The view from the mountains

The road to your dreams isn't always a straightforward one. It winds and curves up a mountain. When you start out on the journey, the hike seems easy enough and the destination seems just within reach. You know exactly what you want and you know just how to get it. And yet the closer you get to the top, the closer you get to attaining your dreams, to getting just what it is that you asked out of life, the hike suddenly gets so much more strenous and it takes every bit of effort to make it to the top, to get to that perfect moment of contentment of having just what you wanted. In those moments of utter despair, when the going gets extremely tough, the best thing you can do is to rest, take a breather and stop and admire the views from the climb on top of the mountain. See how far along you've come and look up ahead at where you want to be. And the sceneries will carry you along further.

For me, the year 2008 has been a little like that journey up the mountain...it's been a tough hike with long winding roads seemingly leading nowhere. But even so, I look back at how far along I've come at the end of the year and I feel a strange joy for having made it this far.

Here's to the year past, and new journeys ahead. Every so often, stop to take a breather and click photos of the memorable sceneries along the way. :)

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

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These photos were taken from Pinnacle Overlook, located at an elevation of 2440 feet on the Cumberland Mountains region of the chain of Appalachian Mountains. The overlook is located within Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and overlooks the tri-state area of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The white lake nestled in the valley surrounded by the mountains is Fern Lake.

To read more on my three day travel through the tri-state area, click here.

~vagabond~ © 2008

Winter evenings

Winter evenings. So cold and frigid. And yet inexplicably calm and serene. It's that quiet hour at the end of the day when the sun's last golden light softly spreads into the white. All of the world around me slows down and hushes into a silence as I pause to gaze at nature's own miracle.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

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Psst! Remember this place? It's the same place where I took these photos in fall. It's always amazing to me how the smallest change in season can give a whole different atmosphere to a place.

~vagabond~ © 2008

The Long Nights Moon

A silver beam of light shines from high up above,
brightening up the dark night
as the long nights moon, big bright and gray
waits and waits patiently
for the long night to turn to day

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Did you see the moon today? It was the biggest and brightest that it has been all year. Some Native American tribes call it the Long Nights Moon, because it falls on the longest, darkest and coldest night of the year. This years Long Nights Moon though was extra special, because not only was the moon today the closest it has been to the earth all year round, but also the closest it has been to the earth in fifteen years. It wont be this close to the earth again for another eight years.

It was 4^oF (-16 ^oC) when I stepped outside the apartment. So I layered up in two sweaters, a thick jacket, a warm hat, thick gloves, two pairs of socks inside my shoes. And then waddled awkwardly with a tripod tucked under my arm, and clumsily proceeded on to take these photos. LOL. Any mention of the poor quality of the photos, and I'll have to ask you to demonstrate to me the fine art of taking photos in the cold with heavy mittens on.

~vagabond~ © 2008

This post is a Skywatch post, to learn more click on the photo below:

A winter walk along the beach

I took a walk along the beach on this cold winter day. With the summer crowd gone, the beach stretches on for miles ahead of me, empty and lonely with barely a soul. It’s loud and noisy today, in the anticipation of yet another storm. The waves roar as they soar up high and crash to the ground. The cold winter wind whistles as it dances along the shore. Gulls squawk loudly as they dive noisily for fish. And I walk on, energized by the sounds of the rumbling concert around me.

I snuck up on these two as they strolled lazily along the beach, together, side by side, with hands behind their back. Sometimes stopping to gaze at the waves coming in. Sometimes stopping to inspect new treasures brought in.

We stumbled upon this treasure together, swept up along the shore. I’m not sure what to make of it – an abandoned nest of love built of bits and pieces of straw. Tiny clams now take refuge in it, huddled together against the frigid cold.

But my favorite find of all is this big piece of driftwood washed up along the beach. The lines etched into its wood speak of journeys long and far. Adrift for so long, baggage carried by the waves, now weary and tired, it lies forlorn by the shore.

I love winter walks along the beach. The loud, noisy concert, the refreshing cold air…and you never know what treasures you’ll find today, buried in the sand.

~vagabond~ © 2008

The calm after the storm

Choppy waves, turbulent and strong, surge through the turmoil of the sea

A whirlwind of different emotions storms on deep within me
The waves crashing, the wind howling, a sky filled with darkness
Babies crying, mothers wailing, a world devoid of happiness
The rain falls long and hard all through the night
Guns shooting, soldiers fighting with all their might
But when the storm is over, the sun still shines
And even when the last tears have dried up, Mumbai your spirit will still shine.

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Dedicated to the Mumbai attacks on the 26th November, 2008.

For me, the true spirit of Mumbai does not lie amidst a defeatist resilience or a self-inflicted martyrdom in accepting what has been handed to it and moving on. Rather, the true spirit of Mumbai shines in the ability of the bindaas city to stand up in unison for what it believes it, and demand the respect that is rightfully due of it.

~vagabond~ © 2008

Winter wonderland

I love this magical time of the year, when the last leaves of autumn are all but gone, and the very first snowfall of the season has just begun. When the stray birds say their goodbyes and depart for the winter. And the earth covers up in a thick white blanket and falls into a deep slumber. The only sound in the cold air is the soft crunch of the snow beneath my feet. The world sleeps quiet and serene as I walk through winter’s wonderland.

~vagabond~ © 2008

Conspiracy

A Dan Brown book, the un-finished pyramid and the all-seeing eye on a dollar bill. Nothing quite as much spells conspiracy.

~vagabond~ © 2008

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This photo is my entry to Cuckoo's photocontest of the month. I remember how every couple of pages into reading Angels and Demons I would whip out a dollar bill from my pocket to see if all the markings of conspiracy really existed on it as he claimed.

The Couple

I see the same couple every evening as I walk my dogs by the river bank. Wiggling and waggling their tails, waddling along the way. Some days they argue loudly, squawking and quacking, seems like they've got lots to say. And then there are other days like this cold autumn evening when they seem content to just sit together, and share a moment, brightening up my day. They're quite the couple, arent they? Him in his bright suit and she in her drab gray.

~vagabond~ © 2008

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PS. If you're an animal lover like me, you might want to check out Trisha's photo. It's sad and yet inspiring enough to make you want to make a difference.

Autumn colours

The smell of cinammon and apples
The cold chill in the air
The crunch of dry leaves on the ground
The red, the yellow and the brown
Autumn is here!

~vagabond~ © 2008

Pumpkins!

Pumpkins palooza!

Nothing quite as much announces fall is in the air

~vagabond~ © 2008

Reflections

In you

I see the other half of me

Separate identities

Yet together complete

~vagabond~ © 2008