I woke up about 3:30 a.m. and went out to the kitchen for water, and noticed light pouring into the living room from the full moon.
The back garden was lit up as well. Plenty of light for fox photography with the garden cam if they came around last night! We'll know this weekend when I download the images from the cam.
And of course I couldn't let such a gorgeous moon go to waste without getting a proper photo of it!
Blogger Mitchell posted a video a few days ago that brought tears to my eyes (in a good way!) when I watched it last night. Have you ever seen videos by Playing for Change, an organization that virtually unites musicians around the world to perform together? I heard about them 15 years ago, after attending one of their concerts with my blog pal Barbara, who some of you might remember from Blogland. (I haven't spoken to Barbara in years, not since she stopped blogging, but I still see her husband on Facebook.) Anyway, Mitchell found a Playing for Change version of "Peace Train" that features Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens himself as well as many other musicians, and it's very poignant, considering the state of the world today. When I heard that unforgettable voice again it gave me chills. The video is on Mitchell's post here (below the pictures of his adorable cats).
And just for the heck of it, here's a link to my personal favorite Playing for Change video, the Indian folk song "Chanda Mama." Both of these are well worth watching and show that music really does unite us, in the face of all our other differences.
That moon photo is fantastic, Steve!! I love it when the moon is so bright that it almost looks as if my kitchen (or bedroom or living room, depending on the time of night) is lit up by the sun, and when I look out on the gardens, the silvery light gives them a very special atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteYes, music does unite us. And a song like "Peace Train" is, sadly, always poignant - in human history, there has never been a time without wars in many parts of the world.
Yes, "Peace Train" is definitely more of an ideal than a reality.
DeleteThese photos are stunning. The living room in moonlight! Thanks for the mention. I, too, am teary when I play that video and many others by Playing for Change. They fill me with hope.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how effective they are! I can watch Playing for Change musicians perform almost any song and feel uplifted.
DeleteWhat is going on? Mooching around in the middle of the night like a werewolf. Did you howl at the moon? I will catch up on the video link later. It had better be good!
ReplyDeleteI did not howl. I thought it might annoy Mrs. Kravitz.
DeleteLove those atmospheric photos.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy it when the moonlight is bright enough for photography!
DeleteI had just been up and checking the moon which shone in the bedroom when I came up and is now lighting up the kitchen on the other side of the house. It's wonderful. And you're seeing it too. Cool.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Morocco in my twenties and I was homesick I always used to feel better thinking people at home were looking at the same moon I was. (Albeit not at the same time!)
DeleteI posted that same video on my blog back in July. That video has been watched by me many times! He even made a picture book from the song! I put a link to my post in case you wanted to look at his video with the picture book. https://mcpersonalspace54.wordpress.com/2025/07/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Michael! And I even commented on that post but I think I must not have watched the video. My bad!
DeleteHello Steve,
ReplyDeleteHaving a cat, we are very well acquainted with early morning rituals....5am is the absolute limit for breakfast for our delightful tabby, Harriet. However, we have never managed to capture such an amazing image of the moon as yours. It is simply wonderful and, surely, made the early waking worthwhile.
And, Playing for Change is such a touching project. We believe that as human beings we are all more connected than we might think. Humanity can bind us all if only we do not let other things divide us.
We are definitely all more alike than not. I always think of that Police song, about how the Russians love their children too.
DeleteThis last full moon of 2025 has been spectacular hasn't it. I thought our garden Christmas lights had stayed on after 11pm, and I was just about to get out of bed to check and then I remembered the moon that I had been marvelling over a couple of hours earlier ... so I stayed cosy.
ReplyDeleteIt really was astonishingly bright! I can see how it would fool you!
DeleteYour home looks beautiful with that moon. Thanks for the link -- I'll check it out.
ReplyDeleteHope you find it uplifting. :)
DeleteWe have snow on the ground here so with a full moon, I wake up thinking someone is shining a flashlight into our windows!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, the ground must be like a big reflector!
DeleteI've seen that Peace Train video a few times - it really IS pretty fabulous! We were overcast last night, so no huge moon for us. Dang it.
ReplyDeleteToo bad! When I was taking my photo I wondered if you and/or Dr. M were doing the same thing!
DeleteThe things we miss when we sleep - sometimes it's good to be woken in the small hours.
ReplyDeleteI often get up in the middle of the night and sit up for a half-hour or so.
