Full Moon and More

What better place to be to observe the Full Worm Moon of March 2011, the closest full moon we'll have for many years to come, than on the dock in Barnegat.  I was lucky to be there and I wasn't alone.  When I drove across the street, there were a few cars in the parking lot and one other soul on the dock with his tripod set up.  As the time neared closer to 7:27 more and more people appeared with cameras, all bundled up as I was because the temperature had dipped down into the 30's and the wind was blowing steadily.  Thank goodness I had a hood and my gloves, though my hands were like blocks of ice by the time we left.

Here you can see the people lining up.  I was approached by a young woman who asked me if this was where you could see the full moon rise and I had to be honest and tell her that I hoped so.  There were a lot of us there taking our chances that it would be visible over Long Beach Island across the bay and not behind those bayside condos that you see in the picture below.  Someone standing in the second story of the gazebo called out when they first saw the moon peeking up over the houses across the bay on the horizon.

It only took a little while before you could see the whole of it.  I kept snapping away because I've been burned in the past by not having a clear enough picture.  I was worried because even though I was using my tripod the wind was blowing and it was moving the camera at times.

HWNSNBP had joined me and was a great sport holding one camera as I hurriedly changed them in the tripod.  I wanted to ignore the fact that I had just recharged the batteries in my old camera and the battery light was blinking, but it was to no avail - they died and the light started blinking in the second camera.  But I wanted to wait until the moon was up high enough to capture some of the moonlight on the water. 

It was a chilling experience being out there so long, but I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity.  In comparison to last night, Friday was a real treat.  We arrived to the condo early enough to get to the island and the lighthouse with much sunlight to spare.  Though the gates to the park were closed to cars, we were among quite a few who still took the path and enjoyed the stroll in 76º weather with no coats.

Isn't this guy handsome?  He and his mate were hanging out on the water's edge.

They seem to be pairing up, keeping quite close to one another.  Every once and a while the gull on the lower right would fly off over the water, but then it returned to stand right next to it's mate.  These are the rocks at the base of the lighthouse on the western side.

I had taken a picture of the shriveled rose hips on the beach roses around the front of the lighthouse last month.  This new growth is what we are seeing now.  The promise of life again among the thorny branches.