Of the Station

In the quiet of the night where life has left the open streets for confined homes, my mind dislocates itself with self-inflicted tasks in my solitude. Yet on the hour, this misty mind hears the clear light of the train's whistle. For that moment, I'm once more aware until the train departs with its passengers aboard taking time with it.

Throughout the evening, this drifting recurs until the last train through the station. As it announces its departure, I am taken away to the bizarre realm of my subconscience until the whistle of dawn's train chases me to return to reality.

Autumnal Moon Festival

With the moon so big and bright, I just had to blind myself through the telescope. In so doing, I decided to make an attempt at lame astrophotography. For the longest time, I've not only wanted a telescope but one that has adapters for cameras to do astrophotography. I dreamt of my very own renditions of what I drooled over in science magazines and astronomy books. Unfortunately, I never got such a telescope. Instead, I was gifted one that drives children far away from astronomy due to the difficulty in just plain aiming the darned thing. Yes, it's a cheap telescope. I don't see much in it at all. Just a closer view of what my naked eye can already see.

Nevermind that. Due to the lack of the ability to mount the camera to the telescope, I decided to see what would happen if I took it thru telescope's eyepiece. It was a random hit or miss since I couldn't aim at anything really. Plus, as a moving object, I would have to constantly chase the moon with the scope. The result was surprising in that I actually did get a shot! The funny thing is it isn't even the whole moon in the field of view. =P So much for capturing the bright full autumnal moon. Still, it's the best shot I've ever gotten at least. =) It's not the best shot I've seen but certainly the closest I've ever gotten so I'm still happy with it. Since it's through the scope, the pic is flipped. It makes me look forward to better, closer, clearer shots in the future. =D

Quiet Reflections

Nestled mountains. Deep woods. Dark skies. Foggy nights. Driving down the twisty, pitch-black roads of North Carolina, it's just you, the roar of your engine, the rumble of your tires, and the wind whipping through your hair. Stopping along the side of the road with the engine off, there's a comforting silence as you realize how secluded and far away you are from the bustling city life of the daily grind. As you listen more closely, it's not so silent as the insects restart their interrupted chitchat, and the startled animals go about their business once more.

Being on the outskirts of the Great Smoky Mountains, I felt blessed to have the opportunity to experience this fine landscape. As I rummaged about the side of the road in search of a geocache, I could distinctly feel the muggy night air clinging to my skin. Nevertheless, I was much relieved with the cooler night temperatures over the daytime 80's and hot sun. For safety reasons, I left my hazards blinking which became the only source of light in my immediate area until I brought out the flashlight to scope out the roadside stone wall. After finding the cache, I eyed the lights beyond the lake. Without a tripod, I made do with the car door to stabilize the camera. You would think that the glow of lights would be silent in the depths of such a black night, yet it was quite alive by the few workers out there at this old powerhouse. Due to the surrounding silence, their voices carried clear across the water hinting of nearby civilization.

A mysterious place of tangled forests and glowing beauty, yet readily accessible for anyone's enjoyment. I can only imagine how the region displays a different face of beauty when blanketed in winter's snows.