(Image copyright Frank Langben)
It was a special weekend down in the Country- and I hate to think it may be the nicest left in the year. The sky was a delightful cloudless blue; temperatures were temperate enough to go jacket-less, and there was the prospect that the Super Moon would present itself out over the pastures, emerging from the trees to sail serenely through the heavens in a dramatic arc that delivered the intense silvery light through the window of my bedroom on the first floor. I have not been upstairs since the arthritis kicked in, but I imagine the view was pretty good up there, too.
Waiting for moon-rise, I was startled to see that the original posse of Edgar and Edwina the Turkey Buzzards has been joined by no less than thirteen others. They seem to like to hang out in a large tree to the north of my property line. I suspect it might be so they can see the chickens and turkeys the Russians are raising. I would be more concerned about the infestation, but the buzzards are not birds of prey, but rather the trash disposal service that Mother Nature provides. So long as they do not make a practice of roosting on my deck and pooping all over everything, I am prepared to live and let live.
I confess it was eerie seeing the remarkably large black silhouettes of the creatures high-lit by the astonishing brightness of the lunar orb as it floated up in the sky.
Good time for an adult beverage, I thought. It had become cool enough to put on the puffy coat and get a cushion for the captain’s chair at the end of the steel dining table. It was a magnificent sight as it rose through the birds and took flight itself into the inky blackness. The sun’s reflected light was bright enough to make the green metal roofs of the barn and garage glow with energy. I wanted to take my own picture of the phenominon, but of course I did not have the proper lens to do the scene justice, and decided to borrow the two images displayed here.
This one, taken by astrophotographer Gowrishakhar Lakshminarayanan, captured the December 3rd Supermoon and a normal one from July and put them side-by-side to show the difference. I suppose it is not that impressive, but it certainly was striking on that magnificent Sunday night.
Some may say that 15% larger is no big deal, and just the demonstration of the closest fly-by to Mother Earth this year in the dance of orbital mechanics. I liked the show, though, and so did the buzzards. At least, they were all facing that way from what I could divine in the shadows.
AndI have to say with all the other things we have been considering likely to fall on us from the heavens, courtesy of the Hermit Kingdom, the slivery light suited me just fine. The cheery orange glow of the fire that much more pleasant when I finally wandered back to the Great Room to contemplate Life, Birth, Death and infinity. I couldn’t really get my brain wrapped around the last one of those topics- seeing the magnificence of the universe displayed really was a thing of infinite delight.
Copyright 2017 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com