Outside

The last full moon of summer has gone, having escaped early veils of cloud to glide in splendid isolation half the night. I watched it fragment among pine branches and escape the sky before the morning grew too bright. It's dying fire felt like the true end of summer, though the equinox remains days away. Night's latter hours grew chill, but I remained outdoors to see the moon depart. There'll be another next month, but it won't be the same. Autumn's moons are apt to be shrouded, and the nights uncomfortably cold, and often rainy. I don't know when I'll get another chance to watch a full moon in clear sky. It was worth a bit of chill.

Sunday Verse

Full Moon

by Tu Fu


Above the tower -- a lone, twice-sized moon.
On the cold river passing night-filled homes,
It scatters restless gold across the waves.
On mats, it shines richer than silken gauze.

Empty peaks, silence: among sparse stars,
Not yet flawed, it drifts. Pine and cinnamon
Spreading in my old garden . . . All light,
All ten thousand miles at once in its light!

Mild

I was looking out an eastern window when a shadow passed; great wings gliding. The shadow returned a moment later, as the bird circled. By the time I got to the other side of the house, where I might have gotten a look at it, the bird had vanished behind the pines. Even if it was flying low, the size of the shadow indicated that it was a huge bird. Most likely it was a large hawk, or maybe a vulture. I've always hoped to see a condor here, but never have. As a rule, they don't fly over places this densely populated, but the hawks and vultures do. I think I've seen eagles here a couple of times, too, but they were flying very high, so I couldn't be positive.

The flying things I did see today were mostly dragonflies. None of them alighted, so I couldn't identify their species, but there were lots of them about. Some might have been damselflies, or even crane flies. There were also a couple of bees, poking around in the few remaining sourgrass flowers for nectar. The afternoon air was balmy, and the buzz and whir of insect wings was soporific, but I didn't allow myself to be seduced. Too much to do. Still too much to do.