Mt. Etna Major Eruption Now!

I'm SO PSYCHED I captured a pic of another smoke ring - BUT - she is erupting SO HARD at the moment I can't sit here.
It's so loud it hurts my ears.
Be back in a bit!

peace

SECOND smoke ring - no time for the first - she's blowing so hard I've got to get back out there.

EYES OPEN!!!

peace

Ok, I’m just going to tell you what’s going on and leave it up to you to judge/believe - and leave it up to me to research it more.

An elderly woman who lives in the place above mine is...freaking. She’s screaming and wailing. I’m sure Etna’s rocking the houses with cannon like BOOMS, well it’s probably getting to her as it is to me and even my cats. But I have to say her wailing is nearly as loud as Etna in perspective.

So - what is she wailing? That the ‘end is here’ and she ‘smells gas’ - Etna gas.

I know I can smell an odd stink in the air - and yes Etna is still putting out some terrific huge blasts - but gas?
Could I be smelling Etna’s gas? And I have to admit I smelled it just before the old woman started in her keening.

So - I’ll have to check it out when I have a moment - which I don’t - as I’ve got a second smoke ring to process and she is still making the house do a jig every few moments.

My thing? I thought if you smelled gas from a volcano - you were dead - and I’m still here.

Who knows between all that information and the hysteria above what’s going on - but it’s something.

Eyes (and nose?) open!

peace

Ok, so provided you can ignore my 'baby voice' at the kitties? Here's a little taste (hear?) of Etna's exploding and a vocano smoke ring thrown in to boot!

Sorry it's such a short video but my camera can't do much more and I was worried about the cats who‘re a bit over the edge at the moment.

And yes, I know I have a dirty lens - I can't afford to send it out to the shop, lol!

So embarassing, lol. *Note to self - SHUT UP next time you're filming!*

peace

reply to post by silo13


Air puffs for the movable dirt on the lens . . . and then soft lens cloth and maybe suitable solution for the lens might help.

PLEASE BE SAFE.

reply to post by BO XIAN

Hi Bo -
Thanks for the help - problem is - the dirt on my lens is on the internal part. I've read some instructions and watched some vids on how to clean it - but one screw up and the camera is toast.
Maybe I'll dare though - I dunno.
Oh, and if anyone ever asks what Etna ash looks like? I tell 'em to take a look at that big black grunge dot on the video, lol!

Thanks tons -

Etna Update - She's quiet! YAY!

peace

silo13

Broccoli in a blanket, lol. I take small squares of cotton and wrap the baby broccoli against the ash. If not? It's nearly impossible to eat. No matter how much you wash it that ash is still gets in the veggies and broccoli with Etna ash crunch is pretty horrid, lol!

edit on 15-12-2013 by silo13 because: add pic

This is so smart. Your plants look nice and healthy--must be the fertile volcanic soil.
The "Etna crunch" sounds like it could make for a trip to the dentist, lol.

I'm happy to hear you report that she is finally quieting down, Gracie. How is your neighbor, the poor dear?
Such a trade off, between rattled nerves and living beside such raw beauty.

Enjoy your day.

Volcanic eruption sees Italian airport closed

The eruption of the Mount Etna volcano in Sicily on Sunday forced the closure of nearby Catania airport because of the plumes of ash billowing into the sky, airport officials said.

Twenty-one scheduled departures from Catania had to be scrapped and 26 arrivals re-routed to alternative destinations. The smaller airport of Comiso in the area was also closed down.

Sac, the company that manages Catania airport, said in a statement that "the wind direction and intensity" meant the ash was a risk to flights and it had to close off its air space.

Sac said it will review the situation on Monday.

Etna is an active volcano and eruptions are frequent but the latest activity, which began on Saturday, is the most intense in months.

The lava flow down one side of the mountain is visible from Catania and Taormina, a popular seaside resort. Three small earthquakes were also registered around the volcano.

