When Mars Still Had Canals (Mod Photo VI)

[Caveat:  This image of a canal-ridden Mars used here is not taken from any authentic source, whether drawn by Schiaparelli (the first astronomer to detect the canals of Mars) or by others after him;  it's just a random old texture I had in a 'storage folder';  when I started fiddling with it I was actually going for something completely different, but then the image took an unexpected turn of its own, as often happens]

The Sun Of Tartarus

This image is an old one.  So old in fact, that I was very surprised to find I had never posted it here.  But I checked three times to make certain and the results were negative, so here it is, belatedly.

Another Dream Image

Chess? Checkers?

Or some other game that I've never heard of?

 

Jeez Louise

Exploring old rundown buildings as I like to do, coming upon a likely candidate with an ominous shadowy staircase, starting to climb down -- then suddenly realizing I'm being watched, have been under watch from the moment I took the first step inside.  By an upside-down cartoon character.  With huge round staring eyes.

Almost had a heart attack.

The Term "Real Life" Is Usually Reserved For Hard-Hitting News Documentaries...

But just sometimes, Real Life can also mean something humorous.

I'm pressing on the upward way

 New heights I'm gaining every day...

I'm not formally religious, but I am friendly disposed toward a few select religions, Christianity being one of them.  When I saw these two iconic objects fortuitously juxtaposed in the golden light of the setting sun, it was the best visual pun on a hymn ever. 

Errant Shoes

I was on my way out when I came upon this pair of runners in the lobby.

It was late afternoon and the lights hadn't come on yet, hence the bad lighting despite my effort to lighten the images.  Anyway, a couple of hours later I came back;  now the lights were on (still not great though) and the shoes were still there in their corner, but in the meantime someone had taken the trouble to straighten them out neatly.

Another Semi-Lucid Dream

Early this morning I was in bed in a sort of partly-asleep, partly-awake twilight state.  I was aware that I was lying in bed, but at the same time I was "dreaming" that I had this heart pendant in my hand.

It was small, the size of a locket, and made of silver, and I was pressing it with the index and middle fingers of my right hand onto my chest, right over my heart (a heart over my heart -- the dream really wanted to make sure I got the point).  Then I had an urge to turn over on my left side, but I didn't want to, because I was aware that the sudden movement would cause the dream object to vanish.  I tried to resist the urge to move, but after a little while I just couldn't hold out any longer and turned over, and sure enough, the pendant vanished.  Feeling miffed, I lay back again, hoping it would reappear, but alas, it didn't.

And I don't know why the top of the heart didn't meet the top bar;  was it a message about some inadequacy of my heart, either the literal organ or my figurative "heart"?  Is it about a lack of love in my life.., or did it just mean that my heart is not completely filled with love (but I well knew that already)?

(Hm-mm, and now that I look at it, it also looks like the heart is locked in a small cell...)

Then I was floating high above the Earth, high enough that the space around me was dark and I was afforded a grand view of the Korean peninsula and Jeju Island below, sort of like this,

except the sea was white with dark spots, as if it were frozen, or made of solidified mist.  I started to worry about falling back and possibly burning up in the atmosphere, but I thought maybe I wasn't far enough out for that to be a major concern.

EDIT 1:  And as for the heart pendant being small, at first I thought it was Scrooge who had a small heart, but then I looked it up and realized it was actually the Grinch who had a heart that was too small (small by two sizes).

EDIT 2:  But there's also this:  the heart pendant may have been small and "not fulfilling" (or perhaps "not fulfill-ed"), still it was made of silver.  Small yet precious.

Related post:  Scrooge-Like

Wet Bottom

Hechi, the Seoul mascot, cooling his hot buns in the waters of CheongGyeCheon Stream.

Mod Photo V

A Rare Sight

Magpies.  They are very common in Korea, much more common than their fellow corvids the crows, possibly because the two genera occupy overlapping niches and often compete for resources, and for whatever reason, magpies have largely outcompeted crows in Korea.

