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As the sun goes down behind you, a red moon will rise before your eyes. Rising moons are often reddened by clouds or pollution, but this moon will be the deep, extraordinary red only seen during a lunar eclipse. As you watch it ascend into the night, imagine what it would be like to stand by Shackleton Crater watching from the opposite direction.
Up in the sky, a big black disk covers the sun. A red “ring of fire” appears where the sun was only moments before, and its glow turns the ground red beneath your feet.

The charm of the eclipse comes from Earth. Our planet is big enough by a factor of three to block the entire sun but, curiously, this doesn’t cause complete darkness. Rays of sunlight bend around the edge of Earth, filtering through the atmosphere. Rising moons are often reddened by clouds or pollution, but this moon was the deep, extraordinary red only seen during a lunar eclipse. As you watched it ascend into the night, imagine what it would be like to stand by Shackleton Crater watching from the opposite direction.

To our ancestors, there were no two more important objects in the sky than the Sun and Moon. They represented the rhythms of life itself. They feared lunar eclipses, thinking it might even be the end of the world. Embedded in the fear was also fascination and wonder. Today we know why eclipses occur, but understanding did not take away the wonder and beauty of this shadow play of Earth and Moon. Join us in an exploration of our nearest neighbor in space, and the only other world that man has walked upon.

Today the Kentucky state road department of Transportation began drilling a hole at the north side of the old iron bridge on Tebbs Bend in Taylor county near Green River Lake. The core sample taken is to test the integrity of the already existing foundation. The bridge has roots going back as far as the Civil War and is one of the highlights of the Tour of the historic battle at Tebbs Bend.

Today the date for demolition and reconstruction was confirmed–the bridge is to be replaced in the Fall of 2008. This historic landmark, known by locals as “The Old Iron Bridge” will be replaced by a similar bridge with a concrete floor instead of wood. Although the bridge will remain one lane, some may feel we are losing a part of our historic heritage.

What is your opinion? Please feel free to post your comments below.

This weekend a good friend and I went to the lake to view Bald Eagles in action! Prompted by thoughts of watching these majestic birds as they dive and soar through their daily routine, I was lured out to see what I did not believe were living right under my nose here in Central Kentucky. That’s right not just in National Parks or remote Wilderness Areas, Bald eagles are integral part of the Green River Ecosystem! Green River Lake is home to these amazing birds of prey. The best time to go eagle watching according to one of our locals, is around 9am, after a good rain. Drive out to the top of the dam and start looking at the far of knolls near the bridge! You will need some binoculars unless you are good at spotting something that has 7 times better vision than you. Please enjoy the images of these magnificent creatures below and feel free to post comments and pictures of any other spectacular life forms living in or around the area! Until next time, have a great week and happy hunting.”