Dispatch From The Edge Of The Universe

It was already dark by the time I arrived at this old rice dryer in the Arkansas Delta. I tried to set up the camera in the dark, in the hopes of not attracting the attention of any of the millions of mosquitoes, gnats and other assorted creepy crawlies out there. But it was all for naught, as they all descended as soon as I left the safety of the car. I drenched myself with bug spray, which helped for a bit. The bugs hovered about an inch or two from my face, searching for any chinks in the bug spray armor.

It took me awhile to find the right spot to set up the camera and to get everything in focus. The mosquitoes were beginning to renew their attack so I sprayed myself with bug spray again, and then the air around me. I felt like a middle-school kid trying to put on cologne before his first dance, but it did the trick. The bugs seemed to drift away and avoid me (much like the girls at those middle school dances). I set the camera to start taking pictures, which it would continuously do for the next two hours. I then used the flashlight to shine on the old rice dryer, trying to illuminate it for the pictures. The beam of light from the flashlight did hit the old dryer, but it also caught the multitude of bugs hanging in the air. In the light, they looked like snowflakes in a blizzard.

There wasn't anyone else around, except for a few cars that would drive along the nearby road. But there was some sort of critter or creature that lurked in the old rice dryer. I could hear it scampering about in the night. I retreated back to the car, where I sat for two hours while the camera clicked away and took about 225 pictures. When it was time, I walked out amongst the bugs and gathered the camera and tripod and then headed home.

This is the final result. There is a little bit of light pollution (from the Stuttgart metroplex). And also a bright line of orange, which looks like a rocket taking off but it is actually the moon rising over the horizon.