And like crows, magpies are known to be highly intelligent and territorial.  They will aggressively defend their home turfs.

Which is why it's unusual to see a single tree with two magpie nests, let alone three.  Maybe they were built by multiple generations of birds.

Errant Kitty

Hello Kitty, that is.

 

Cherry Blossoms

Tuesday afternoon I visited Ansan (the Seoul district, not the city in Geonggi Province) to check out the famous cherry blossom trail (안산 벚꽃길) there.  It's been my usual practice for the past few years to go to Jamsil for the cherry blossom season, but this year I wanted to see something different -- something that's not quite so polished and urbanized, so I did a search for well-known sightseeing spots in Seoul, and Ansan seemed the likeliest to provide a more nature-friendly environment, as the cherry blossom walk there is combined with an herb garden on a hillside.  I was not disappointed.

Bonus:  As I came down from the hill, I realized it was all right above the Hongje Waterfalls.

And I don't know how I could have missed it the last time I was there (maybe it wasn't there then), but there were huge mirrors installed directly opposite the falls, so one could enjoy double the view.

And the way back was brightened by the cheery sight of forsythias growing in profusion by the road.  All in all, a very enjoyable day!

Pigeon Confrontation

I was just walking down the sidewalk when this pigeon swooped in out of nowhere and decided to just get in my face.  It actually did a fair imitation of a hummingbird, making a commendable attempt at hovering in place at face level (I didn't even know pigeons could do this), barely two feet in front of my nose.  I was so startled that at first I just instinctively tried to shoo it away and it didn't even occur to me to take a photo of this crazy happening, and when I finally did pull out my phone camera, the pigeon had had enough of the "human baiting" and was settling down onto the pavement.  I was so miffed at having missed this rare opportunity that I went chasing after the pigeon yelling "whoa! giddiyap!" (I didn't know what sound you're supposed to make at a pigeon), trying to get it to take off and come at me again, but all it did to oblige me was providing this brief profile.  It's better than nothing I guess, but it hardly reproduces the impact of a flying face-off.

Me, A Subway Creep?

This happened a few days ago.  I had been fighting a bad cold since the middle of March and had rarely ventured outdoors in all that time excepting short walks within the neighborhood to acquire such basic necessities as medicine, microwavable soups, crackers and lactose-free milk.  Then, having at last overcome the worst of the symptoms, I felt mostly ready to re-start my normal routines and boarded a subway train for the first time in over two weeks.

As it turned out, I had somewhat overestimated my recovery, and the short trip to the metro station had already taken its toll by the time the train arrived.  As I gratefully poofed down onto my seat and the train took off, my gaze was drawn to the attractive young woman sitting across from me (the quest for beauty is ever intrinsic to the artist's soul =^..^=).  She was engrossed in a book and paid me not the slightest whit or jot of attention, which was fine with me -- I wouldn't need to pretend to look away in case she happened to look up and notice me 𝗌̶𝗍̶𝖺̶𝗋̶𝗂̶𝗇̶𝗀̶ accidentally meeting her gaze.

I then noticed a ball-point pen on the floor next to her foot.  I guessed she must have dropped it and decided to alert her.  I extended my arm and waved my hand, but she did not notice me.  I snapped my fingers, also to no avail.  I called out, "Excuse me" to her, but I guess I should have said it more loudly, my voice was swallowed up by the train noise and she still did not hear me.

Then this older man sitting one seat over from her (the seat between them was empty) noticed me gesticulating at her like an idiot.  Following my gaze and realizing what I was trying to do, he said something to her.  And yes, this time she did hear him;  she looked down, picked up the pen and smilingly thanked him.

And no, the old man did not acknowledge me.  I suppose I could have glared at him and made him uncomfortable, but that would have been petty of me.

Moon In Tree

 

Mod Photo IV

Hummingbird Scratching An Itch

 

Tonight's Full Moon

          Cootchi-cootchi-coo

Bonus:  My phone's photo library after all the Moon photos taken tonight:

Afternoon Sunlight

Mod Photo III