July4, 2020 Full Buck Moon Rising up Mill Mountain.

Cheers to another 4th of July celebration.
Who could have asked for anything more:
a clear night sky.........
a full moon🌕.....
the Roanoke Star lit in Red, White, and Blue 💥💥💥
Bingo.

We traditionally gather to celebrate with fireworks at Rivers Edge, but this year most all of the official events were cancelled. 

THE FULL MOON WAS NOT CANCELLED.
Without a doubt, I have a fascination with the moon.

I adore watching it in the night sky.

Obviously, I love photographing it as well.

With camera gear in hand, we headed to Jefferson Street Bridge'

We checked the Moon apps to clarify the time for the moon rise.

We set up tripods and waited. The time of capture here 👇 was 7:53PM

As darkness fell, the glow of the moon began to appear on the side of Mill Mountain.

Photo taken at 8:15PM

 Because this was my first attempt at actually following the moon up the mountain, I kinda thought the moon would rise straight up.........WRONG.

The Buck Moon 'crawled' up the side of Mill Mountain, before making its appearance.

Photo taken at 8:30PM

We were privy to some added fireworks 💥💥💥

The 'Crawl' up the mountain was to beatiful to watch........ and exciting to capture on my camera.

The occasional firework display seemed insignificant compared to the brilliance of the moon.

Photo taken at 8:38PM

"How beautiful is the relationship between the moon and the dark night sky. So contrasting, yet so incomplete without the other."

The last photo above ☝ was taken at 8:48PM. 

You can see the fullness of the moon through the trees!

The closer to the top of the mountain the moon appeared to climb, the more excited I became.

It reached the top, and started it's 'move' to the right. Photo below taken at 8:59PM

My heart was in my throat!

POUNDING.

The journey to the Star began to accelerate.

The moon had reached the Star.👇👇👇 (Photo taken at 9:04PM)

This one shot at 9:06PM (Probably my favorite) 👇👇👇💝💝💝

All of the photos are SINGLE SHOT. (no photoshopping). 

Did you know that the moon travels around the earth?

***** The moon orbits the earth once every 27.322 days. It also takes approximately 27 days for the moon to rotate once on its axis. As a result, the moon does not seem to be spinning but appears to observers from earth to be keeping almost perfectly still.*****

Do you want to know how fast the moon travels around the earth?

*******The moon orbits earth at a speed of 2,299 miles per hour. During this time it travels a distance of 1,423,000 miles.*****

This one taken at 9:07PM 👇 (also a favorite)

These last 2 were taken at 9:09PM. and 9:12PM.👇👇

"I love you to the moon and back."💓

Well, off she goes.....

Happy 4th of July, 2020

Kate Smith wrote the following lyrics. The song was published in 1931:

When the moon comes over the mountain

Every beam brings a dream, dear, of you

Once again we'll stroll 'neath the mountain

Through that rose-covered valley we knew

Each day is grey and dreary

But the night is bright and cheery

When the moon comes over the mountain

I'll be alone with my memories of you.