Another Sign of Spring

"Look at the sky," I told my husband. "The sky is spectacular tonight."

The moon was nearly full, and the stars, so bright and welcoming, unlike the cold, distant sky of winter.

The sheep must have thought so too.

For, in the early morning sheep check, the sheep were not under the barn's overhang, the spot where they've snoozed every night this winter.

Instead, I found them in the pasture, sleeping on green spring grass, under the blanket of stars.

Star-Filled Walks: Part 1

In November, I mourn the lack of sunlight for dog walks.

Now, most of our walks are under a lightening sky, a darkening sky, a dark sky.

Our 5 a.m. greet-the-morning walk, though, always takes place under a dark sky. At this time, the world seems the quietest.

The coyotes and other night creatures have gone to bed; and most humans and day creatures have yet to awake. I hear very little engine noise and see fewer, if any headlights.

Warmer-than-usual temperatures and calm winds have made these walks pleasant and unhurried this fall, and I find myself looking up at the sky, the clusters of stars, the stars that outshine the others.

On so many mornings, I've watched a star shake loose from its moorings, fall and fade.

As I wish on those shooting stars, I think how lucky I am and wonder if someone, somewhere, is doing the same.