trying to find mcnaught's comet
Last night I drove up my new favourite road out of Hobart: Waterworks Road. I'd been to a barbecue on Saturday at the reserve and was staggered to find such a beautiful landscape. When you are there alone, looking at the huge reservoirs, you can imagine it's a secret, imaginary land, that exists in a kind of parallel universe.
I was searching for a decent viewing point to see the comet: Andy's directions suggested that if I could see clearly the moon crescent, then I would be write. But I needed to be high up, with a view of the horizon, and was I looking west or south west? I stopped up at Ridgeway in an empty field and waited, lying on my back staring at the stars and Venus... another car came past, it's night lights beaming out, then turned around. Clouds gathering over the horizon and the passing of the optimal hour caused me to give up. Descending back down the mountain and I saw the lone driver standing at the side of the road, in jumper and shorts, gazing in a different direction... he was still waiting. Halfway down the hill, as I entered Dynnyrne, I saw three cars pulled up-were these night watchers looking for the comet, or were they up to high jinks? By this stage there were large clouds and they were facing the complete opposite direction, so I stopped my stopping and kept driving again. Slowly, fearful that I'd encounter another feral cat, and then an animal did run into my path. It was a small wallaby though, bouncing into the centre of the road, pausing between the two cars facing each other, before it skipped off.
Just another night in my mountain city.
I was searching for a decent viewing point to see the comet: Andy's directions suggested that if I could see clearly the moon crescent, then I would be write. But I needed to be high up, with a view of the horizon, and was I looking west or south west? I stopped up at Ridgeway in an empty field and waited, lying on my back staring at the stars and Venus... another car came past, it's night lights beaming out, then turned around. Clouds gathering over the horizon and the passing of the optimal hour caused me to give up. Descending back down the mountain and I saw the lone driver standing at the side of the road, in jumper and shorts, gazing in a different direction... he was still waiting. Halfway down the hill, as I entered Dynnyrne, I saw three cars pulled up-were these night watchers looking for the comet, or were they up to high jinks? By this stage there were large clouds and they were facing the complete opposite direction, so I stopped my stopping and kept driving again. Slowly, fearful that I'd encounter another feral cat, and then an animal did run into my path. It was a small wallaby though, bouncing into the centre of the road, pausing between the two cars facing each other, before it skipped off.
Just another night in my mountain city.
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