{"id":108693,"date":"2022-12-12T04:01:20","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T11:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=108693"},"modified":"2022-12-12T07:14:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T14:14:32","slug":"glowing-sunset-in-the-heart-of-a-spruce-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/12\/glowing-sunset-in-the-heart-of-a-spruce-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Glowing Sunset In The Heart Of A Spruce Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a brief period of time in December when conditions are right I can see the glowing sunset in the heart of my neighbor’s spruce tree each year.<\/p>\n

\"GlowingGlowing sunset at the heart of a spruce tree \u2013 Nikon D500, f11, 1\/125, ISO 1600, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 155mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

On December 4th when I was coming home from walking a trail on the Jordan River I decided to stop and take photos of the glowing heart of the spruce tree. I stood in front of my living room window and waited for the sun to move to where I knew it would light up the center of the tree. I almost wish I would have had a star filter on my lens to accentuate the bit of flare I could see through my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe sunset glowing through a spruce tree- Cell phone snap through a dirty window
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to these photos I had just taken cell phone snaps of the spruce through my dirty living room window. That window has since been cleaned of all the water spots caused by the sprinkler system over the summer.<\/p>\n

I sent one of the cell phone images to the neighbors so they could see the glowing heart of their spruce tree<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

(I am not certain which exact species of spruce the tree is)<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my wildflower, shrub and tree photos. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Miscellaneous photos which are basically images that I have taken that just do not fit into one specific category.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a brief period of time in December when conditions are right I can see the glowing sunset in the heart of my neighbor’s spruce tree each year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[709,5345,26],"tags":[970,13537,6577,4620,6072,13536,13535,4050,13534,6987,3993,4427],"class_list":["post-108693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-trees","category-utah","tag-autumn","tag-boughs","tag-branches","tag-fall","tag-glowing","tag-heart","tag-picea","tag-snow","tag-spruce-tree","tag-sun","tag-sunset","tag-tree"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/spruce-tree-glowing-sun-set-mia-mcpherson-5526.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-sh7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119598,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/10\/urban-birds-woodhouses-scrub-jay\/","url_meta":{"origin":108693,"position":0},"title":"Urban Birds – Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Three years ago today, I photographed this adult Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay from my living room window. The jay was in a neighbor's spruce tree across the street.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay in a spruce tree, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-scrub-jay-urban-tree-mia-mcpherson-5094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-scrub-jay-urban-tree-mia-mcpherson-5094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-scrub-jay-urban-tree-mia-mcpherson-5094.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-scrub-jay-urban-tree-mia-mcpherson-5094.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52813,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/28\/are-great-blue-herons-breeding-at-higher-elevations-due-to-climate-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":108693,"position":1},"title":"Are Great Blue Herons Breeding at Higher Elevations Due to Climate Change?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm wondering now if Great Blue Herons here in Utah might already be adapting to climate change by moving higher up into the mountain valleys and canyons that have suitable food and water supplies to breed and nest.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High elevation Great Blue Heron, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41988,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/09\/17\/juvenile-red-tailed-hawk-taking-off-from-a-conifer-in-idaho\/","url_meta":{"origin":108693,"position":2},"title":"Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk Taking Off From A Conifer In Idaho","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I was able to fire a burst of shots showing the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk taking off from a conifer and liked the second and third shots in the series the most.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk immediately after take off, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2561.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2561.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55259,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/10\/coopers-hawk-european-starling-encounter\/","url_meta":{"origin":108693,"position":3},"title":"Cooper’s Hawk & European Starling Encounter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Then the noise suddenly stopped and I saw the silhouette of a European Starling fly out of the tree with the Cooper's Hawk hot on its tail, literally.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Serious looking juvenile Cooper's Hawk, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-mia-mcpherson-3555.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-mia-mcpherson-3555.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-mia-mcpherson-3555.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/coopers-hawk-immature-mia-mcpherson-3555.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127024,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/02\/glowing-american-lotus\/","url_meta":{"origin":108693,"position":4},"title":"Glowing American Lotus","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I had considered sharing this photo of this American Lotus on Easter Sunday, but I was feeling a little raw and sad. It was my first Easter without my mother.","rel":"","context":"In "American Lotus"","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Glowing American Lotus in morning light, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/American-Lotus-glowing-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-3582.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3985,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/01\/10\/great-blue-heron-at-sunrise\/","url_meta":{"origin":108693,"position":5},"title":"Great Blue Heron at Sunrise","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Another one of the reasons I enjoy this photo is that the eye of the Great Blue Heron has a colored catchlight that is from the sun glowing yellow on the eastern horizon.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron portrait at sunrise, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}