idea. The wedding is at 2 in the afternoon, so I'll be looking for something modest in size - I'll be back in touch for advice!

Kathie said...

Author visits were a highlight!

I had frozen fingers this morning trying to capture the rising sunlight through the trees. Your moon shot is amazing!