Well, there ya go...

peace

reply to post by silo13


Ahhhh . . . that would be a problem. If you decide to tackle it, you might get a big shallow aluminum or some such baking tray/pan and do all the work over that in order to avoid losing any of those tiny screws.

How much did the photography place say they'd charge in USD?

I suspect a number of your readers would be happy to chip in via PayPal . . . your photos are more than worth it to a lot of us. We'd have to clear it with mgmt here but I wouldn't anticipate a problem about that.

Right, Springer?

LUB DEAR HEART. Glad you have a rest from the noise and drama.

reply to post by BO XIAN

Bo - Thanks so much for your support - getting my camera cleaned will work out when it works out.
Thank you anyway.

Etna is putting out some ash/grit - but quiet all in all!

peace

Playing sneaky again - now she's sprung a leak on the other side!

We can hope letting off all this pressure will give enough vent she just doesn't pop in one big blow up.

Eyes Open

peace

Thanks for the video...so cool!! and I did the same thing, only worse when I was trying to record some rumbling sounds a couple years back. I learned really quick. It's even harder when recording your kids at sporting events. I had to mute a couple before I could share them.

The smoke ring pictures are priceless!! I am so impressed with the quality of your photos. Be safe!!

reply to post by silo13


Love your photos and updates, just out of curiosity how far are you from the volcano? I'm sure you have all ready said it before. What an awesome view. Thanks.

Thank you so much for these photos. Beauty and terror in every shot! At least to me, living in the middle of America.

reply to post by vip867

I'm going to get the bottom of that question (how close am I to Etna) before too long.
Suffice it to say if I'm in the bus it's not 4 mins to a road that parallels Etna and you can't go any farther cause it's all a cold lava field. The town that suffers lava threat at the moment is Zafferana and that town? It's set lower than I am on the hills. Meaning - I'm not as far but I'm also not to concerned I'll be in a lava path as it runs mostly downhill right? I'd be blasted with the gas before lava - at least I hope!

If you click on the link here for Zafferana you can see the lava sneaking up on the town church.

peace

reply to post by diggindirt

Diggin -
I heard something today about Yellowstone full to the brim with lava and ready to explode! It was on local television here, lol!
Ok, so I’m not laughing at you - just laughing at the irony of reading about you - here - when you’re reading about me there.
Ok, well you get it - right?
STAY SAFE YOU TOO!

peace

reply to post by silo13


Incredible pics with the church.

In terms of gas . . . IIRC, there's several types of gas . . . some deadly, some not. some more smelly than others.

BTW, am Heading out within the hour probably.

She's quiet now.

This last eruption is marked (on local news) as having been the longest and most violent in 'ages'. I'll let you know how long the measure of 'ages' is as soon as I find out myself.

Between now and then I've a couple of hundred pics to go through - captures I didn't have the time to process during her eruption.

I don't know why this one in particular came to post - maybe it's the violet hues?

Anyway - We might not see or hear more from her before 2014, and if not I'll leave you with this capture and hope to see you all here next year.


peace

reply to post by silo13


Yes, Silo, I understand because I have to chuckle at times also. I'm actually on the New Madrid fault---heh, heh, the one they say is "overdue" for some major shaking. I suppose we're all "threatened" by something but most of the threats aren't nearly as spectacular as the display in your back yard. Thanks for the update and the link to some more startling pix.

As an update? Etna is very unsettled this Christmas morning.

She’s putting out a LOT of steam/ash and this morning ‘something’ rocked the earth enough to unsettle the stone wall backing my little house sending a big bolder crashing to the ground. I’ve not had time to check for EQ’s but I wouldn’t be surprised considering how Etna is acting.

All that being said - if I had one wish this Christmas to come true? That each and every one of you who wished to see Etna LIVE - will get the chance this year...or soon.

PEACE TO ALL

Much love and blessing and good wishes from my heart to yours,

~ gracie ~