October has been quite an astronomical month and I'm so excited to be able to take pictures of these incredible events.  It all began with a lunar eclipse on October 7th.  You can read more about the event in my earlier blog but I've included the pictures here again.  The first is of the moon taken on the night of October 6th.  It was beautifully clear and I was so glad to be able to get a good moon picture.  Then the lunar eclipse occurred in the pre-dawn hours and a few high clouds made it a little fuzzy but still impressive.  The moon doesn't look quite that red in person (since our eyes don't see color well at night) but the camera can see it all.
    On October 23rd we had a partial solar eclipse.  Now instead of the earth getting between the sun and the moon, the moon got between the sun and the earth!  The day was a bit hazy and I used a neutral density filter (instead of a solar filter) so my picture turned out blue, but yes, that's the sun and a very big sun spot -- the biggest sun spot in 24 years!
    On October 18th and then on the 25th, Andy and I went up into the high country (Brainard Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park) to witness the Milky Way!  Photographing the Milky Way is actually quite easy and it was neat to be able to see so many stars at an early hour -- my best pictures were at 7:30 pm!  Can't wait until next year when the Milky Way becomes visible again.

As you probably know by now, I have a fascination with taking pictures of bees and other insects.  So, when Andy told me he saw an earwig and a bee on  the holly hock plant in the back yard last Monday night, he had my attention.  The holly hocks got quite tall this year (some were 9' tall) so I decided to cut the stem in order to get a closer look.  OMG!  An earwig eating a bee!  We assumed the bee was dead so I took a bunch of pictures before going to bed.  The next morning, I saw the bee was still on the stalk so figured it would be good practice to take pictures of it.  It MOVED!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was clearly dying, or almost dead at this point, but still had a bit of life in it.  Then I looked at its abdomen (the large yellow body with black stripes on it) and it had been sucked out like a hollow Easter egg.  I've since learned that a worker bee has two "stomachs", a temporary one to bring home the nectar, the other,  main, one which handles all of its digestion.  This one had its main stomach sucked out but obviously its thorax, containing the temporary stomach, heart, lungs and other organs,  was hanging on as best it could. I also learned that earwigs are omnivores but usually leave healthy bees alone.  What we witnessed was truly rare and sad and exciting all at the same time. Click on the pictures below to see some more of the "action"... 

This morning was the 2nd lunar eclipse of 2014.  Lunar eclipses are interesting because the moon goes from very a very bright white to a dull and slightly orange color.  If you didn't see the change you'd think there were just some clouds or smog obstructing the moon. Our eyes don't see color at night, though, so the most amazing part of the eclipse is seeing what the color of the moon "really" is!  When one takes a picture one can see exactly why it is called a "blood" moon.   Here are my pictures of the event.  The first is the full moon on Tuesday night at about 9:30pm with clear skies.  The second is at about 4:28am with slightly hazy sky during the full eclipse.   I've shown the two pictures at approximately the same brightness so you can see the topography.  Notice how the topography of the moon has shifted as the moon made its arc through the sky.  The next total lunar eclipse is September 27, 2015 so until then we'll just have to look at pictures.  (click on images to enlarge)

In an effort to enjoy the mountains as much as possible before the snow flies, Andy and I got up early on Monday morning and drove to Brainard Lake.  While we've seen as many as 6 moose near there in the past, we didn't see the regulars this time since they are probably either busy mating or moving to their winter homes.  We did see this  lone young bull moose.  He was quite shy and peaked at us through the willows.  Later, Andy saw  a cow moose with her baby much further up the trail.  Oh,  how I wish I could have been there!

For months I've seen pictures that people have taken of bighorn sheep in Waterton Canyon.  The canyon is in south Denver but is quite difficult to find on a map.  It is actually the start of the Colorado Trail and is also called Platte Canyon.  Last Saturday Andy and I were near Golden for a running race so we  took the opportunity to explore Waterton.  Wow!  We knew it was a dirt road but didn't realize that cars aren't allowed on it so Andy strapped on a backpack with  my camera equipment and we started walking.  After about 2 miles, just as I was getting tired, we ran into a heard of sheep!  How exciting.  They are somewhat tame but still quite skittish.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.