The beach is magical at night with its salty breeze, sugar sand, gentle waves and sometimes breathtaking moonlight. But these days the nearby lights curtail our ability to see what is right in front of us. The lights hide a wondrous sight in the sky.
But there is a small slough on Lake Martin where this wondrous sight was revealed to me and a whole new world appeared. The sky exploded with millions of stars.
In that small slough the trees block all signs of modern civilization and lighting. This darkness allows the human eye to adjust and see small celestial bodies that otherwise cannot be seen.
There are millions of twinkling little stars that fill the night. I saw the most gorgeous shooting star of my life that slowly glided across the sky and burst into flaming fireballs as if fireworks. I witnessed a meteor shower of fifteen shooting stars in less than half an hour. I viewed the most gorgeous moons of my life – some crescent shape, some half full, and full moons that lit up the lake as if it were daylight. A full moon is spellbinding to me; I could stare at it for hours.
In this slough on the Lake I’ve also listened to total silence. Do you know what that sounds like? No cars, no humans, no barking dogs, no artificial noise of any kind. If you hear a sound it is the gentle breeze rustling leaves, or lapping the water. You may at times hear whipporwills, a hoot owl, or the splash of a large bass.
As I lay there in the boat experiencing this sight in the sky, feeling the breeze, and hearing an occasional whippoorwill I am so relaxed. And I wonder..... how many other people have experienced this? It saddens me to think of what they’ve missed --- the wonder of God’s sky and his creation. Only Rachel Carson can put into words what I am feeling . . . .
"One summer night all but surrounded by the water, the horizon was a distant rim on the edge of space. Millions of stars blazed in darkness, and on the far shore a few lights burned in cottages. Otherwise there was no reminder of human life.
My companion and I were alone with the stars: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon. It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be seen only once in a century, this water would be thronged with spectators. But it can be seen many nights in the year.
And so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably didn’t give a thought to the beauty overhead…. because they could see it almost any night. And so they probably never will." ~Rachel Carson
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