Parade of planets, part one

"This looks like a good spot.  I'll put our chairs down right here. This is where we'll watch the parade from." 

The very special parade I'm talking about is going to be crossing the northeast sky here in New Zealand.  It would be the southeast in the Northern Hemisphere, and probably at a different angle as well.  No marching bands or floats in this parade though; instead, we have planets, and sometimes the moon. 

I'm on our balcony and it's somewhere around 6 a.m. on March 19, 2022.  Venus is the brightest planet that you see in the picture just below and above it at about 1 o'clock is Mars. Below the fronds of the palm, at about 5 o'clock, is Saturn.  

My post is going to cover these planets for a couple of weeks. They are going to move around up there, and the Moon as I said, is going to make an appearance, and who knows, maybe we'll see something else that is interesting. Jupiter will join the parade but not for some time. 

I would suggest that you look at these posts and pictures at a time when the room around you is not brightly lit.  The planets are hard to see in some of the shots and low ambient lighting will allow you to see them better.   

This is several days later, March 26.  Notice that Saturn is moving up, closer to Venus.  

This is a close up of Venus. As you can see, it is not completely round, it has phases just like the moon does, but they last for a much longer time than the Moon's.  

And just in case you wonder if that really is Saturn, this should prove that it is.  I also took this picture on March 26th.

I haven't been able to get a good close up of Mars yet. Yes, it is a lot closer to us than Saturn is, but it is currently as far away from us as it ever gets, and is therefore dimmer than usual. And, it's tiny compared to Saturn. I may be able to get some good shots of it in several months time.  

Look what showed up on March 29th. Yes, the Moon.

Throughout this series of photos, I've been having a hard time with the levels of humidity in the atmosphere. You can see the effect it has on the Moon especially.  

Notice too that Saturn has just passed Venus.  Not the perfect conjunction moment, but close. 

Mars stays on top.  

This is a shot of the Moon I took just after I took the photo above.  It's not very good.  

This is a shot of the Moon I took a few months ago when the air was much drier. Not as dry as I would like, but better.  Quite a difference, huh?

Let's go back to my balcony shots. I like the palms in the foreground.  You can also see here how close we are to sunrise.  

I got a surprise in this next picture. You'll notice first of all that Saturn has moved up again. The surprise is above and to the right of Mars.  The thin streak you see is I think, a satellite.  It is not the International Space Station this time. 

Some of you may remember that one of my pictures of Jupiter and its four Galilean Moons was enhanced when a fly-by of the International Space Station happened just as I clicked. I went back to the site that lists each time the I.S.S. flies over N.Z. and found that it was not over us the morning that I took this picture.  It must be another, but I haven't been able to figure out what it is yet.  

Here is a closer look. Same picture, zoomed in. 

This photo was taken several seconds after the one above. You can see that the streak is farther away.  

Our good friends Kim and Mike share an interest in astronomy. Yesterday, Kim raised a really interesting possibility when she saw this streak.  She told me about Comet 22P/Kopff that appears currently in the constellation Capricornus. She included the link to The Sky, Live, and I learned a little more about it.  

These planets are also in Capricorn right now, so it is possible that the Comet is up there among them, so to speak, if we could just find it. It sounds as though I would need a telescope to see it. My camera is not quite up to it. 

She's been watching the skies too lately, and got some pictures of these planets, but from the Northern Hemisphere.  What a blast it is to discuss, share and compare thoughts.  Thanks Kim and Mike. 

Same image, close up.  You can definitely see the red of Mars in this one. 

I'll end this first part of the parade here.  

Y'all come on back here next week for part two.   -djf

Another walk in Henderson Park

I decided today to take a walk in Henderson Park.  Those of you who regularly follow my blog have been there in the past. It hasn't changed much, and you may recognize some of the features.  And even though I have walked through it many times, I never get tired of admiring it, especially the trees.  

I did discover something new on this walk however.  

Some months ago, a project was started in Auckland to benefit the Bryde's Whale, especially in the Hauraki Gulf. More than 80 of these life-sized whale tails were placed around Auckland and each one is unique.  

The sign below explains what will soon become of this massive art and fund-raising project.  

This one is located on the grounds of the Corban Estate Arts Center. On my way to the park, I took a slight detour over to photograph this tail for you.  

I've just crossed a bridge into the park and am walking along the Opanuku.  It's about 8:30 a.m. and there is a very nice cool breeze blowing.  

One of the 'disk-golf' 'holes.'  

I never get tired of looking at these enormous trees.  

Unfortunately, over the years, storms have claimed many trees, as is evidenced below. 

This reminds me of similar structures at Summerland Primary School. Amiri excelled in using them. 

One last look.   

When I look at such trees, I'm always reminded of the virgin growth of white pine around the mouth of the Presque Isle River in Michigan.        -djf 

Are you hungry again?

 

Several weeks ago, I started showing you some of the most popular foods here in New Zealand.  I continue that series with today's post.  

Let's take another look at the foods you've find in the markets in Henderson.  

The tag on the leg informs you that the leg is a special one.  They no doubt mean to attract our attention to a sale price, but I think the tag also correctly describes the quality of the lamb.  I doubt that you will find better lamb anywhere else in the world.  

These lamb shanks are very popular.  Our café at Waitakere Gardens often roasts piles of them and we plus-aged diners assemble in droves.    

(I appreciate the fact that person who wrapped package went to the extra trouble of informing the buying public, with this informative label, that these shanks are in fact, meaty, as opposed I suppose to those which are are boney, although why the buying public would want boney lamb shanks I don't know.  Going the extra mile like that is just one of the reasons that Aussie Butcher is our favorite butchery.)  

