Wander in the dark
Pardon my sense of amazement, but it is very dark outside. After spending three decades in suburbia, where the idea of the streetlights going off at night is tied to catastrophic power failure, life here is very different. Right now (in the dark of the moon), the dog takes me for long wanders. I carry a flashlight, for emergencies…
To my surprise, once my eyes “get used to it”, I can see enough to navigate. The pavement is gray, and the ditches aren’t. Combined with the feedback of shoes on asphalt, we get along just fine. There are stars! Soon, the moon will rise! The dog is sure-pawed enough to keep us out of the depths of roadside ditches. And under cover of real darkness, even the coyotes stay home (I think).
An approaching automobile? We get a full kilometer of warning; enough to change sides and put the flashlight on “there’s somebody out here” glow. So far, nobody has stopped to investigate.
Still early. Once we get snow cover, the nightshine will be notched up. If it isn’t too blustery, I’ll check that out.
This afternoon, with a lack of wind, the whistle buoy at the point was noisy. No, really. I was tempted to record a few measures, but there are limits to my willingness to dig out gear.
The antenna radials are now spread and stapled. As soon as I get those connectors (on a slow boat from elsewhere, it seems), my station can get back on the air. Or at least give me something to listen to, when the others are TV bound.
