So a couple things. Firstly, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Western New York has been experiencing an incredibly beautiful autumn. Each day is nicer than the next. And the evening’s skies are simply spectacular. Because it has been getting dark earlier, as I leave the health club in the evening it is just before dusk, which is my favorite part of the day for light. And each night when I leave I am not sure what to expect. Tonight when I looked south and east the sky was both pink and blue and looking west it was blue in some points but at others a burnt orange. Incredible. At one point, while I was waiting at a traffic signal it was almost too overwhelming for me…tears literally welled in my eyes (no kidding). This is also the time of year that crows begin to take over the city. It’s an incredible sight. So at one point I coasted into a parking lot to watch them fly from the roof of church and adjoining buildings to tree tops and back again. Crows of course remember faces, and I wondered if they remembered mine from last year when I took their photos (I hope they thought I was friendly). Anyhow here’s a few pictures from my short ride home this evening. Click any for a larger view.
Urban Simplicity.
This is the view of the harvest moon from the end of my street in the middle of a medium-sized city on the eastern side of America. I find it really interesting and truly amazing that no matter what part of the globe you are reading these words sometime within a 24 hour span you too will see this very same image in real life. While autumn does not officially start for a few days the harvest moon unofficially ushers it in. A change of seasons; summer is behind us and autumn ahead of us. Time to move forward.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to harvest.
Cool photo, right? I took it while on a walk this evening. It looks sort of Star Wars-esque, doesn’t it? You’d never know that I took it while in the heart of the city. Anyhow, I had gone for a long walk tonight to clear my head (walked the length of the Elmwood Village here in Buffalo, from Allen to Forest and back again) and twice (yes twice) was almost struck by a car while crossing an intersection while the driver blindly turned while chatting on a cellphone. The first time it was so close that by the time the car stopped I had instinctively put my hand out (as if that would have done anything) and my hand rested on the hood of the car while its bumper pressed against my leg (no joke). There are too many cars on the road and too many people on cellphones while driving. Does every adult American really need a car? Two adults in the house…two cars; five adults in the house…five cars. Does every trip—no matter how long or short—really require a car? There are other forms of transportation. Sorry for the rant, but I had not one but two close calls tonight while I was simply out for a walk on a beautiful summer’s eve. I’ll put down my bullhorn now.
Urban Simplicity.
It’s interesting, I think, how these two photos were taken five minutes (or less) apart and from the same location but looking in different directions; the top photo is looking west while the bottom photo is looking south. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I have the weekend off this week…the first in about a month. It feels great…two days in a row! But I had some reading and writing I needed to accomplish and that’s what I was doing when I looked out the window and saw the above scene. Knowing that skies like that usually only last a few minutes I took a break from my keyboard and grabbed my camera and went out on the front porch. I took the above photo then a couple minutes later then one below. A minute later the view pictured above had passed and it was officially dusk. I stood for a minute and welcomed the cold air on my skin. It was a nice break; I needed it. Anyhow, I thought I’d share.
These photos were all taken yesterday but are not in chronological (time-wise) order. The photo above is of last night’s blue moon…did anyone else see this? It was incredible wasn’t it? I couldn’t stop looking at it. Thus I thought I’d post it first. It really taxed the lens of my Canon Power-Shot. The sky this summer at dusk have been incredible. The photo immediately below was taken at the corner of Allen and Elmwood here in Buffalo, which is also where the Bubble Man of Allentown lives (click here or here to see more pics of him); you can see bubbles visible in the photo. And the bottom photo was taken while standing in the parking lot of my bank, looking westward over Lake Erie just before sunset.
Urban Simplicity.
In the event that you missed the super moon last night (also flower moon), here’s a couple images. The top photo was taken while I was out walking my dogs, and the below image was shot in my back yard. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was incredible. Click either for a larger view.
Urban Simplicity.
On the bike…A canvas bag containing a book and an extra camera, 3 liters of red wine, a gym bag containing wet clothes, and two slices of spinach pizza.
A quick comment…I had mentioned yesterday regarding the wacky weather and how it was supposed to warm up today, well it did…and did it ever. I believe the high temp today was something like 62F/17C. As I pedaled and coasted home from the gym tonight it felt like a balmy summer’s eve…OK maybe not balmy, but it certainly was warm and nice; the air felt warm on my skin as I coasted home. And on my way home I couldn’t help think how wonderful it was to be on a bike and in the open air. After leaving the gym I stopped at three stores, and the entire trip–including the gym–was about (I’m guessing) 3 miles/4.8 kilometers. And as I coasted down my favorite hill (very minor hill…you likely wouldn’t even notice it if in a car), which is the last stretch before I approach my street, I had the full moon on my left (pictured above and below) and Jupiter and Venus to my right (for pictures click here). I really felt like continuing on for a warm evening ride…but alas, I had some things to tend to. And besides…I had to eat the pizza and drink some wine.
To see more in the things-on-a-bike series, click here.
Urban Simplicity.
