Full Moon Photography Challenge

Don't you love seeing those fantastic photos of the rising full moon over the horizon that seems magical? Yes, me too. Now I just wish I could take one! So what better way to learn than to practice, practice, practice.


Hence, the Full Moon Photography Challenge was born.

Your objective: take a photo of the full moon every month.
Post it on this special Facebook page (if you want).
Check out other photos, and improve!

What you get:

• Better photography skills (the Facebook page will have links on how to photograph the moon)
• Better feel for the lunar cycle (a lot of full moons are on Sundays this year!)
• A great reason to schedule trips during the full moon so that you can get some awesome photos!

F.A.Q.

What if it's cloudy during the full moon?

Sometimes clouds can accentuate the full moon. Or you might just have to get creative! Although the challenge is for the full moon, if you can't take a full moon photo because of weather, try photographing the moon at a different part of its cycle. Sometimes you can photograph the moon the night before or after the full moon and it still looks full.

Can I use my phone camera?

Yes, we will have guidelines on how to get the best possible photo from your phone camera. 

Does this cost anything?

Nope, it's free!

Where's the best place to take photos of the full moon?

Check out the Facebook page for ideas, plus a list of upcoming full moons. The first one is coming soon, January 5, 2015, so hurry over to get started!

2015 New Year's Challenges

The Past Resolutions
For the past two years, I've posted my New Year's resolutions. I did pretty well on my 2014 ones:

1. Play more music--yes, although Desert Boy has made more progress than me! 

2. Exercise regularly--yes, I'm in better shape this winter than last winter and exercise pretty much every day

3. Organize my house--somewhat; it's a work in progress, but we keep decluttering and organizing

4. Eat healthier--yes. Just reading food labels makes a huge difference in awareness.

5. Give more--yes, I was able to give more time to my husband and we really enjoyed our date nights!

I even managed some of the bonus items, like raising chickens (although it took a lot of perseverance and we're now on chickens #10, #11, and #12), reading the Bible in a year (on week 50!), writing more, self-publishing a children's book (see sidebar for details), taking some trips, getting some structural fire training, and recertifying as an EMT. Woohoo!

So what's for 2015? I like challenges, it keeps my competitive spirit happy. So I'm going to call my resolutions my challenges. Plus, some of these I developed throughout last year.

1. Desert Survivor's Get-Out-and-Camp Challenge. Our goal is 12 nights. Last year we made 11!

2. Desert Survivor's Backyard-Bird Challenge. We will count all the different bird species we see in our backyard. Last year's number to beat: 34.

3. Desert Survivor's Try-a-New-Recipe-Every-Week Challenge. I don't think this one will be too hard, but I'll report on the great successes and the flops.

4. Desert Survivor's Photograph-the-Full-Moon-Every-Month Challenge. This is a new challenge I'm developing that I'm super excited about. Stay tuned for details!

And since challenges are more fun with friends, you all are invited to join in!

2014 Christmas Bird Count and Desert Survivor's Backyard Bird Challenge Wrapup

I helped with the local Christmas Bird Count, and it turned out to be a beautiful day, albeit very windy in the afternoon.  I was pleasantly surprised to find some birds that haven't been seen for this count in over ten years, like the Evening Grosbeak, above. All the warm weather we've been having in early and mid December probably had a few bird species hanging around longer than usual.

The winter landscape was gorgeous.

And the warm weather meant that the lakes and streams weren't frozen over, so we saw lots of water birds. I counted over a thousand mallards.

I had a spotting scope so I could check each one. I found a couple mergansers and a couple green-winged teals hanging out with the mallards. Some mallards were floating out in the middle of the lake, but most were eating along the shoreline.

Another bird I had to test my counting skills with were the European starlings. There were hundreds, sometimes in huge flocks. Even though they are non-native so they aren't a bird I particularly like, I still marvel how they fly together and can change direction so quickly.

Christmas Bird Counts are still continuing in various locations until January 5. They are a lot of fun and a great way to learn about an area. I might do two more.

Since we're talking about birds, let's segue into Backyard Birds. Did you take my Backyard Bird Challenge? The challenge was to keep track of what birds you saw in your backyard throughout the year.

