We have a large skylight in the kitchen and as I walked to the refrigerator, I saw the half-moon shining brightly overhead. Its light cast a large, rectangular shadow on the kitchen floor. The shadows of my legs were dark and well-defined. That could only mean one thing - no clouds!

You see, when you live near Seattle (Port Orchard, west side of Puget Sound), there are not many cloudless nights this time of year. In fact, you've probably seen images on your television of all the flooding in our area, some of it within miles of our house - and yes, some of it right on our property. It's been a soggy, miserable November.

I saw the moon! Resigned to the fact that there now was only one course of action, I moved quickly into my writing studio to grab a camera and my C-90 spotting scope, figuring I could get some quick pictures of that lunar orb. But, being a die-hard, I saw the LX-90 standing in the corner and fancied hearing it call my name: "Jimmmmmm, take me outside .... I want to go outside ... Jimmmmmmm .... "

Now that telescope is a different story. It's not a "Point and Shoot." It has to be disassembled, moved outside (a back-breaking job), reassembled on the tripod, aligned, and then outfitted with whatever accessories are required for a good night's (or morning's) viewing. Not to mention the fact that I have to kill the security light breakers in the garage, locate an extension cord, swap out the t-rings and t-mounts on the camera, etc. etc. etc.

I did it. Of course I did it. You know I did it. I had to do it. This is Seattle. One doesn't get this opportunity often in the winter.

By the time I had everything set up and ready to align, I noticed that clouds were rolling in. In fact, I only got one alignment star centered before the clouds obscured all the others within my viewing range. I still could see the moon, granted, but its lines were no longer sharp. Doggedly determined, I slewed the scope skyward and did manage to get some photos of the moon as clouds raced by overhead. I think I even got some relatively clear shots through breaks in the clouds. But I'll have to wait until Rite-Aid opens to get the film processed into negative strips and ready for scanning.

Why do I share this story? Well, for one simple reason: so you know that I was outside freezing my butt off while you were all safe and sound and warm in your little snore beds! That's why! :)

But also just to illustrate that we all have our hobbies, our passions, our things that make us feel good. If you're a regular reader of any of my blogs, you'll already know how often I lug that telescope out just to get skunked by the weather or some other factor.

But as Harry Chapin once said, "It's got to be the going, not the getting there, that's good." I had a good time in the wee hours of the morning and I think that's what really counts.

(Photos above were the result of this morning's foray out into the dark driveway..)