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Patricia Evans
Newburyport, Massachusetts
01/25/2024
05:41 pm

Equipment Details:

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS - handheld

Post-processing Details:

Straight out of the camers - no edits

Image Details:

I stopped at the Joppa Flats boat ramp, one of my favorite bird watching spots on the Merrimack River in Newburyport, MA, to take a few photos of the river and the ice flows. I have seen Bald Eagles floating by on the ice, but not today. But I did see a pink glow that appeared behind the trees on the far side of the river that caught my eye. I wasn't sure what it was for a minute or two, then realized that it was the Full Wolf Moon rising! I watched it rise for a few minutes but then it quickly disappeared behind a row of clouds and I never saw it again. This was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time with my camera! What a treat!

An added fun fact - the unusual red pointed structure on the rocks to the left of the rising moon is called Ben Butler's Toothpick.
This pyramid-shaped aid to navigation has been standing at Black Rocks in Salisbury since 1873. It was named after Ben Butler, a Civil War general.
Benjamin Franklin Butler was a Civil War general who later turned his hand to a number of business ventures, and who also served in Congress and as governor of Massachusetts.

Butler directed the construction of this navigation aid in 1873 when he was involved in a shipping business using the Merrimack River to transport goods. It is officially known as Coast Guard Day Beacon No. 10.

Another interesting observation - for perspective, there are two people on the beach behind the Toothpick!