Back Yard Fun!

This afternoon we ran around in the yard chasing Cappy and his blue ball. We also spotted what's eating our very first homegrown pumpkin, and also a g-hog.





Just wanted to post this shot of Carver, not just because I think he's the cutest little boy in Philly, but because I wanted to share the handmade craftiness of his tie-dye onsie. I picked this bright cheery number at Julie Foster's table while checking out the Skippack Days on Sunday afternoon. Thanks Julie we love it!

If It Were Not For Bees

Bees are an extremely important organism on this planet. We wouldn't have food on our table if it weren't for them. I appreciate these hard workers to the fullest, just not in my attic window sill. A few months ago I noticed a pile of dirt forming on the floor by the window, it was in my 'to do' list to find out what it was from. Wednesday I finally found out it was from bees. To make a long story short, I googled 'Beekeeper in Philadelphia' and found Anthony M. Buzas. I chose to call him because his address was right around the corner from us. Turns out this Tony Buzas is the 'Bee Master' of the whole east coast! He even told me to keep an eye out for magician David Blain's next show, I'm assuming there's something with bee's and Tony involved. Oh, it's turning into a long story... back to the short story... Tony and his assistant John show up and handle the small yellow jacket hive / colony. My instructions were to make sure there were no bees actively flying in & out of the window sill by next mid-week. If there are, I call him again. I'm not going up there for anything right now! When I photographed the process I stayed way back and only got close when the bees were gone. Tony's been interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer (he gave me a copy of the article), and the Daily News. I plan on checking out his whole bee establishment sometime. He lives in Flourtown and rents his honeybees to farmers. I find it a fascinating story and hope to pursue a little documentary photo story someday about Tony and his Apis mellifera (honeybees).
Thank you Tony for ridding our home of the yellow jackets! I hope I don't see them in a week!

Lunar Eclipse Of The Heart...

First off I would like to share that I LOVE the Moon!! I don't know what it is about the moon but no matter what phase it's in, I can't help but gaze at it and smile. Kyle and I even planned our wedding date on a full moon!
Last night I pulled myself away from American Idol to grab a few photos of the amazingly beautiful lunar eclipse!
Here's some info on the celestial event that I pulled from the Associated Press...

The next total lunar eclipse won't happen until Dec. 20, 2010 (another two years!)
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon passes into Earth's shadow and is blocked from the sun's rays that normally illuminate it. During an eclipse, the sun, Earth and moon line up, leaving a darkened moon visible to observers on the night side of the planet.
The moon doesn't go black because indirect sunlight still reaches it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere (I was wondering about that myself).
Wednesday's total eclipse phase lasted nearly an hour. Earth's shadow began to blot out the moon around 10 p.m. If you missed it, there is a time to plan for another sky spectacular later this year. In August, there will be a total solar eclipse.