Tag: moon

  • Countdown to the Day of Reckoning – 4 Days – Perseid Meteor Shower

    stars2There are several meteor showers throughout the year, but the Perseid meteor shower is one of my favorites. It’s one of the reasons I used is as a base for some of the events in my novel, Star Touched. This annual show is caused by the dust and debris left behind by the 1992 passing of the Swift-Tuttle Comet. It’s going on now, but peak is between August 11-13th, where you could see as many as 60-70 meteors an hour. That’s a lot of space junk. The little crescent moon will set before the shower starts after midnight.

    Look north toward the Perseus constellation. (just below Cassiopeia)

    Pull out a chair.

    Slather on some bug spray.

    Camp out under the night sky.

    Enjoy the show.

    While you’re there, keep an eye out for Mars and Saturn. Both will be visible.

    But don’t worry, none of the meteors are big enough to cause a cataclysm.

     

    Here are some links for more information:

    https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html

    https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/perseid.html?hc_location=ufi

    STAR TOUCHED

    Startouched front cover2

  • BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

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    “Moonlight sends a shiver into night’s brisk sky.”

    “You keep spouting poetry and I’m leaving,” said Gary.

    Mark grinned. “I’m just trying to set the mood. Got the camera ready?”
    “It’ll take pictures every ten seconds and I programed the mechanism to adjust automatically with the moon’s movement.”

    “Super,” said Mark, rubbing his hands together. “This is going to be a magical night.”

    Gary rolled his eyes, then tossed him a can of soda. “Don’t care how full the moon is or how perfectly aligned the stars are. All you’re going to get are pictures of a moon.”

    “We’ll see.”

    “Whatever.”

    After several hours of listening to the camera click, Gary’s eyes started to feel heavy. Even the ancient oak he leaned on began to feel as soft as a feather bed. He drifted off to the sound of giggles. A sharp pain in his leg woke him up. Mark stood over him, holding the camera.

    “What the hay,” he said, rubbing his leg.

    “I’ve been trying to wake you for ten minutes. We fell asleep.”

    “Surprising,” said Gary, with another eyeroll.

    “Remember when you said we would only get pictures of the moon?”

    Gary leaned back against the oak. “Did it magically turn to cheese?”

    “Funny,” said Mark. “Check this out.”

    Gary took the camera and flipped through the digital pictures. Half-way through, his jaw dropped. “Is that a.…”

    “Yup. That’s a sprite’s bare butt and its drinking your Sprite. We got mooned. Told you there were fairies in these woods.”

  • The Rendezvous

    There was no moon tonight, which suited Kara just fine. She preferred to stay in the shadows. Out in the woods she felt safe, but this close to people made her nervous. Kara had promised Ethan she would wait here under the streetlamp while he gathered supplies, but she longed for the comfortable feel of her pack mates. Only her overriding need to be with Ethan kept her here.

    Until she had found him, bleeding and near death, Kara hadn’t realized she needed human companionship. Maybe it was the eyes, or the soft way he spoke to her as she nursed him back to health, but something awoke in her. Perhaps it was the way he accepted the wolves that had been her only companions these last eight years. Could he hear them the way she could?

    Footsteps approached and Kara ducked into the shadows, as skittish as a young wolf, ready to bolt. Relief flooded her as she recognized Ethan, and her heart began to flutter with something more.

    “Ethan.” she said, a wolfish whimper slipping into her voice.

    “I’m here, Kara,” he said, “now and forever.”

    She stepped back into the lamp light and looked up into his brown eyes, longing for his touch.  Shivers ran up her spine as he brushed a hand across her cheek. Kara nuzzled into Ethan’s chest and felt his love telegraphed through his beating heart.

    He was hers, and she his…for life.

    It’s the way of the pack.