Total Eclipse

Well Gentle Reader, your erstwhile reporter resolved to stay up and photograph the Total Eclipse of the Moon last night. And he did. Thirty Eight Crap Photos. So I will tell you about it:
2:53 a.m: Big old full not quite harvest moon was really bright-like a shiny silver dollar only with W.C. Field's face on it. I was out on the edge of Hwy 137 with my nipples like raisins, teeth about to chatter, monopod braced, occasionally having to unzip the fly one-handed to relieve the diuretic machinations. ( I am anxiously looking for evidence of a sty today.) Over the next sixty minutes, the full orb became a mere crescent. I became an icicle. Went in to warm up and check my pictures. What didn't look like a comet, resembled fat marshmallows. Decided to change cameras (it had to be the camera, didn't it?). Batteries were dead on that camera- big search. Found some alkalines. Mounted the camera on the monopod, went outside to find the moon looking like a blood orange, though smaller than before. Really beautiful. Couldn't find it with the viewfinder. Finally just started clicking away in the general direction, each time the autofocus light would shine a bright green or yellow light into the air. That evidently alarmed the Indian neighbors because they decided to unleash their hounds who stood across the road and raised Holy Ned. 4:35 a.m. went to look at my new pix. Worse than the first. Fello into bed. Slept till noon. I got Eclipsed.