The family was coming over for dinner recently, so Jeanne sent me to a bakery, located right next door as it happens, to the butchery mentioned above, to pick up some desert items. 

While there, I took a few pictures. 

I bought some of each of these two. Those are custard pies on the right, dusted with cinnamon. 

This sign caught my attention when I went into our Pak 'n Save last week. What the heck are extrusions, I wondered? 

"Hey Ma, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

"We're having Bluebird Extrusions, honey.  Now go and wash your hands." 

"OH BOY! Extrusions!  My favorite.  I wish we could have extrusions every day."  

(I've got to tell you, I worried just a bit about the palatability of these 'bird extrusions'...from the Latin, extrudere, meaning, to squeeze out)

Well, I soon discovered what Bluebird Extrusions are.   They are 'formed' snacks that come in various shapes and flavors. Well, that's okay then.  

And notice if you will, that the bluebird used here as a 'mascot' for this brand of snacks is not a bluebird of the genus Sialia, from North America. Rather, it is a 'little blue penguin,' of the genus Eudyptula, which can be found on the southern shores of New Zealand (and Australia) and grows to be no more about a foot in height. They are the smallest species of penguin and are sometimes also called 'fairy penguins.'   

(Look what you can learn from a trip to the supermarket!)  

Tasty is our favorite 'everyday' cheese.  Mainland makes the best in my opinion, aged 18 months.  

This is the most common kind of pumpkin here. It is often served baked or made into soup. 

Just in case you're interested, I've included a link below to a post I did years ago about pumpkin soup. (If you do go to this link, you'll find that the first picture, of pumpkins, won't come up) 

https://fostersoe.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-kiwi-classic-pumpkin-soup.html

Mango lassi is a drink the boys especially enjoy. Made from mango, milk, yogurt, a little sugar and cardamom. 

Custard is used to complement desserts of many kinds.  Very thick, flavored with vanilla.  

And speaking of desserts, this is number one.  The pavlova.  

It is a very sweet baked meringue, that is crunchy on the outside and softer inside. It is served covered with your choice of berries and fruit. The sell lots of different sizes, even little individual ones.  

Are you hungry after seeing some more examples of what makes New Zealand's diners smile? I don't blame you.             -djf

Do you like your sunny-side ups with or without birds? Both are on our menu today.

When I took my photos of the Sun moving along the horizon toward the equinox, and showed them to you in a recent post, I also snapped a lot of 'shortly before,' shots. This post consists of the best of those pictures. (And a couple of during and one shortly after shot.) 

Not much talk with this post, maybe a few comments.  Just enjoy some beautiful moments in time.     

I can't quite decide if we're looking at the sky or the sea in this one.  Does anyone see a boat out there? 

I wish you all could have seen this one in person. This is just a section of the spectacle that filled the  eastern sky.  It lasted only a couple of minutes, then it was just a grey sky. 

I think this one could be a postcard. 

A very ordinary looking morning, but look closer....

I like to play with some of the pictures, just to see how they look.  Case in point.....

That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed them.    -djf

Which way do you lean? Arachnophobe or Arachnophile?

I don't know what you think of spiders, although I suppose that a few of you are actually shuddering as you read this from the very mention of the creature, right?  Well, this post is about just a few of them that I've recently met here in New Zealand. 

What I'm going to show you are only pictures, okay?  No videos. No need to panic and do something crazy....like clicking out of my post.   

These spiders have been rather hard for me to find.  I did some reading about them and found that many are nocturnal. Since I'm not, that simply means that we have working different shifts and have therefore not run into each other.  

Recently, I felt the need to correct that.  While walking through Henderson Park, I came across a long fence in a shadowy area that was covered with webs. I started 'surfing', if I can call it that, the fence-wide web and I eventually discovered a few spiders, hiding under sections of that web.  I politely poked a couple of the webs with a little stick and the spiders got up out of bed to glare at me for a while.

Here are some shots of the stream I was following to the spider's fence. 

 

It's nice in here. Out of the hot sun, with a cooling breeze.  

February here is like August back home in Michigan. It can get hot.

It's the fence-wide web! There is some sun, it's true, but the trees will provide on-and-off shade all day long here. It must stay fairly cool and the webs themselves act like umbrellas at the beach.  

 

I think the jury is still out and deliberating about whether or not spiders are my friends. I  think their 'twelve good spiders and true' are having a hard time deciding if I'm worth being friends with.  After all, I come along and wake them up, poke at them with sticks, and subject all those eyes to bright flashes of light. Would you want to be friends with someone who did that to you?     

I don't know if you are thinking of these spiders as Arachne (Greek myth), Shelob (LOTR), Aragog (Harry Potter), Charlotte (Charlotte's Web),  or Itsy-bitsy (nursery rhyme), all names of spiders that I've run across, but that's up to you. I rather like the story of Arachne myself. She was a world-class weaver who turned out to be a little too good....

 

Spiders, whether you like them or not, were the world's first 3-d printers.  You have to be impressed with that.

So, there you have it.  Did you make it through without a panic attack?  I was careful to start you off with these very modest-sized specimens so as not to stress you too badly.  I'm told that there are some that live under porches here that are as big as my hand.  I'll give you fair warning if I photograph any of them. 

Truth be told though, I'm 70 now and I don't bend very well.  I doubt that I'll find myself under any porches.  Of course, if they hear about that stick incident today on the web from their little cousin on the fence, maybe some of those big ones will come looking for me. I'm glad at least that they're non-venomous.    -djf