Clear Moon Morning

We live in a rural subdivision. There are no street lights. Most of the area was once corn and bean fields. The hill where our house sits was woods. Oak, Hickory, Elm, some Maples, Cherry, and assorted other hard wood trees. I counted 112 trees on our 1/2 acre. Two of them hold the hammock. All of them have a tenuous hold on a zillion leaves. I like the leaves right where they are today and not where they will be next month. The canopy is a thing of beauty in the spring, summer, and early fall. Leaves, like addicts, should not be enabled. Picking them up after they fall only encourages them to repeat the cycle.

At 4:30 AM I could not see how bright the moon was this morning and I'm on duck hunting time already so I was wide awake. Doc and I are a week and a half ahead of the season with our natural clocks. We took a walk. At the end of the driveway the moon lit us up. Not a morning for thiefs, but a morning not to be missed. This is the bright where you can see better without a light. Everything is lit, not just what you shine a light on.

I've been lost in the dark and I know better than to try to wander in the dark. In the woods a flashlight really only shines on where you are not where you need to go. The impressiveness of the woods in the day is a cluster of confusion in battery powered light. Light generated by Eveready is measured in candle power and a million candle power won't do what one moon can do for your vision. Artificial has nothing on nature.

Death is a natural experience. Maybe it is so hard to navigate in grief because of the unnatural light we shine on death. Nothing is more artificial in death than the funeral. We wore suits and ties when we wanted to curl up and cry. A feast was prepared when we couldn't swallow water. Plans were demanded and we wouldn't admit the truth. I remember the confusion clearly and the day barely. The hearse left in the dark. The red brake lights flashed as the white vehicle turned right and disappeared around the church. The driver could see where he was going. We stood and wondered. Wandering in the dark is dangerous.

Fall is crisp. Some days are clear others cloudy. Even the cloudy days of fall are not gloomy when I'm in nature and fall is the time I spend mostly where people don't go. I'm grateful for the fall. This is one I almost missed.