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365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 269

Ask any boat owner, and they’ll tell you that owing watercraft is like tossing your money in a hole in the water. Me? I don’t know; we’ve never owned any watercraft.

Now, personally, I love driving them. I drove 50-footers in the Navy (as well as one that was 1,920 feet – just say’n. Not trying to brag or anything). I mean, it’s a total kick in the pants to skim through the water on a perfectly calm day. But owning one? No idea!

Geesh… it’s not just the boat. But don’t ya kinda need a trailer, and a truck, and insurance, and.. and… and….? Again, that old saying, right? BOAT: Break Out Another Thousand.

Boat owners, rest assured your hobby isn’t the only expensive one. My wife would be the first to tell ya her husband’s hobby isn’t economical. Nope! Not one bit. I’ve not wanted to count how many Bengamin’s I’ve invested into gear. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching goes the sound of the cash register.

No photographer — and I mean no one — is ever content with the equipment he or she owns. There’s always another gadget, lens, camera body that one would dream of having. And like all things boating, it racks up.

Well, anticipating clear skies and this hopefully soon to be capturing the Badlands, a couple months ago I convinced myself that my dedicated astro lens was too heavy and not “fast” enough. You’ve probably heard this before, and thinking, just get on with it, Jason.

So… without telling the wifey until the deed was done — I asked for forgiveness, kinda— I invested in that new camera lens I’ve blathered about. Problem is that the night sky hasn’t been cooperating enough. Too many clouds or too much moonlight on cloudless nights.

Ugh! So far, that shiny new astro lens has been nothing more than an uber-expensive paperweight… until today. CLICK-CLICK.

For the last two years, we’ve been driving by this abandoned farm sight just miles from town. And, of the hundreds of times whizzing back and forth, I’ve dreamt about capturing the deserted homestead. But that said, something within me says it’s wrong to drive onto private property and clicking the shutter without permission, even if no one's living there except a few wild critters scurrying about.

Sooooo…. (as they say in Cali), I phoned up a friend, who then sent a text, so I could phone her friend, and I got the 411 on the property. And, although the current property owner lives over a thousand miles away, his relations reside here and gave permission for me to click away; and that’s what I did today.

It was fun playing with my shiny, new lens — figuring out the light, angles, all that nerdy stuff. Better yet, that abandoned homestead? It’s going to perfectly align with the milky way in a couple weeks, providing we have a clear night when moonlight isn’t a hindrance. (There’s enough light pollution around these parts; I don’t need the moon adding to it).

Anway, I’m grateful for the time today to just go out and play and click-click away. Moreover, I’m thankful for the wonderful conditions, the permission to drive onto the property, a wife who indulges my hobby, and the history behind the farm. While I don’t know that history just yet, people made their lives on that farm, and they added to the culture of Comfrey: the community I’ve grown to love.

Anyway, what are you thankful for today? Drop a comment below!