Foggy Monday Artsy Walk

Monday, the last day of the year, wanted to see if I could see the Moon before it passed by Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury over the next few days.  But the sky was dark and starless.   Thinking that if it was foggy, at least I might be able to get some good fog photographs, I sauntered outside and to the local park.

On foggy days, when I'm driving The Child to school, often I wish that I could stop driving a take some photos.  I'll be zooming along one curve in the road, and the sun will blaze over the hilltops, and dye rising silver wisps of fog crimson and gold.  The copse running through the park become spears of sable shadow.  And then the idiot in the car in front of me (who certainly is a worse driver than I am) will do something stupid requiring my attention. 

But today I wasn't going to be in a car, and I'd have my camera ready. 

The frigid air made me glad that I had layered up with fingerless gloves, a polar fleece jacket, and my grey-green wool cloak.  I kept the camera under my cloak so it wouldn't freeze solid, all the time wondering how much it made me look like I had a concealed gun. 

I got to the park.  The pre-dawn darkness turned to pre-dawn grey.  The thickness of the fog made itself evident as the sun failed to materialize; and the trees, grass, and joggers remained studies in black and white.  I walked along the path and snapped photos of the lampposts, which were still on. 

I hadn't realized before how crooked and beat-up-looking many of them are.

As the morning continued to slowly fade in, various dog walkers and joggers passed by.  Mark accuses me of looking like a homeless person when I wear this particular cloak, and the state of my hair (vaguely untamed) wasn't helping.   I felt the evaluation of the regular path-goers change as soon as they saw the camera (oh, crazy photographer; probably harmless). 

I walked along the path, taking artsy photographs of where Amazon Slough had flooded its banks, and waited for the sun to pop up and do its crimson-dyeing magic -- but we had a secret dawn clothed in grey.  All the lamps turned off and I knew it was going to be one of those dark and twilight days where the lights of the sky are sourceless.   Also, I'd left The Child asleep at home and I wondered what he was up to.

So I came home.  Smokey greeted me.

More photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/nh8E1udnzrZov9sJ8