Moonrise Wednesday was at 1:25am. The Mountain’s topography meant that we wouldn’t see the waning Gibbous moon until almost two hours later, when it peeked above the tall cedars south of the cabin.
I was outside with Smudge at the time and snapped a bad photo.
The sight prompted me to go looking for images captured during Artemis II’s lunar “fly-by” the other day. Followers of the mission anxiously anticipated a 2026 version of Apollo 8’s iconic Earthrise photo, certainly, and NASA didn’t disappoint.
Photography, like everything else on the voyage, has been carefully scripted. The images we’re seeing are spectacular, no doubt, though meticulously choreographed.
But y’know what? I’ll take a fuzzy old Hasselblad original over these tack-sharp digital shots — every time.
Apollo 8 was special. It was the first manned mission to leave Earth’s gravity, the first to visit another body in the universe, the first to go dark and silent behind our moon.
Before losing communication on the ninth of ten orbits, on Christmas Eve, the crew read from Genesis. The whole world was listening.
If you were alive and aware back then, you remember 1968. Vietnam. RFK. MLK. DNC riots. Protests. “Nixon’s the one.” Big Mac. Laugh-In. Adam-12. Mod Squad. Apollo 8.
As for me, I was 11. I graduated from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. The Ohio State football team won the national championship. I remember everything. And I’ll never forget the first time I saw this photograph:
I mean to take nothing away from the current moon shot. It’s just that I prefer the original.
No outdoor fire Wednesday morning. Too windy. We did, however, travel to Yellville for provisions and gas ($3.599).
On the way to town, I was struck by how much my favorite view (pictured) has changed over the last couple of weeks.
My “porch window” is almost closed, too.
It’s the fifth time I’ve watched spring unfold in Ozarkansas. The landscape goes from zero-to-lush in what seems like a blink. Somehow, that always surprises me.
The greening of The Mountain continues. It’s a beautiful time of year, and life is better than ever.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable