Howlin' at the Moon

Despite the fact that March has come in like a

with cold, windy weather and rain that might be turning into snow tomorrow, we in the Eastern U.S. and Canada have another chance to catch an interesting phenomenon in the night sky. Between 5:44 and 6:58 PM EST on the evening of March 3, the moon will experience a total eclipse. Click here for all the info.

The last time we were able to witness a total lunar eclipse was October 27, 2004, a bad night for Scottius Maximus and Lutheran Lucy, but a fun night here at the home of the Evil Genius! We were all set, with a ringside seat in the back of a pickup truck, and a little telescope. Plus, since that was our first year of homeschooling, I didn't care if our girls stayed up late to view it, since they didn't have to catch a bus early the next morning. Here's some of the pics we got.


As you can see, it was windy that night too, though not as cold.

This Is Awesome

As in the sense of inspiring awe. What a beautiful thing God's creation is. This pic is the Astronomy Picture of the Day, but I am linking directly to the photographer's website so the pic can be seen after today. I remember once seeing a thunderstorm coming in over Lake Erie, and it was a beautiful sight, but nothing like this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Fireworks, lightning and a comet in one place.

You might want to bookmark the APOD. It's especially nice for those keenly interested in stars, black holes, nebulas, planets, all those fascinating things out there.

A Few School-Related Things

First of all, I discovered to my surprise today that Target had a decent selection of school supplies marked down on clearance. I mean basic stuff, like tape, pencils, pens. And scissors! Scissors are always disappearing at our house. I was happy to get a good price on stuff we go through like crazy anyway.

And speaking of good prices, check out the prices on books here! One caveat, their website does not operate in real time, so a book on their site may not actually be available. Five of the six books I ordered were in stock though, so not bad. When I get the books, I'll let you know how their shipping service, etc. was.

Lastly, for those who love to gaze at the sky and the stars, the Astronomy Picture of the Day offered by NASA is always a fun and informative look. Here's some pictures of a lunar eclipse that my girls stayed up late to see with their father in October of 2004. Their mom also spent some time outside watching it. :)

Star Light, Star Bright

Got to see some falling stars tonight, courtesy of the Perseids! Unfortunately, as the link states, the moon was a hinderance to optimal viewing, but we saw some on the way home from a fun night out, and we stopped at the local community center, right by the beach, and saw a couple there as well.

Not only was it a fun night out, but a kid-free night out, thanks to the Homestead Lutheran Academy. The girls spent the night there. We'll pick them up at church, then head to a first birthday party for the winsome lad recently featured at Die Steppdecken des Quilter. Another busy and enjoyable weekend. The best kind.

I should also thank the Pistol Packin' Presbytera and her pistol-packin' spouse, with whom we had the impromptu but fun get-together tonight. And now I need to get to sleep so we can make it to church in the morning!