Wander under a harvest moon
The small campfire, over by the far corner of the lawn, wasn’t enough. Sure, this might be one of the last evenings of the season; not sufficient. With a full harvest moon, temperate winds (17C) and a “full tank of gas” as the dog likes to say, it was time to wander.
Out on the road, easy going. I keep a small flashlight in one pocket, to let the (very) occasional passing pickup know that we’re there, even in the darkness. Can’t be too careful, when on the highway. But that was too easy… after we had passed the “town line”, which is just a pair of signposts indicating the former school area boundaries, the dog and I decided to take a different tack. Head down a long lane in the direction of the lake (another story). Again, easy going. No rocks to trip or holes to absorb. Just a long straight line along an old field until we hit the edge of the field at the bottom of the grade.
Not much adventure, you say? There could be. We have coyotes now, unlike in the time of my grandfather (he had bears). The dog would probably be found on my shoulders, if ever a pack appeared, but tonight it was us under that full moon. I should have brought a GPS, to log our trail. Or a camera, to capture the view (that’s more difficult than needed; long exposures, a tripod, mathematics). We wandered until we wondered if anyone had missed us… even a little bit.
Getting home, back in the kitchen, I poured a pan of water for the hairy fellow and checked the clock. Nine p.m.