We did really well starting the challenge, but slowed down in May as my schedule got busier. I realized that we didn't spend as much time in the backyard as I had thought! We did keep a list, though, and here's the front page:

Desert Boy wrote some of our findings, which was a great way to get him involved. Plus his spelling puts a smile on my face (e.g., trky volcher).

But I needed a neat and tidy list, so I typed one up and put in boxes so we could check what months we were seeing what birds. It was a great idea, but by the end of summer we couldn't keep up.

So will we do the Backyard Bird Challenge in 2015? You betcha. And now we have a goal to beat: we saw 34 different bird species in our backyard in 2014. I'm sure we can do better in 2015. And hopefully with the kids getting older and being able to take more responsibility, we'll count for more of the year!

School Christmas Plays 2014

 Desert Boy goes to a one-room school with ten kids total in grades kindergarten through second grade. Every year his teacher picks a different theme for the year, which is an excellent idea to keep things fresh and the kids engaged. This year the theme is different countries, with each student picking one. Desert Boy chose Norway (I think at least partly influenced by the movie Frozen, which he honors frequently by singing the songs from it). The teacher writes the Christmas play, and this year the students were visiting the International Space Station and telling each other about the countries they came from.

They made such cute astronauts!

It took me a little while to get my manual settings correct for the indoor lighting. I was doing better by the time the next group came on stage, the 3rd-6th graders, who also attend a one-room school (actually the school has more than one room, but all 15 kids are in the same classroom with one teacher). They took us to the tropics for a pirate-themed play with lots of song and dance numbers.

They had obviously put in a lot of time to get the choreography right and memorize all the songs and lines.

Afterwards Santa arrived, and my kids ran to get in line to visit them.

Desert Boy had no qualms about sitting on Santa's lap. He asked for a toy light saber. But later, in the retelling, it sounded like he wanted a toilet saver. So now that's a family joke.

Desert Girl wasn't at all certain about sitting on Santa's lap. She couldn't think of what she wanted. She got uncomfortable.

I thought she might cry. Finally she got her bag of candy, peanuts, and a Cutie, and quickly departed.

Most of the kids enjoyed their visits with Santa, though, including this little guy whose father was afraid that his child might recognize Santa. I think he was safe.

Merry Christmas! The excitement is building in our house.

The Nativity Play--Dress Rehearsal

The kids will be in a Nativity play on Christmas Eve, playing an angel and King Herod. We had a dress rehearsal the other day, which is one of my favorite times to take photos because I don't have to stay in my seat. The play begins with Gabriel announcing to Mary and then Joseph what is to come. Then they sing O Come Emmanuel (with the help of the Innkeeper).

Meanwhile, the Wise Men were busy finding wise things on their smartphones. Ha, ha.

 The kids were really into singing. Desert Girl added a little stretching. She has a really hard time sitting still for 20 minutes. I'll just pretend she's fluttering around like an angel.

The little kids always add some comedic relief to the play. Thank goodness they have the older kids to hold it all together.

Of course, sometimes the older kids have their fun too. Mary decides her feet are sore, so she puts them up on the makeshift manger. I remember putting my feet up a lot when I was pregnant.

Later, Joseph and Mary had a little tussle over who got to hold the improvised Baby Jesus. It was funny to watch.

My angel!

The shepherds hung out on their hill, tending their sheep. Actually all their sheep were missing (the cast is a little small due to families being out of town), so they just played with their imaginary sheep.

And tried out some wrestling moves. The angels didn't approve.


Meanwhile, King Herod waited patiently on his throne, running shoes ready to make a mad dash if need be.

The three Wise Men came to visit him and find out where the newborn King was.

Later, King Herod died.

And the play ends with Joy to the World. It is so joyous to see the kids better understand the Nativity play and the true meaning of Christmas.

We'll see what interesting expressions transpire on Christmas Eve as they do the play with a big audience and lights and microphones. It's always good for a few chuckles. Thanks so much to Sharon for organizing it and directing the aspiring actors.

Wishing you a joyous Christmas!