28 October, 2016

Dawn in Three Parts

I was just reading Midmarsh John's latest post Friday morning with his photo of a gorgeous dawn sky holding a crescent moon and I realized that some 7 or so hours after he had taken his picture, I had taken some of the same crescent moon at dawn over here on the other side of the Atlantic.  The sky in John's photo has flaming orange clouds with a slim crescent above.  Be sure to check it out.  The image below is more sedate with rosy fingers reaching for the moon over a dove grey sea and clouds. The rays that converge on the sun like this are called "crepuscular rays".
Part 1.  Slim crescent moon chased high into the sky by the rising sun.
Ten minutes later, the sun was high enough to illuminate the grey clouds.
Part 2.  Coral lining in grey clouds.
I turned to the west and saw that dawn had reached across the heavens with sunrays converging at the spot opposite the sun.  Rays like this are called "anticrepuscular rays".  Here is nice website that talks about sunrays and how to see them best.
Part 3.  Dawn sunrays in the western sky.
I took the last 2 photos above from the sunset balcony, yes the very balcony that has been the site of the 2 most recent projects.  The photo below shows the sunset balcony with the upsidedown roof underneath it and the sunshade above it.
Come on up!
 I am really pleased with how the sunshade turned out.
Sunshade extending from under the eaves out to the rail of the balcony.
Just look at all that nice shade.
Twenty-eight minutes past high noon.  The shade is quite pleasant.
The hot-glue gun worked like a charm to hem the edges of the shade cloth.
I wrapped the cloth under the frame on the south (here) and north ends, and secured it to the frame using eyehooks and carabiners.  The hardware is stainless steel to minimize corrosion in the salt air.
I like how the shade cloth lets some light through, so that it doesn't make the inside of the cabana too dark.
View to the west.
Below is a detail showing the hemmed end with the butterfly clip, carabiner and the eyehook screw.
The carabiners will make it easy to take the cloth down if a storm comes up.  I can reach all 11 carabiners without a stool or ladder.  I really don't want to be standing on a ladder with the wind whipping around!
It took us not quite 3 days from start to finish for the sunshade project.  Amazing how quickly it can go when you have the materials at hand.

14 comments:

  1. You can be proud of the sunshade. It's lovely; you've done a good job.

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    1. Thank you, Duta. It really helps with the afternoon heat.

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  2. Such beautiful photos. Your sunshade is perfect.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Janie - thank you. The sunshade is working well.

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  3. Thank you very much for the link.
    Interesting to see how a different part of the Moon seems be be illuminated depending where on Earth you look up.
    You have answered an unasked question of mine. I was going to ask whether the shade cloth would be removable in bad weather. As always you have done a thorough job and no doubt a bit of shade from direct Sunlight is welcome, and needed.

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    1. I noticed the difference in the orientation of the crescent, too. I guess it is due to latitude.
      The shade is easy to take down, but a little harder to get back up. One person can get it back in place but it is easier with 2 people. A ladder is required.

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  4. From your views of that crescent moon, to the sun up to the photos of your cleverly designed sunshade, every bit of this post has been fun and educational to see. How lucky I am to have connected here via Weaver's posts. I thank you both. xo

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  5. Frances - it is good to hear that you enjoy these posts. I learn so much from Weaver's; often the little things that must seem so commonplace to her are so very interesting to someone (like me!) who has such a different life. Aren't blogs fun?

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  6. Blast - reading both your's and John's blogs I recall that I also looked up at that moon the other morning and never thought to take a photo. Really interesting though to realise the time-gap between your two photos and the fact that you both had good skies while being so far apart. Your comment about Weaver's blog is also true, when used properly we can learn so much from each other's life-styles.

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    1. It was unusual to catch the moon like that here because of the low clouds that are often along the eastern horizon in the mornings. Too bad you didn't take a photo. :-(
      Reading a variety of blogs is armchair travel for me; little visits to friends around the world.

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  7. I love that sunshade. Great job. Enjoy it! And those dawn photos... Breathtaking!

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    1. Thanks, Mitchell. We just bought some new-to-us folding teak chairs that will go out there after they receive a little TLC and a tung oil finish. I already spend a little time there almost everyday birdwatching and now it is pleasant in the afternoon as well as the morning.

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  8. All that in only 3 days? I'm impressed and wish I could drop by.
    Take care, Wilma. Keep some of those sun rays in your life.

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    1. Thanks, Robyn. Drop by any time. I'll get back to blogging soon.

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