Pink moon in lunar eclipse
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Being #Celestial

I’ve always been fascinated by cosmic events, the night sky and constellations, moonrises, comets, and meteor showers. Years ago I witnessed the Space EX launch that we saw in the skies over San Diego.

SpaceX Launch
SpaceX Launched 10 satellites into space from Southern California

The Northern hemisphere reached meteorological summer this week and in light of the recent full lunar eclipse, our Sunday Stills photo challenge theme is “celestial.”

Definitions of Celestial

The Oxford Dictionary defines celestial as positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy. Other synonyms to get you thinking include: supremely good, heavenly, holy, celestial being (aka angels), sky, otherworldly, unearthly, blissful, ethereal, spiritual, supernatural…

For Marsha’s Writer’s Quote Wednesdays, I submit this quote for this month’s writer’s choice…shall we say celestial?

“Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come.”

Michelangelo

Cosmic Events

Last year, we got a glimpse of comet Neowise on a dark night in the delta. It was just a vague smudge which was a remarkable sight. But as I looked again to show someone else, I saw the light of the international space station juxtaposed against it in its orbit. I almost fell over with delight!

Trust me when I say I will do what it takes to get my camera ready for an eclipse which is what you see in this image from Instagram. I took this shot at 4:15am, and it was already getting light outside. I saw better lunar eclipses posted, but I’m happy with it. Some of you already saw this on Instagram and Facebook.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVs8NNpFwk/

Being Celestial All Week

While my daughter visited over the Memorial Day Weekend, I looked to the skies for inspiration. They did not disappoint.

A hot air balloon flies low over Spokane neighborhood…seen from my brother-in-law’s deck!

In downtown Spokane’s Riverfront Park, old meets new under the skyway as the iron sculpture of the Salmon Chief seeks a blessing for his catch. The Spokane River’s lower falls that run through the downtown area were a fishing spot for native Americans for thousands of years. This sculpture was created by Colville Reservation native Virgil Marchand.

In the same area, the remaining skeletal structure of the Pavilion, built for the 1974 World’s Fair, lends an otherworldly sight to downtown Spokane.

Wild sunflowers at home reach for the setting sun in their celestial quest.

Sharing these ArrowLeaf Balsamroots for Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Cosmic Songs of Galaxies

Celestial events are popular inspiration recorded in pop music. According to Spinditty, there are 134 songs relating to astronomy.

Recognize any of these? I was greatly influenced by the 60s-70s generation of music that spoke so eloquently of the cosmos. (By the way, due to copyright infringement concerns, I’ve only published snippets of the lyrics of each song).

“And all that is now and all that is gone
And all that’s to come and everything under the sun is in tune,
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”

Pink Floyd

“When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius…

The Fifth Dimension

“Once upon a time there was light in my life, but now there’s only love in the dark
Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart.”

Bonnie Tyler

“This is Major Tom to Ground Control, I’m stepping through the door. And I’m floating in a most peculiar way, and the stars look very different today.

David Bowie

Celestial images captured by our lenses spark the imaginations of what really lies beyond.

  • Blue Sky Half Moon
    Daytime Moon
  • Full moon Perspective
    Delta Moon
  • January Wolf Moon 2019
    After the Eclipse
  • super pink moon
    April 2020 Super Pink Moon

When Celestial Becomes Infernal and Funereal

Despite recently installing satellite internet, I crafted part of my post this week without internet. High winds messed with our dish, then the 4G mobile network was intermittent due to excessive heat this week. I could have sworn we moved to Northeastern Washington but it feels like we are still in Sacramento if the weather is any indication. The very antithesis of the meaning of celestial.

As you read this today, we are traveling by car from Portland, Oregon, back to Spokane. My family traveled from far and wide to attend the celebration of life for my cousin’s husband, who passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Though the circumstances were solemn and sad, we know he rests in peace with our Heavenly Father. In our grief, we managed to enjoy seeing everyone in person since before Covid. Nice to be among my fellow vaccinated family.

“The Ancients often believed a celestial event like an eclipse to be a bad omen, that the sun or the moon vanishing from the sky was a harbinger of disaster, a sign of devastation or destruction to come.”

Jenna Wortham

Hmmm, food for thought. Nothing surprises me now that we have experienced a pandemic first hand.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post. I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below is the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their favorite vacation photos. And with that…

Blogger Links from May 23: Favorite Vacation Spot

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to reading your creative choices for CELESTIAL!

