The gorgeous dark sky is a great gift indeed. All those characters! Here in the southern hemisphere the southern cross leads my night time musings as does the passage of the planets. Jupiter and Saturn seem especially bright here. The beautiful sisters, the Pleiades, or Matariki as they are known in Aotearoa/NZ, are very important as they mark the Maori new year. Last year was the first time the whole nation celebrated their appearance in the sky with a new annual public holiday. It's marvellous to stop and mark this passage of star ancestors in mid winter.
On the opposite side of the coin...We moved out of the suburbs of our then smallish town, Whanganui, about 6 years ago. The darkness and night time stillness was such a blessing. Sadly the recent growth of the town, with accompanied new suburbs, many new houses, and the increasing encroachment into farmland and previously quiet places, means the sky now glows on the southern horizon as we look from our land so that the absolute darkness we used to enjoy is now tarnished. I wish we could out run this and move deeper into darkness but it's a pattern repeated everywhere here lately. Apparently our local 'authorities" don't understand the concept of light pollution.
I love the way you describe darkness as a ' soft down quilt '. That is exactly how it feels to me, thank you for giving me this image and thank you for sharing your beautiful writing.
I love the dark, as well, Sharon. This is my favorite time of year, minus the holidays, which I all but ignore these days. I love January, especially when there's a lot of snow (I live in the Northeastern US.) It gets dark here around 4:00 p.m. which is just fine with me. When I rented this wee house which sits on top of a hill surrounded by mountains and woods, my landlord said "It gets really dark here at night. Not a light in sight." :) Or a sound, except for the coyotes. I'll be 69 in a couple of weeks and to have this quiet solitude is such a blessing. Thanks for the lovely post. xo
Galway Kinnel is a favorite poet of mine. thank you for choosing him. i am also a lover of the dark as well as the edges of dark, dawn and twilight. be well Sharon-❤️
The gorgeous dark sky is a great gift indeed. All those characters! Here in the southern hemisphere the southern cross leads my night time musings as does the passage of the planets. Jupiter and Saturn seem especially bright here. The beautiful sisters, the Pleiades, or Matariki as they are known in Aotearoa/NZ, are very important as they mark the Maori new year. Last year was the first time the whole nation celebrated their appearance in the sky with a new annual public holiday. It's marvellous to stop and mark this passage of star ancestors in mid winter.
On the opposite side of the coin...We moved out of the suburbs of our then smallish town, Whanganui, about 6 years ago. The darkness and night time stillness was such a blessing. Sadly the recent growth of the town, with accompanied new suburbs, many new houses, and the increasing encroachment into farmland and previously quiet places, means the sky now glows on the southern horizon as we look from our land so that the absolute darkness we used to enjoy is now tarnished. I wish we could out run this and move deeper into darkness but it's a pattern repeated everywhere here lately. Apparently our local 'authorities" don't understand the concept of light pollution.
I love the way you describe darkness as a ' soft down quilt '. That is exactly how it feels to me, thank you for giving me this image and thank you for sharing your beautiful writing.
Thank you for reading!
I love the dark, as well, Sharon. This is my favorite time of year, minus the holidays, which I all but ignore these days. I love January, especially when there's a lot of snow (I live in the Northeastern US.) It gets dark here around 4:00 p.m. which is just fine with me. When I rented this wee house which sits on top of a hill surrounded by mountains and woods, my landlord said "It gets really dark here at night. Not a light in sight." :) Or a sound, except for the coyotes. I'll be 69 in a couple of weeks and to have this quiet solitude is such a blessing. Thanks for the lovely post. xo
Sounds heavenly. Enjoy the not-holidays.
Galway Kinnel is a favorite poet of mine. thank you for choosing him. i am also a lover of the dark as well as the edges of dark, dawn and twilight. be well Sharon-❤️
Yes, that poem was gorgeous!
Thanks, Cheryl. This one seems often overlooked but I love it so.
How lovely to wake up to your writings and sharings this morning. Thank you !
You're welcome!
Thanks for all your news, offerings and value you bring to the word, Appreciation.
Cheers to invisibility.
Thank you, Peter!