Though it was a couple days before the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, I decided to give it a shot last night since the forecast for the rest of the week was cloudy or rainy.
I scoped out the viewing possibilities beforehand and considered going to the back of the yard at the edge of the woods. Recently a bunch of trees had been cut down along the street so the sky is a bit more open.
Ultimately I settled for the upper deck because I didn't want to stumble through the gardening and figured it'd be buggier on the ground.
Peepers peeping, clear sky, bright stars: a beautiful summer night.
I leaned gently against the back railing and craned my neck to see over the house. In my right hand, I held a piece of cardboard to block the street light's glow.
Even if all I see if this, it's a gorgeous view.
After about ten minutes, I saw a small streak of light and smiled.
I decided to try my luck and patiently waited for another.
The second was a bit bigger, a good meteor sighting in my mind.
The crazy owl that lives in my neighborhood started hooting off to my left. "Hooting" doesn't do it justice. It's not the low melodic sound people imitate. This owl is more like one of those noise-makers that undulates up and down in pitch kind of musically. Also loud.
Part of me felt like calling back to it, but the last thing I needed was an owl in my face, so I kept quiet and watched the sky.
A third small meteor whizzed past. I almost missed it because it disappeared below the cardboard I was holding. That one was really low in the sky. I lowered my cardboard flag to the tree level and kept watching the sky.
The owl was quiet again.
I heard rustling in the woods behind me. Old dry leaves crunching. Something big.
Even though I was on the upper deck, it was unnerving hearing something behind me that I couldn't see. Having recently seen one in the neighborhood, all I could think was BEAR.
I was really glad I hadn't gone into the yard by the woods for a broader sky view. The rustling would've freaked me the eff out if I'd been down there. I was unsettled enough as it was.
Though I tried to keep my gaze skyward, the sounds from the woods continued to pull my attention away. After a few minutes, I gave up and went in.
Three meteors and not getting eaten, that'll do, that'll do just fine.
10 years ago on TTaT: The Road is my Favorite Place: Day 1
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