A Summer Storm With Some Zing!

We enjoyed a gorgeous Summer day, full of sunshine and double digit temperatures!  Of course that brought about thunderstorm warnings!

After a quiet evening ... I was off to attempt capturing some lightning shots!  However, I got a bit more than I bargained for when the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) decided to make a grand entrance as the storm clouds moved off!

As the storm clouds moved off to the East and I decided to pack up my gear, I noticed two aurora bands intersecting the Milky Way in the Southern sky!  Yes, I feel very blessed to be able to see our amazing night sky!  

Star Filled

The perfect way to end a wonderful weekend ... gazing at the stars!  

Twinkle, Twinkle ...

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.  

~Vincent Van Gogh

Early this morning there were clouds and lightning to both the east and west yet above was almost perfectly clear!  Only 8 days from our longest day of the year and the summer solstice!  North, to the land of the midnight sun, is enjoying some very long days of sunlight!  

There is truly something magical about the night!  

It's amazing what one can see and hear and how it can soothe the soul!  

Under the Night Sky

There is something to be said about living out in the middle of a rural area!  The sky is an amazing beast!  And, although I don't have to deal with the light pollution like someone in a city does, it's still there (turn off those darn yard lights ...my rant for the day!)!  Can you imagine how brilliant the sky was ... even as early as 50 yrs back?  

Star Light, Star Bright ...

There was actually not a cloud in the sky tonight, so I headed out to play around with long explosures!  However, it was DARN COLD so, I didn't venture too far from my front door and the long exposures ... were not really as long as I wanted!  Brrrr...........