A Rare Sight

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

And like crows, magpies are known to be highly territorial.  They will aggressively defend their nests and 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 noticed me s̶t̶a̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ looking.

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 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

 

Errant Fake Nail

Also known as: press-on nail, false nail, artificial nail, acrylic nail, extension nail, fashion nail, and probably a bunch of others I haven't heard of.

Related post:  Errant Smiley Face

Dramatic Sunset

Mod Photo II

 

Mod Photo I

Objectified Meaninglessness

I came across this photo while perusing an old folder.  Remembering that I considered posting it at one point, I half-convinced myself that I must have, but after checking past posts under a bunch of keywords I decided I never did.

What struck me at the time was the stand-out redness of the chair and the fire extinguishers in an otherwise dull, colorless alley.  That, and of course, the fact the chair was crammed upside-down between the ladder and the wall.  I "credit" my OCD for forcing me to glean out all sorts of relationships between things that don't normally have anything to do with each other -- one might say it's something along the lines of, seeing meaningfulness in an acausal synchronicity -- and the meaning I see here is its own opposite;  a visual metaphore for meaninglessness.

Consider:  the function of a chair is to provide a stable platform as it rests on a floor or on the ground -- it loses its meaning when, absurdly, it has been turned upside down several feet off the ground.  Likewise, the four fire extinguishers huddled under it behind the ladder seem almost as if they had been deliberately stowed away in a troublesome location out in an alley, when they should be in readily accessible spots indoors.  I note also that the ladder has been rendered unfunctional by having a metal plate spot-welded in its bottom portion.

The chair, the fire extinguishers and the ladder -- all three elements here have been deprived of meaning individually, but ironically that is what invests them with a collective, desultory meaning of self-abnegation.

More could be said, but perhaps a rare, rational measure of self-restraint is called for here.

Defeated

After two weeks of a bad cold.

Baying Dog

 

Compare:  Heliophagous Celestial Dog

The Horns Of The Moon

 

Poor Man's Trove

My very modest collection of dorje/vajra and phurba.  Used to have a few more, but I've given them away.

You're (Un)Welcome, Please

"Please do not knock.  Please do not enter"

Errant Smiley Face

I guess this could be interpreted in either of two diametrically opposed ways, depending on your mood.