Camera graphic

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85 comments

  1. Terri, your thoughts and pictures are lovely. The songs brought back memories. You’ve had a sad week horrific obstacles with internet, and yet you still managed to turn out a beautiful post. You inspire me. Thanks for linking to #Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays for short. I hope your summer 2021 is much better than your summer 2020.

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  3. A lovely post, Terri. Your eye for a great shot is amazing. I love that blood moon and the Space X launch photo. They’re so alien. And the World’s Fair one is so captivating. I’m sorry to hear about the unexpected death in your family and hope there was lots of comforting hugs and memories in the celebration of life. ❤

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  5. Nice post Terry. I’m not familiar with Spokane so it will be interesting to see photos from the city and that area. The World’s Fair Pavilion is quite abstract. Is it maintained or falling apart? Your eclipse photo didn’t show up for me, but it might be my computer. Since my last Firefox update there are a few things that no longer work properly. I’m sorry to hear about the loss in your family. It must have been good to see them again though. Here’s mine this week: https://grahamsisland.com/2021/06/06/mice/

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  7. Terri, very interesting post. You nailed that pavilion structure. I think it would look amazing cropped square. At least you attempted to shoot the eclipse – getting a decent image is better than sitting on the sidelines as I did. Something to remember! Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for this one. Very challenging.

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  16. Great pics, Terri! I remember seeing that World’s Fair Pavilion in Spokane… that whole downtown area was so nice (and hot… very, very hot). I don’t remember the Skyway, though… is that new? I’m still trying to get a good moon shot. I’ll be up in the mountains for the full moon this month so hopefully it will work out.

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  18. Gosh I love it when I get to read your stories and see your images. I am learning a lot about your country and in particular your story. I found it of great interest when you posted your moon photo – such a beautiful one on IG, just after I had gotten out of bed…and managed to corral husband to do the same. to stand on our driveway in the cold to see “the red moon eclipse”. Nature wins!

    I am sorry to read about the loss of a special person in your family but the ‘good’ side is that you get to reconnect at events like..”weddings and funerals”.

    Loving being part of this community here Terri.

    Thank you.

    Denyse
    https://www.denysewhelan.com.au/denyse-blogs/celestial-picks-sundaystills-69-2021/

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  20. Fun subject and some wonderful images Terri. Sorry about your cousin’s husband but despite circumstances, nice that you got to see family. Life is getting close to normal once more thank goodness.

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  21. These are really good examples of ‘celestial’ Terri. I especially love the balloon and the moon shots, you are a fabulous photographer!

    I must admit when I first saw the prompt I thought of stars and the moon so have doctored up a few shots to share! I admit they’re edited so I’m not trying to pass them off as my captures of the night sky!! https://debs-world.com/2021/06/06/how-to-pretend-its-a-starry-starry-night-for-sundaystills/

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  24. […] Capturing it on film however is not so easy, especially as I very rarely bother with a tripod. I can’t aim for precise focus on an object so far away, so instead I look for atmosphere. I’ve trawled through my archives to find a selection of my more successful / more interesting attempts, presented here for Terri’s Sunday Stills theme of ‘celestial’. […]

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  27. Absolutely gorgeous photos! I’m loving that you are sharing Spokane with us. The frame from the 1974 World’s Fair is something! Amazing shot of Space X. I forgot to add Space Shuttle Atlantis to my post but that is okay. It was a cosmic moment because it was the final flight out of Cape Canaveral for that Space Shuttle. 🙂

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  36. I always love your shots of the moon, and I love that I can see Christmas tree lights in the window on your first image, Terri. It prompted me to remember that you took that photo just before Christmas one year.

    And a good reminder from you about not putting the full lyrics of songs on our blog posts. I see it happening all the time and cross my fingers that a fine won’t follow.

    Very sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts are with you and the family,

    Finally, here’s my strange angle of a shot for this week’s theme.

    I thought I was photographing one aeroplane. However, on looking harder, I got a surprise.

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    • Thanks, Hugh. It was quite wonderful to be with my family during this time and especially to be able to see my uncle (mom’s brother). My Auntie was there, she was married to my uncle and they met when she was in Korea. She was a war orphan. The sweetest lady and they all live in coastal Washington state a few hours from us now. Thanks for sharing the image, I see two planes and perhaps celestial bodies amidst the clouds?

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  37. Good morning, Terri,
    We’re in Crater lake and I had to drive three miles to get a cell signal, so I have nothing to contribute. Your pictures would be hard to equal anyway. Loved the SpaceEX picture and all of your moonshots are fabulous. Hopefully, i’ll Be better connected next week, but have a great one! Too much heat?? Joe

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