A Sunday Drive.

So I managed to escape my house and do something useful today. On Saturday, I had a nice night out seeing Slim Cessna play at Sonny's Tavern, and after getting home I fell into a deep, uninterrupted sleep that lasted until almost noon. M. made some nice breakfast burritos and we watched an episode of Oz. Stepping outside I knew right away that the stage was set for a nice aimless car ride in search of interesting imagery. The sky was deep blue, the light was extraordinarily crisp, and there was a nice breeze. These were exceptional weather conditions, and I was physically (spiritually?) compelled to venture forth. I've been slacking when it comes to photography, and I wanted to once again engage the camera. I decided to drive east, find a side road, and explore.

It's certainly hard to get lost after eighteen years in Western PA. The first few streets I tried led me to enclosed housing developments with only a single access road. Nothing to see there. But there were plenty of curious folks wondering what a stranger was doing in their neighborhood- especially a stranger driving a beat-up foreign car with a smashed fender held together with a Sponge Bob Squarepants band-aid. Obviously people are increasingly gravitating to these little suburban enclaves, where they can insulate themselves from the rest of the world. Maybe if they can't see poor people they can believe that all is well with the world. Anyway, I finally caught some roads on the outer ring of our fair "metropolis", and drove down the forest-lined back-roads that lead to where the very rich people live. The next thing I knew I was in Harmar.

Driving through West Deer, I spotted a sign for some soccer association bordering a senior citizen center, and surrounded by decaying service buildings. What really drew me in was the sight of a degraded basketball court with tall weeds busting through the many cracks in the asphalt, and rusty net-less hoops. It looked like the playground at the end of the world. The property wasn't posted with any "no tresspassing" signs, but I knew that I probably wasn't welcome. But I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to take a few shots. Across the road there was a man mowing his lawn, so I tried to be unobtrusive. Then I was tempted to drive back through the site, and I got out and poked around a bit. At one point a man in an SUV drove up, and I spied on him through a smashed window. At that point my adrenaline was kicking in. But whatever the man saw didn't interest him enough to leave the safety of his vehicle. Perhaps he caught a glance of my great woolly head. Once the guy pulled away, I got back in my car (which was parked behind one of the buildings) and beat a hasty retreat.

After talking to a friend, I had a destination in mind and planned to make a rendezvous. I made a visit to the Rainbow Castle for a pleasant afternoon in the sticks. As always, it's pleasant sitting on the crumbling dock overlooking the pond and talking with the good people. You don't need much more than that, but I picked up some lettuce anyway. I took some photos of the rippling pond, and the vegetation which floats on the surface, and watched as the quality of light transformed with the approaching evening. Afterwards there was still enough of the sun to take a walk through the woods, and I was liberal with the camera. I was maybe even a bit wasteful, as I found my lithium battery running quickly out of juice. I didn't anticipate that being much of a problem, as I believed I had my backup somewhere in the car. Alas I didn't, and so I couldn't even obsessively review my photos as I am wont to do.

With the photography over for the day, I relaxed on the porch and ate dinner with good company. Although I was mildly disappointed about the missing battery, I was able to enjoy the time without being distracted by technology.