Nearly Full, But Perfect Nonetheless

Thursday evening in Middletown was cool and breezy, with a clear blue sky – a perfect night for watching an almost full moon. A little farther south, on the Connecticut River, a group of supporters of the CT River Coastal Conservation District floated down past Essex aboard the RiverQuest. The sun set slowly and gracefully over the hills of western Connecticut. 

From the north and east, thousands – maybe hundreds of thousands – of swallows gathered to nest in the reeds and grasses along the river.  The only problem was deciding whether to watch the sunset, the moon rise, or the swallows swooping overhead.

Lots of better photographers were on board – does anyone want to send some replacements for these cellphone snaps?? My pictures of the swallows look like a distant pepper storm.