"I know nothing with any certainty, but
the sight of stars makes me dream."
– Vincent Van Gogh
While I am grateful for the return of the sun, I am also grateful that we still have inky black skies at night.
Last night, I was walking back from a meeting at the school and as I turned and crossed the open space between the Hamlet and home. It was a quiet night, the cold keeping most people indoors. As I turned for home I turned my attention to the night sky. Bright stars shone down, close enough to touch. Orion, Plieades, Cassiopia, Great and Little Dipper and others stood out bright and clear. Dogs howled out on the Bay and the forty below snow crunched beneath my feet. I love the way the timbre of the sound of snow changes depending on the depth and hardness of the drifts.
From the sound of the snow people here can tell if it is suitable for iglu building, and the change in the sound of walking on drifts will reveal a seal’s pupping den, if your ears are attuned to it. Last night I wasn’t thinking about iglu or seal pups, but rather of music, the music beneath my feet; and the dark, the black black sky above me, pierced with thousands of points of light.
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I love the way snow creaks when it’s truly cold. I take it like a little pat on the back for how hardy I am. 🙂
Night skies have always seemed best to me in winter. On very cold nights, the stars seem to shimmer all the more. Orion is my favourite. I love that squeaky crunch of snow under my feet — sounding a bit like walking on a sheet of styrofoam. We used to keep a large herd of dairy goats and I spent many nights walking to the barn to check for new born kids in throughout winter. The starry skies made it well worth getting out of bed even on the coldest nights.
Beautiful post. These are things i love, too.
Whenever I look up at the sky, I wonder about where the other people who share that view are, what they are doing.
That we can be half a world apart and have the same view outward is the connection.
Amazing to think about.
Laura, walking across that cold cold noisy snow is wonderful. Too bad more people don’t get to experience it.
You’re right of course bev, the night sky is better in the winter. Of course I have other option up here, for if I’m seeing stars in our 24 hour light of summer, there is big trouble afoot.
Thanks Dave. I wish I had your photos to go with the sound of the snow.
I often wonder the same things Nina. Although I must say I was struck on a couple of occasions, once in Cuba, just how different the night sky is half a world away.