12:22

A.M.  That's what time it was when I opened the deck door to bid my sweet ones good night.  We've been socked in by fog for over a week and then rain for the last two days.  The moisture is welcomed, despite the muddy mess it creates in the dry lot.

The rain sheets the horses had on last night were soaked and so heavy when I traded them out this morning for a dry one.  I debated about taking them off the horses this evening.  My three weather references on my mobile phone all said cloudy to partly cloudy for the night.  My years living in Central Oregon have taught me it's best to look out over those mountains and add my own forecast into the mix, and tonight it told me the rain was not done.  Sure enough, just after dark it started to rain again.  I could see the sky considering a clearing but with the anticipated winds, I have also learned it's best to err on the side of caution when it comes to strong gusts.

I didn't anticipate this crystal clear sky we have now.  If I weren't ready for bed, I would go down and take the rain sheets off the horses and let them bask in the stars.  The night air isn't frozen yet so it is fragrant with moist earth and trees and a touch of sweet wet wool.  It's fresh and alive.  I smile.

Yes, I do write about the stars often.  They are so magnificent and abundant it is hard not to be in complete awe.  I realize that for much of my adult life, I have lived in places where the star appearance has been minimal, drowned out by urban lights.  Only on vacations or trips out of town would I see what the night sky really could look like.  So now, every night that I can see stars, I lose track of time just gazing.  I smile.

With a wide open sky completely covered in stars, shooting stars are not uncommon.  Those were things that I would see only if I drove out to "the country" from the city, put down a blanket and waited.  And waited.  And if one happened by, it was truly incredible.  I still find it incredible but the drama is different.  I know that with patience, sometimes just a tiny bit, I will be treated to a fiery tail traveling at a speed I cannot fathom.  I smile.

So it is at this late hour, feeling blessed to have healthy animals, a roof over my head, food for all of us, wood burning in the stove, love of and for friends and family, talents to sustain me, good health and good humor that I look up into the powerful beyond and give my thanks.

And I smile.

Cleanse

For the past few days we've had heavy air in and out coming from the wild fires burning.  The mornings have been especially thick and fortunately as the days wore on, the air would lighten up.  The presence of an undeniable lingering cloak not be ignored.

Today we had a thunderstorm roll through; it rained a bit.  The air shifted.

Much later tonight, the earth smelled rich with moisture.  It seems to have rained again.

They talk about the skies opening up in a storm.  They certainly did--straight to the heavens!  The sky is crystal clear.

The Milky Way is streaming directly overhead.  There are those stars that are so close, they can almost be reached by a determined finger.  And behind those stars is another layer, just beyond reach.  And when setting aside all expectations of the night sky, letting the corners of the eyes be wide, that deepest layer of stars that just begins to lead far into the solar system appears.

Try to hold a finger up and find a space that wide between stars and planets.  Impossible tonight.

There are twinklers, winkers, color changers and the ever steady.

Diving into the window of mystery, the shooting stars are reminders that nothing stays the same.


Dedicated to Max.  May she always be safe.

Let It Rain

Rain.

May your moisture hydrate our desert-parched skin.

May your drops multiply to blanket our fires.

May your puddles seep to the roots of our trees.

Thank you for hearing our call.

Shall we dance again?