Look Up

In Seattle the cold nights sneak up on you.  Autumn chill was in the air, and summertime had slipped out the back door without even saying goodbye.  Through the tree branches, we saw flashes of unexpected color that couldn’t be anything but a space ship!  Eli and I stopped what we were doing…

…and ran to investigate.  We brought the camera for photo-documentation.

We live three or four blocks from a sweeping view of Puget Sound.

For fireworks, sunsets, or alien invasions, we always head straight for the crest of the hill.  Ferry boats light up black water like jewels.

But that night, the jewel on the crown turned out to be a ruby, the biggest reddest moon I had ever seen.

Don’t wait for an alien invasion.  Just look up.

Click here for more interpretations of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Look up.

All word and images copyright 2012 Naomi Baltuck

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Published by Naomi Baltuck

When not actually writing, I am researching the world with my long-suffering husband and our two kids, or outside editing my garden. My novel, The Keeper of the Crystal Spring (Viking Penguin), can be read in English, German, Spanish, and Italian. My storytelling anthology, Apples From Heaven, garnered four national awards, including the Anne Izard Storytellers’ Choice. I am currently working on a contemporary women’s novel.

93 Comments

  2. I feel your pain over here 3300 miles away in the opposite corner

    I love your area spent so many days in WASHINGTON STATE almost thought about living on a houseboat over that way long ago but my parents were here so now with just Mom I really can’t move that far from her but maybe someday even a vacation on one would be perfect

    Reply

    1. It’s a great place to visit. We have two National Parks only and hour or two away from Seattle. I sometimes regret having headed out west to seek my fortune, when my mom was still in Detroit. We talked and visited back and forth, but I still feel like I missed a LOT by moving away. I just knew I couldn’t raise my kids in Detroit. You won’t have those regrets, which I still wrestle with.

      Reply

      1. I hear you on raising children there it must have been very hard I moved to Florida for 8 months when I gave my home to the bank after divorce when bank refused to take ex off loan ot title so I said “Get him to pay you!” loaded up my things I wanted and fueled up my van and Big Rig and off I went(old BF drove van with my dogs and cat,3 dogs lol I have a nice safe quiet trip in my International.
        I had run the road but that was work and would always hit the parents home when I was in New England but being there I missed my parents. Bank gave me the house back free and clear as long as I promised to live here so Northbound I headed you can not turn a gift such as that down lol

        Kid Rock and Eminem are guys raised there I do like some of the music and a whole lot of music made there but city life there and Chicago and LA are real tough 😦

        Eunice

      2. Dear Eunice,

        What an interesting story! It seems like you were meant to be there. I also had the pull of Seattle. I was twelve or thirteen when my mom took us there on a road trip–we had been to most of the states already. But when we got to Seattle, with its mountains and ocean, I told my mother I was coming back here to live when I grew up. It has felt like home, and I love everything about it, even the rain!

      3. I know right the Best of Both worlds we in NH have the Ocean and Mountains so I know exactly what you mean lol

        I like the idea of a grass ROOF up in your area 🙂

      5. You are right such a pretty place to sit and quiet yourself close to the Lake as well as learn.

    1. Thanks, Lesley. I am so so so lucky to have him to come out and play with. It is only until March, when he goes to Argentina on a Fulbright, but for now, I am loving our time together.

      Reply

    1. Thank you, Elyse. Seattle isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It is pouring rain outside right now, we have a small lake in our driveway, and it is very dark out. But the twinkle lights are on, I have a hot cup of coffee, and feel very snug inside. As soon as the sun comes out, people head outside like cockroaches out of the woodwork, to take advantage of breaks in the weather!

      Reply

    1. Hi Lynne,
      Thanks for the sweet words. I didn’t have to do a thing to that photo. We were having forest fires in Eastern Washington at the time, and it probably affected the night sky.

      Reply

    1. Hi Tina,
      Thanks so much. We really got lucky with that shot, but it made me think that I shouldn’t wait for a blue or even a red moon to step out.

      I appreciate your visit, and your taking the time to share your thoughts.

      Reply

  13. Beautiful interpretation Naomi for this week topic, Thanks for sharing your natural surroundings images ,stargazing I love it too my friend 🙂

    Reply

    1. Dear Island Traveler,
      Thank you so much! It is amazing what you can see from your own backyard! I appreciate your visit, and for taking the time to share your very generous thoughts!

      Reply

    1. Hi Footsy,

      Seattle is a silver city, with gardens everywhere. The rain is not usually very heavy–more like mist, but it can be very wet and gray for days at a time. In Ireland they would call it “soft weather.”

      It tends to be more casual here, and more progressive politically, which suits me. It is very water-oriented; our metropolitan area is built around Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Sammamish Lake, and then there is Puget Sound.

      We have the Olympic mountains visible to the west, the Cascade mountains to the east, Mt. Rainier to the south, and Mt. Baker to the north. It is a mild climate. We hardly ever get snow, but when we do the city shuts down and everyone makes hot chocolate and goes out to play in it.

      Reply

  19. Beautiful, Naomi! What a gorgeous moon…and your sunset is glorious too. The ferry boat twinkling on the water is beautiful….thanks for sharing a part of your world!

    Reply

    1. Hi Kathy,
      So good to hear from you. You really don’t need to get on an airplane to appreciate your surroundings. That ruby moon was just a reminder to get ourselves out the door.

      Thanks so much for the visit!

      Reply

    1. Dear Carol,

      Hah! It was just what we needed to get ourselves going. Isn’t that always the case? Once you buck the inertia, you are always glad you got moving and out the door. Thanks so much for your visit, and for taking the time to comment.

      Reply

  29. You had me hook, line and sinker, Naomi! I love your red Seattle moon, and I’m wondering why I’m just realizing that you live there. I met a woman not long ago who said it was so wet in the Pacific Northwest that you could throw a seed out the window and it would sprout! I always thought Seattle sounded wonderful, and think it’s a place I would embrace given the chance to live there.
    Elisa

    Reply

  32. Beautiful photos and what a blood red moon. Wow. Love your reminder to look up. 🙂 I’m trying to do that more. 🙂

    Reply
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