Sun & Moon...

It has been stormy here on the marsh. For the past few weeks we have had constant predictions of possible scattered thunder showers. The best way to describe weather here in Savannah is 'unpredictable'...in my opinion, the weather peoples' forecasts of a 40-50% chance of rain are their way of covering their butts. They don't know for sure what the elements are going to do, so they put a blanket forecast out and leave it at that.

Since moving to Savannah roughly 5 years ago, I have been able to catch a couple of storm fronts rolling out over the marshes. The storm fronts here look like puffy grey blankets being spread over the Georgia coast and pulled out to sea. Breathtaking to witness in person. Yesterday evening the radar on the Weatherscan Channel showed an amorphous green blob of 'storm' heading our way, an angry nucleus of red and yellow at its center. I grabbed the camera and headed to the spot I photograph the most here on "my" marsh. The two photos above and below are of what I saw. So beautiful. A fairly strong cooling breeze added to the scene, the scent of rain swirling around me.

The photographs in this post stretch over the days of this past weekend, beginning with Friday, the day of the Summer Solstice. The day was long as the solstice always is. The tide was also quite high. One of my regular photo subjects is the dock remains by me. I used them to show just how out of the norm the water height was, the grounding posts being completely submerged up to what was once the platform of the dock. The marsh grasses, which are usually quite visible, were also hidden by the high waters. The only hint of their existence is the dry detritus from the grass floating on the waters' surface.

I threw this picture in, not because it has any real relation to the Sun, the Moon, and the tides, but because I like it. I took it on the day of the high tide, so I'll use that as its purpose here. Glenn found it under the confederate jasmine growing over the door of the screened in porch. A nicely fashioned nest by a fastidious bird...either the nest was found before they officially moved in, or the nests purpose had been served.

The main area where the high tide was extremely evident was the tidal creek. The "tidal creek" exists for the tides. When the tide is out, it's a bed of very wet mud that reeds like to grow in, and herons like to feed in. When the tides are in, it takes on the vibe of a wild and marshy pond ( the "creek" has one outlet).

An every day high tide June 21st's was not. The waters reached beyond the the wide line of reeds and cat tails to the bottom of the bank slope. Low hanging tree branches on the far side of the creek were dipping below the surface.

In addition to the dock being a clear indicator of just how high the tide was, the tree in the picture below (indicated by the yellow arrow) also proved that it was deeper than usual. That tree is on a raised section of the bank that normally juts out over the lower water. The tree and its exposed root system, plus the bit of raised ground, are usually several inches above water.

This view of the tidal creek, looking down its length toward the end leading to the marsh, confirmed how much I wish the tidal creek always had water in it. It really is beautiful out there during the more watery times. When I first walked out our back door to start my stroll, there were two of my neighbors (a father and daughter) from farther up the creek. They were both standing on a surf board using long poles to punt along. The father had a passenger on his board, a brave wiener dog (dachsund) who was riding on the end of the surf board like a figurehead on a ship. Cute.

The Sun had its day, and Friday brought the Moon's day. A Full Moon in the sign of Capricorn. A "Super Moon", no less. The moon's position has great effect on the tides, and this moon was in extreme perigee. It was in its closest proximity to the earth. Big and beautiful. As I left work it was encircled by clouds...I love photographing a Full Moon that is accompanied by clouds. When I got home, the clouds had dissipated, so I plan B'd it. I used the trees as a frame. I got some interesting shots that I'm happy with, but I wish the size of it to the naked eye were more apparent in my shots.  Oh well...I would have a second chance on the following night of the 23rd...

This night I lucked out and got the cloud cover missing from the previous night's pictures. I always say that I look forward to being able to get a camera that photographs the moon better. One that shows it more in its true form, and also captures the stars. To photograph night's blanket, and show its true beauty.

For all of this camera's shortcomings in the night photography department, I do like the pictures I get. There is something ethereal about them. Abstract, even. There are some images that appear to show the celestial satellite's aura...if the moon has an aura.

This ends my chronicle of this past weekend in pictures. On to July, and its Aquarius Full Moon.