Where did that come from?

Last week, while I was working on my third Mary O'Reilly book, I had a bad case of writing block or cabin fever. So, I decided to take a drive on the country roads around me and find a photo for my book's cover. I knew I wanted a tree, but I either wanted a barn or a graveyard. I drove randomly down muddy gravel back roads and came across a little cemetery about the size of someone's backyard. At the front of the cemetery was an old gravestone - tall and narrow - that was nearly hidden by a tree that had grown up around it. I thought it would be the perfect picture.
So, I got out of my car, climbed through a snowdrift and up to the cemetery. I took several pictures of the gravestone - from different angles and then I toured through the rest of the site. There were a number of markers that were so old, you could no longer read the names or dates. Some, you could barely read, had the mid 1800s engraved on them. I wondered if anyone ever stopped to visit any of the graves anymore.
When I arrived back home that afternoon, I downloaded the photos to my computer. I brought up the first photo and changed it to grey-scale. Then I opened the template I use for my covers and cropped the photo to fit it. After I added the text, I examined the photo closely. At this point, I usually go back into Photoshop and add some blurs to give the photo a "Ghostie" look. But, to my surprise, the blur was already there. Right above the marker in the limbs of the tree - a definite blur. I posted it on my Facebook page and then posted the original color version - the blur was there too. I did a close up shot - more blur. I even looked at the shots I took from different angles - the blur was in the same spot.
My husband and another writer friend I have decided to go back at dusk and take more photos. I took a close-up on the tree, just to see if perhaps there were spiderwebs or something caught that would cause the blur. Nothing. My husband walked around while I shot a number of pictures. When I got home, I downloaded them. The first one was of the tree and marker - they both looked very clear and pristine. The second one, my husband moved into the frame and I think I widened the view - in that photo there are about a dozen little orbs floating around him. It was very cool.
I have all the photos on my Facebook page, if you'd like to see them.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?top...

It's amazing how much we don't know about our world - isn't it?

Take care,

Terri