Bye bye moon...
I have been most fortunate to witness two lunar eclipses
this year, particularly since the next one is not until 2014. However, Mother Nature
makes me work for my astro-nerdiness. Last time it was rain …this time it was a plague of insects not seen
since Moses’ day.
Like my last experience, the whole day threatened clouds but
by evening, hints of a clear sky kept the hope alive. This time, the position
of the eclipse was perfect for viewing from my bedroom window. An excellent
prospect since I was not willing to brave the Coogee crazies alone at 1am on a
Saturday night. By some miracle, I stayed up until midnight when the moon
started to disappear, first by the Earth’s shadow and then by the clouds. After
a spell, I was joined by a fellow astro-nerd (it's always nice to have someone else there to validate your loser/nerd status). We waited “patiently” for the
clouds to dissipate (the phrase “bugger off clouds” was uttered 49 times) but
when they finally acquiesced, the trees insisted on blocking our view.
Finally it was decided the backyard was the best position.
In the three years I’ve lived here, I have never gone into my backyard…it
requires a 4 story descent and let’s face it, I’m lazy. Anyway, I have not been
missing out as we discovered it is a haven for mosquitoes. Two minutes after I
got down there, the Brit complained of itchiness, but I was in my
photography-coma, felt nothing, and assumed it was paranoia, not mosquitoes,
attacking him. But then I stopped to let him use my tripod and realized my legs
were Thanksgiving Dinner for the little harbingers of West Nile.
We held out for a few more minutes until the thin layer of
approaching clouds gave us the excuse we needed to ditch the session before we
became the victims of a cheesy horror flick.
Given that it was 2am and I slept horribly the night before,
I was expecting to fall blissfully asleep. Instead I spent an hour trying not
to think about the bites…and missing Wisconsin.
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