DeleteI got up a couple of times in the night to peek at the beautiful moon shining so brightly in the sky. The Peace Train video is so beautiful. I wish we could have peace in the world.
ReplyDeleteSo do I. It seems like it should be so easy. I still struggle to understand why it isn't.
DeleteWonderful moon photo, Steve, thank you.
ReplyDeleteCat Stevens was an important part of my teenage years and, in a way, has provided background sound ever since.
I remember when he was banned from entering the US after 9/11 and someone commented that "Morning has broken" was regularly played as background music in commercial planes when landing in the US after a night flight.
Cat Stevens was such a phenomenon in the '70s. I owned several of his albums. (And still do, on my iTunes!) I'd forgotten that about the aftermath of 9/11 but now that you mention it I dimly remember.
DeleteWhat a beautiful moon shot! Our sky has been so cloud-covered the last few days that we missed most of that moon.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have a favorite Playing for Change video. You will not be surprised if you look it up here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biGm7nUgisA
There's just something so very magical about these beautiful little films, the gathering together of such disparate musicians playing in their own countries to create a whole.
I've never seen that one before, so thanks for the link. Mesmerizing, once again! The videos are so inherently hopeful -- like, gee, maybe we all CAN work together!
DeleteGorgeous pictures and the moon! Full moon nights on the river were so bright you didn't need a flashlight to walk around but made it hard to sleep, which we did under the stars or moon as the case may be, with that bright light shining in your face.
ReplyDeleteI love the Playing For Change videos.
I remember being on a Boy Scouts campout in the Withlacoochee State Forest and trying to sleep with the moon in my face. I wrote about it in my journal at the time so I obviously wasn't sleeping!
DeleteKeb' Mo' and Cat Stevens, and everyone else. Wow! What an amazing video and it did make me cry.
ReplyDeleteWe had a full moon last night too, how strange:)
It's almost like we were seeing THE SAME MOON!!!
DeleteGreat photos of the moon and moonlight.
ReplyDeleteI love the music too.
Street music is also a favorite when a musician starts alone, and other musicians gather. The crowd swells as everybody shares the love of music.
I'm not sure I've seen street musicians gather for an impromptu jam like that -- seems like usually they're a little protective of their turf! But that would make a great performance.
DeleteMy eye teared up at the moment Yusef showed up. Wow, what a great recording. I liked the other one you posted too. Beautiful music.
ReplyDeleteYour moon shot is fantastic. My friend Julie was out taking photos of it way early this morning too.
I was at a friends house last evening and we got to talking about Christmas lights so I brought up your London Christmas lights video to show them and everyone loved it.
That was the moment that affected me the most too -- when he began singing. It gave me shivers! I'm so glad you showed everyone the London Christmas lights. It's cool to think those light displays are brightening the holidays for people on the other side of the planet.
DeleteLove that photo of the yard in moonlight; gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteIt was so bright out there! The foxes must have been confused!
DeleteWow, that moon! I can never get a decent shot of it even with my iPhone 16 Pro. Operator incompetence! I look forward to listening to some uplifting music. My mood hasn't been the greatest over what's happening in my country. :(
ReplyDeleteWell, that shot was taken with my big Canon camera and a zoom lens -- not with a phone. And then I boosted the contrast in Lightroom. Yes, watch some Playing for Change videos. They are so encouraging.
DeleteMaybe I need to find a favorite Playing for Change video, too!
ReplyDeleteYour moon photo is wonderful. I have a love/hate relationship with the full moon.
Absolutely, there's a Playing for Change video out there for you! I know what you mean about the full moon. It IS awfully bright.
DeleteWhat an excellent moon photo, and I like the 'haunted house'.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean our house, or the apartment building behind us? I don't know why that light was on in the window. It was on all night.
DeleteThank you for those links. I shall explore more.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
DeleteExcellent photo of the moon. We forgot to go out and look.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to bring it to you! LOL
DeleteThat's a beautiful photo of the moon.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Thanks! It's rare for us to have a sky clear enough for that kind of photography.
DeleteI listened to a bit of both but that was enough.
ReplyDeleteYou get the idea, anyway!
DeleteLove to moonlit pictures... Playing For Change's Stand By Me and Guantanamara are some of my favorite videos ever.
ReplyDeleteI remember they did "Stand By Me" at the concert I attended. I'll have to look up the Guantanamera video -- I haven't seen that one yet!
Delete