September 20

The just waning full moon hung brilliantly 30 degrees up from the western horizon at 5:00 this morning. In the absolute stillness of the predawn, two Great Horned owls were having some conversation, perhaps about the beauty of the moon, which looked as if it were cut out of paper and placed on the purple iridescent sky.

At 53 degrees, it was perfectly comfortable to walk up the road, using the moonlight to see clearly, where the familiar trees, light poles and mailboxes cast moon shadows. The light was easily strong enough to read by, and in the quiet of the morning (apart from the garrulous owls) I was tempted to sit on the ground at the end of the farm driveway and read the paper that Glen had deposited sometime earlier.

Moon shadow is a pleasing way to experience the sun’s light, but I’m told it is possible to witness Venus’ shadowing. I suspect that it must be closer to the new moon when the skies are especially dark, the humidity must be low, and Venus must be relatively close (and high in the sky). Even then, it must take sharp eyes to discern the shadow of objects from the light reflected off Venus, but how wonderful.