Passage of Night

First, there was moonlight revealing the facades of houses across the street. They were gradually swallowed by the shadows of their eaves. Then, for a while the light dazzled the damp street, making it glow like a polished dance floor deserted by its dancers, echoing to no music. It darkened as the moon settled behind the trees to produce a series of images like Japanese prints. Finally subsiding below the horizon, the moon's last, oblique light dusted the undersides of thin clouds so that they glowed brighter than the shadowed woods, and the sky seemed more real than the earth my feet felt. No sooner had the moonlight dissipated than wind arose and swept the sky clear, and starlight as icy as the air deepened the sky and shrank even the tallest trees to slender blades humming the wind's song.

Oops

I just got a very deep fingertip paper cut, and it's throwing my typing off. And it's getting blood on Sluggo's keyboard. I hope he doesn't develop a taste for it. The last thing I need is an evil computer who is also a vampire.

Ouch! I forgot to use a substitute finger when typing the period at the end of the last sentence, and opened the cut again! All exclamation points from now on!

Crows have a long day. They were the first birds up and about this morning, and they are flying about with much cawing now! They must be enjoying the bright sunshine as much as I am! The first sunny day after a rainstorm always causes the wood of my front door to swell up, making it difficult to open and close! Coming in isn't so bad, since I can lean against the door to open it, and then push with one hand and a knee while restraining it by pulling on the knob to close it quietly! But going out, I have to yank on it (not good for the knob, I'm sure) and then pull very hard to close it from the outside, whereupon it invariably slams against the jamb with a loud bang! The warm wood feels nice, though! I check to make sure none of the neighbors are watching before I fondle it!

OK, the bleeding has stopped long enough that I think I can risk typing periods again. There. Index finger for periods.

Many birds other than the crows are out today. My cat is sitting on the window sill watching them. I can hear at least half a dozen different calls, though I can't identify any of them other than the crows and their cousins, the ubiquitous jays. There is no sign of the acorn woodpeckers. I guess there isn't much around here to interest them other than the telephone pole they cling to when it rains. But I hear much scuffling about in the wild plum bushes just outside my window. I fear that the jays might decide to nest there again. Last year, they didn't, for the first time in ages, and the absence of their constant screeches was delightful. Maybe if I sprinkle damp kitty litter under the bushes, it will discourage them from nesting there again. I've got plenty of damp kitty litter.

The sun won't set until six o'clock today, and the moon is four days from the full. I'm going to go out and enjoy the transition from day to night, and try not to slam the door on my way out.