This first shot is towards the northwest, though an opening in the pines caused by one which died this year. Last spring my brother and I took it down and reduced it to logs which are now seasoning for the winter ahead. I might have plugged the hole with another seedling but for the fact that I like the opening. While the cold wind may pass through that space unimpeded, so may my vision in the other direction. It is something I don't want to give up just yet.
Then, looking to the southwest a little later, the moon is idly hanging there among the clouds. A lone dog barks in the distance and only a passing car disturbs my thoughts. I enjoy the clarity of a winter sky but I love the time I may linger beneath a summer one, when the wind is not biting at me and coaxing me back inside.
And yet Orion is still beyond view and I love the winter sky more for Orion alone. There is no other constellation that moves me quite the same. It will not be long.
Isn't this a gentle picture? Don't you want to pull a chaise lounge into the grass, plop a pillow down and just look up for a while? Can't you anticipate the fall crickets and katydids?
