Sandia Moonrise

I have a bunch of hummingbirds that show up around 8 PM and put on an aerial display. Some of it id acrobatics and some looks like a WW-I dog-fight but it is enjoyable to watch. I decided I would go out and get some pictures. I really don't know what kind of hummingbird they are except that I know they are different from the ones we had back in Missouri. I think they are attracted to the water--stream and pond -- that I have in the front yard and the flowering bushes. I think there might be a nest in the Pyracantha bush.

Anyway...the sky was very interesting and the hummingbirds were not being very cooperative. We have been having huge storms in the eastern part of the state and tonight there was one with the thunderheads reaching 50,000 feet in altitude. You can see the cloud tops for over 100 miles in this dry and clear air and with the setting sun they were very pretty.

I took several pictures but decided to go back inside. As I was getting ready to go in I noticed a bright white light on top of Sandia Peak streaming through the treetops. I'm used to seeing red lights up there from the communication towers but not bright white lights. I realized that I was seeing the leading edge of the rising moon. This was a full moon night and the show was quite spectacular.

First view...the pictures are pretty much in sequence....

Some of that reddish tint is due to the setting sun and the sunlight picking up a little color from dust in the atmosphere. The moon rose into a few scattered clouds -- probably something that lingered from the distant storms.

I'm glad I stayed outside and enjoyed the moonrise over the Sandia Mountains.