3:00am PST
I can't seem to get Joaquim into a conversation that keeps him awake, even though so many interesting ideas are keeping me awake. For example, why does it look like there are two moons tonight? From the fabulous three window room I sleep in, I can see a moon in two of the three windows. I finally discovered one actual moon was in the western sky close to the top of the mountain. A reflection of the moon was in the window facing east which was functioning as a mirror.
I can't seem to get Joaquim into a conversation that keeps him awake, even though so many interesting ideas are keeping me awake. For example, why does it look like there are two moons tonight? From the fabulous three window room I sleep in, I can see a moon in two of the three windows. I finally discovered one actual moon was in the western sky close to the top of the mountain. A reflection of the moon was in the window facing east which was functioning as a mirror.
As Joaquim drifted in and out of sleep, I asked him where on the planet someone might be awake and wanting to chat. He suggested his mother. I will have to see if she wants to set up to skype. In the meantime, I found a great youtube piece by Andrew Fazekas, the man who writes about the night sky. http://www.thenightskyguy.com/ This almost made me feel like I had company.
After listening to him, I found another guy who has something to say about the night sky. My son. As teh youtube peice came to an end, David arrived at the kitchen door with his hands over his eyes asking for sunglasses. I found them for him. He is now on my lap, and he has a great visual for why the moon was in a place I didn't expect. He used his fingers to show me what he learned when he was in Preschool and went to the science museum. He told me to think of the sky in terms of rooms. Some can spin. Some can't. He held up one finger on his left hand for the sun, and had a finger from his right hand for the earth circling around it counterclockwise. He then explained that the earth has a moon that in turn rotates around the earth while they both rotate around the sun.
We found another good website that let's us see the phase of the moon day by day. If you want to get a sneak peak at what the moon will look like on your next birthday, you can type in that date at the following website. David's moon will be .949 of a full moon. He says he can't wait to be six. http://www.briancasey.org/artifacts/astro/moon.cgi
Finally, now Joaquim is up too, so I can sign off.
Bonnie
Hello Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteI got up at 5:50 am. In Quebec, we are three hours ahead of you. That means that I was up wondering who to talk to at the same time as you were trying to find someone to chat with. I am interested in the night sky as well and especially in the fact that you could find two moons at the Shuswap.
Good work.
I once went on a field trip to study nature in the copses of trees around the university. The guide said that when she was young she wanted a descriptive name like First Nations people have. So she picked "She Who Runs Through Tall Grasses" for herself.
If I were naming you, I would call you "She Who Sees Two Moons".
Signed,
"She Who Wakes Three Hours Too Early"
I thought of calling you, Arta, but didn't dare in case I woke another child as I had my own. I like your name for me. I also have another name that I got from my mother. "She who warms icy child feet in bed at night." I told David you used to do that for me. It has happened so often, he is starting to think it is a "right" rather than a "privilege." Last night he had to ask Joaquim to be a mediator because he was mad that I wouldn't let him put his feet under my legs and instead they had to be against my legs. Joaquim distracted him with other topics, and his feet eventually warmed up.
ReplyDeleteI was falling asleep at 4am. I couldn't sleep. I think it might have been the Coke... I haven't had it for a while, and then drank the equivalent of 2 cans. Ugh, 4am. I am tired.
ReplyDeleteHello Marcia,
ReplyDeleteTwo cans of Coke is good. Start to worry when you have had two 2 litre bottles during the day and then are reaching for your third.
On the other hand, that much might give me 48 hours of energy in which I could get my house absolutely spotless before someone gets up and starts to "live" in it again.
Arta