May Day Full Flower Moon.

[full_metal_ox]

Taken at 22:25 Eastern US Daylight Time over the parking lot joining Winn-Dixie and a local hotel, the latter outlined by its lights.

Once again, the photo doesn’t reflect what my corrective-lensed eyes actually saw—a serenely luminous disc the pale yellow of Muenster cheese—but the image is stark and dramatic. The lens flare on my cheap-ass burner phone made it resemble a black star sapphire (or, to read the image as suitably floral and local, a spider lily):



(I wasn’t the only one prowling this clear moonlit tropical night in search of food; two of the Burrowing Owls at my apartment complex were out hunting on the side lawn, as a third stood perched at the nest; this represents a full year of continuous occupancy and breeding, reflecting how safe they must feel here. They squawked at my approach, but did not hiss.)

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

Nice shot!

[full_metal_ox]

Thank you! Once again, it was a happy accident of my particular opportunity and equipment. (You’ll have to take my word for the owls; even under the moonlight it was far too dark to photograph them.)

[cmcmck]

It's always nice to see owls!

[shirebound]

Owls are so rare here. :(

What a magical photo! I doubt my phone could capture anything close to that.