The Pleasure of Nightfall
And just like that, it’s August. I’ve honestly only read half of The End of Night, our book for July. I found it slow-going to start, with the frequent quotations cumbersome to read, but about a quarter of the way through I started to connect with Bogard and really loved some of the ideas he brought—pardon me—to light.
When I cobbled together my website bio, I wrote “I wish it was easier to see the stars at night—a better view of that glittering expanse might make us a little nicer and hold each other a little tighter.” I believe that. For all the ease and reassurance our urban living can provide, there’s something disconnecting about not being able to see the night sky clearly. I miscalculate my place in the universe, forget there is so much beyond me. And maybe if I could navigate by the stars, I would feel less lost when I learn of yet another way the world’s been knowingly screwed, for decades, by a giant corporation.*
* Like PFAS in our floss wasn’t bad enough, it’s also in Post-Its and our… well, I’ll quit there. If you want to know more, you can check out this article from Time and watch the movie Dark Waters, which is currently available on Netflix. Just be prepared to lose some sleep. (If there are aliens out there willing to come save us, please don’t wait any longer to see if we’ll figure it out ourselves.)
Alright. PSA and plea for neighborly alien intervention over. Let’s take a step back, and enjoy the night.
Stargazing & Night Walking
Lucas and I have been lucky to see the sunset and a less-impeded night sky in many different places:
While on the Atlantic Ocean, where Lucas took the first photo in this post. And on the Pacific.
Along the Appalachian Trail during a 40-mile hike over spring break of our junior year in college. It was too cold to sleep one night, but the sky was clear and the stars were beautiful. Lucas made me get out of the relative warmth of the tent to go see them. I might have been a teensy bit crabby getting out of that sleeping bag, but I was so glad he insisted. It was the best I’d ever seen the stars in my life.
Stargazing at New Glarus State Park with the UW’s Universe in the Park. We roasted potatoes and marshmallows on a camp grill and waited our turn to look through the telescope with a troop of boy scouts. (If you’re in Wisconsin, definitely check this program out! In Iowa, try this list of 5 Places to Stargaze from Travel Iowa.)
On the Island of Hawai’i with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures, we rattled over rough roads and learned about native Hawai’ians’ relationship with Mauna Kea, the history and tension over the telescopes there, and stories about the stars.
On a candlelight hike at Newport State Park, we giddily slid over small, slick hills of snow, trying to find the divots left by our predecessors’ footsteps. (Thankfully without me falling on my face as I did cross country skiing in a nearby park.) We came through the woods into a broad clearing, and the candlelight caught the silhouettes of our fellow hikers with their heads raised to the sky.
In our own neighborhood, we can see only a handful of stars. Yet the benefits of breathing deeply of the fresh evening air, listening to the songs of insects, or embracing the quiet of snow-covered streets, cannot be discounted. When we first moved here, we had two walks—a day walk and a night walk—our standard routes through the neighborhood. We abandoned the day walk a year or two ago, but the night walk remains. We amble away from the day’s work, our destination the restful hours.
Meteors Make the Best Night Lights
Last year we drove out to Donald County State Park for a meteor shower. We could hear others gathering for the same purpose, chatting and shifting the gravel of the parking lot underfoot, but we couldn’t see them. In the dark there were no friendly head-nods or smiles of greeting, but we were compatriots nonetheless—up past bedtime, hopeful, and willing to tolerate the neck-tweaking of hunting for meteors.
When Lucas was in high school, his Earth Science teacher gave his students a head’s up when astronomical events took place. On the night of a meteor shower, Lucas drove out on his own and found a spot with a clear line of sight. He turned up his music, laid on the roof of his car, and started counting. There were thousands of meteors. Every time he tells me this story, I am envious.
What are your favorite memories of being out after dark?
Whether it’s appreciating the night air as you go for a walk, or a little road trip to see the stars, I hope this month you’ll find some peace in the summer darkness. There’s a chance to see meteors this weekend, as the Perseids peak this Sunday. Here’s more info.
August’s Book
August’s book is Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Matt Patterson. If you want more amazing humans helping animals, check out Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals by Lisa Zaleski. Fair warning: This book broke my heart on multiple occasions—for the animals, for Lisa, and for her family. It took me back to reading Where the Red Fern Grows as a kid. That one made me cry too, but I have no regrets about either.
