Searching in the night

Sometimes what time you visit a place is as important as which place it is in determining its feel.  For example, last night past midnight, I decided to take a look at the stars.  It took nothing more than a three quarter moon and some patience to make in my back yard into an almost unrecognizable scene (see photo).

Pondering the skies with a telescope can be surreal experience.  That is, once I got over my frustration and adjusted my telescope to viewing through the proper lens.  Stargazing is truly a window into the past.  While gazing at those tiny specs of light so far away, it sometimes comes to mind that they are actually broiling infernos, burning at temperatures far hotter than man or anything he can make can survive.  However, the most appealing take on on the stars from my perspective is as a window into the past.  The light shining from those tiny specs in a sea of darkness is quite ancient, and it is always interesting to think that, the stars I saw last night might have shined their last thousands of years ago.  However, the sound of birds under a night sky at midnight served to dispel any anxiety this thought might have caused.

This thought on time, my backyard's night and the brightness of ancient stars, reminds me of time's passing.  Time is limited and the summer day awaits, so now I will sign off with a quote on adventure from O. Henry in "The Green Door":

"The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate."