We're planning to watch for the Leonid meteor showers in
November. Most people I know have not
had a lot of successful meteor shower viewings in these parts. For one thing,
they're not always reliable. And these days it’s hard to find people willing to
lie outside in the cold and damp waiting for them with us. It's also getting harder
to get up after lying on our backd in the dark and cold waiting for them. But when the Leonids come along this November
we’ll probably be waiting for them just as I did the year before. Some things
just require faithfulness.
Another November day I shared the following notes: When a meteor comes along it's coming with a
guarantee that everyone there won't have seen it. They go by so fast – it’s like phitt, phitt
and they’re gone. When many were promised and you do get to see the phitt phitt
everyone that missed it groans and says something like, "Really, I just
turned away for second." That means
another hour or so of looking so they get a chance to see one too. The bladder starts wanting a voice in how
long everyone is staying out but you know that's only one small segment of the
body clamoring for your attention.
I ended this day in the attic after a day of raking the
leaves. Dry weather, clear blue skies.
The neighbor spotted not one but a pair of red tails just the day after one
struck a squirrel in our yard. It is
squarely autumn here and there's nothing to do but give into the season and
enjoy the leaf mold, sneezing, and those pure glycerin moments when the gold or
red leaves are shot through with sunlight and just through that window of beauty you get to see the bluest
sky. It's all here and then there's the
raking. There's really no good reason
why a rake works better than a debris blower except for the fact that it combs
the ground and the leaves seem to come along nicely. I felt like a shepherd gathering the flock.
It was after I had gathered the flock and dragged the flock on the tarp for,
oh, I don't know, maybe three hours, that my back did appreciate the change of
pace. I changed the pace to sitting down
and sipping a hot cup of tea. I thought
I'd appreciate the tea but my back liked it even more.
So that led to what seemed like early retirement, at least
for the day. But then I remembered that
we were going to watch the meteor showers.
This means bundle up and get everything you own that's warm out of the
attic and worry about the aches and pains on Sunday. Here's the thing - crawling up the scrawny
attic steps I realized that I'd have to crawl over everything that I've been
tossing up there just to keep the downstairs free from the detritus of daily
living. I discovered that a whole lot of tossing was going on. This meant a lot
of crawling around looking for things warm and cozy for the meteor
watching. I realize that I can do this
today but as the years go on I might want to have an emergency phone up in the
attic in case I get stuck up there.
While I was raking the leaves I was thinking how much I
missed a friend of mine. We hadn't spoken in over a week and I was wondering
when I could call her. I was tired and needed a shower or be willing to face a
citation from the township. With all
that had to be done today I thought it would be a great idea if I could talk to
her from the shower. I would avoid a citation from the board of health and I
could move onto the next thing.
Why is it that Saturdays have become an object lesson in
connections? I have learned that the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone
because my knee bones are really aching and my thigh bones can't do the walking
without them. If I were to economize my motions I should consider putting an
observation hole in the attic and wait there for the shooting stars while
wrapped up in everything that's warm and within reach. Once the telephone gets installed I could be
set for the whole winter. The Geminids
are next and they're supposed to be reliable. So I’ve been thinking…
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