Full moon, clear sky, trees, ice, lunar eclipse. A magnificent recipe! Yesterday, after an erratic mixture of snow, sleet, and rain, temperatures plummeted here in New England, leaving each and every tree ensheathed in a thick coat of ice. The full moon, followed by a total lunar eclipse set the stage in the woods behind my house for an incredible performance by nature (after all, the Arnold Arboretum is always closed between sunset and sunrise). The trees (red, white, and black oaks, red maples, beeches) shimmered in the brilliant moonlight, all of the terminal branchlets dancing in the wind – it could have been millions of diamonds or distant stars for all that I could tell. Truly, a once in a lifetime experience. Below, a few shots of this spectacular production of nature (lower right, beginning of lunar eclipse when the moon turns red).
