Meteor Shower – Wyeth Walk #152

Little did I know this morning when I got this picture of the ephemeral streak of light down the tree trunk that I’d be basking in another form of streaking light tonight.  I didn’t remember until later in the day that tonight is the Perseid meteor shower.  This evening I went out in the back yard to sky watch.  Lying in the soft grass with the sounds of the night’s insects and the stars spread above me, I found my mind wandering, drifting, then flashes of memory “streaking” across my mind: the time I lay in a hammock to watch meteors; my dad’s telescopes and his love of stars; the time my husband and I traveled to a remote area of the Oklahoma panhandle- so remote they have a big sky watching party there every year (we weren’t there for that, but still got to enjoy the _blackness_).  When was the last time I went out in the dark and just took it all in? When was the last time I let my mind enjoy these beautiful memories?  I don’t remember!  But, it was lovely, so so lovely. 

And then, right when I wasn’t expecting, I was rewarded with a beautiful streak of light flashing across the sky in my peripheral vision.

Jamie Wyeth has painted the night sky a lot, and his Meteor Shower is great… I believe he captures this treat of isolated flashes… you don’t even realize why he called it Meteor Shower when it’s just a field of stars in the background of the painting – aren’t there supposed to be shooting stars?  And then… yes, there it is, the streak of light off in the viewer’s peripheral vision.  Aaaaahhhhh…

August 12, Chester County PA