Technically, the moon was full two nights ago but I took these last night when it was waning (it still looked pretty full to me). I have always been drawn to a full moon…not sure why, it just fascinates me looming so large in the sky. Anyhow, last night I was out on the Mundo and snapped a few photos. The one above is taken at the far end of Allen Street here in Buffalo, the main thoroughfare through my favorite neighborhood and also the one in which I live. The below photo was taken just a block north on Wadsworth Street, overlooking houses there. And it’s interesting, I think, what some people must think of me when they see me hunched next to my bike with a camera and mini-tripod perched on it. At one point, when I was taking the below picture a woman was coming down the street and saw me next to the bike and began to cross the street…she looked a little scared. I actually told her, as she approached, not to worry I’m just taking a few photos (then I wondered if that made her fear me even more). Anyhow, I enjoy taking pictures in different levels of light…dawn, dusk, and night are my favorites. And as I was taking these I was thinking about winter–or more specifically, the lack of it this year–how we can’t count on snow in the winter these days, but we can still count on the sun and moon rising and falling each day and night. Click either for a larger view.
Urban Simplicity.
It was such a beautiful evening tonight as I pedaled home…unseasonably warm for this time of year, not a breeze or cloud to be found, and the nearly full moon shone high in the sky (if you look close you can see a star or planet clearly visible to the moon’s lower left). It was such an awesome night I snapped a few photos and thought I’d share. This photo was taken here. (click for a larger view).
It was such a beautiful evening tonight as I pedaled home…unseasonably warm for this time of year, not a breeze or cloud to be found, and the nearly full moon shone high in the sky (if you look close you can see a star or planet clearly visible to the moon’s lower left). It was such an awesome night I snapped a few photos and thought I’d share. This photo was taken here. (click for a larger view).
On my way home from work tonight I was so taken by the moon I had to snap a few photos of it. I posted a photo of this a month ago from this same spot (at the last full moon…that photo was better; more dramatic, click here to see it). And though this image does not do it justice, the moon was/is incredible tonight. It amazes me to think that everyone on this side of the globe can see that same white orb up in the sky at the same time. And while I was there snapping pictures a car pulls up, and the window rolls down…”Do you want me to be in the picture?” the drunk (driver) asks me as he flashes me the peace sign with his fingers. No thanks, I respond. “Why not?” Ummm…I’m just taking pictures of the moon, I tell him. “Com’on…take my picture,” he pleaded. There’s something really weird, I think, about a grown man you don’t know nearly begging you to take his photo. And as I thought that I put my camera in my pocket, hopped on my bike and pedaled away. The trees below were directly behind me, ilumminated by the moon (and street lights) on Days Park. To read more about Allen Street, click here or here.
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On my way home from work tonight I was so taken by the moon I had to snap a few photos of it. I posted a photo of this a month ago from this same spot (at the last full moon…that photo was better; more dramatic, click here to see it). And though this image does not do it justice, the moon was/is incredible tonight. It amazes me to think that everyone on this side of the globe can see that same white orb up in the sky at the same time. And while I was there snapping pictures a car pulls up, and the window rolls down…”Do you want me to be in the picture?” the drunk (driver) asks me as he flashes me the peace sign with his fingers. No thanks, I respond. “Why not?” Ummm…I’m just taking pictures of the moon, I tell him. “Com’on…take my picture,” he pleaded. There’s something really weird, I think, about a grown man you don’t know nearly begging you to take his photo. And as I thought that I put my camera in my pocket, hopped on my bike and pedaled away. The trees below were directly behind me, ilumminated by the moon (and street lights) on Days Park. To read more about Allen Street, click here or here.
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I was on my way to purchase a bottle of wine tonight after work and was struck by the scene above. The picture is taken from the focal point at the foot of Allen Street on the corner of Wadsorth looking east. The ominousness of the moon literally stopped me in my tracks…beautiful (frigid, too…10F). The moon looks full but according to the little widget in the sidebar it is a waning gibbous moon (93% full). This makes sense because according to this page a waning gibbous moon: sails over the eastern horizon in the hours between sunset and midnight. It was about 10pm when I saw it and was looking east. I stood there looking at it for a few minutes, shivering a little, but in amazement as I snapped a few photos. While it seems as if it were floating over our little city, as I looked at it I marveled that people in many areas of the country, if not the world, were looking at the very same moon at that very same second. It made me feel small…but sometimes I like that. Click the image if you’d like a larger view.
I was on my way to purchase a bottle of wine tonight after work and was struck by the scene above. The picture is taken from the focal point at the foot of Allen Street on the corner of Wadsorth looking east. The ominousness of the moon literally stopped me in my tracks…beautiful (frigid, too…10F). The moon looks full but according to the little widget in the sidebar it is a waning gibbous moon (93% full). This makes sense because according to this page a waning gibbous moon: sails over the eastern horizon in the hours between sunset and midnight. It was about 10pm when I saw it and was looking east. I stood there looking at it for a few minutes, shivering a little, but in amazement as I snapped a few photos. While it seems as if it were floating over our little city, as I looked at it I marveled that people in many areas of the country, if not the world, were looking at the very same moon at that very same second. It made me feel small…but sometimes I like that. Click the image if you’d like a larger view.
Random Thoughts On Cooking, Bike Riding, and The Sacred Journey of Everyday Life
