Mountain Nightlife

The moon is full and a golden haze against the dark storm clouds rising over the neighbor's roof. The rain has come only in sporadic spurts but we did have bursts of roaring thunder that followed impressive bolts of lightening.

It's just one of those summer humidity storms that never really happen. The bats are flying, dark boomerang shapes against the night sky. I watch the moon appear and disappear behind the clouds, and an occasional star peak through.

The humidity lately has been a heavy weight, luckily the window fans help stir the air to tolerable. The valleys themselves are unbearable and I consider myself blessed to live up here in God's country. The sounds of crickets and full frogs echo up for the forest floor below as I relax on my upper deck.

The silhouette of the tree covered mountain is a backdrop to my hill which is highlighted by the light from my windows. As evening progresses I watch the moon drift in and out of the clouds and periodically hang, as if a golden ornament in the sky, before again peeking out.

The stars hang low as if they too are decorations. As the lights are exciting, wished at one at a time. In the surrounding house I alone, it seems, keep watch. With my cats and God for company, I enjoy the peace of the tranquil evening, the beauty of the star formations suspended in the heavens above.

As night progresses and deepens their numbers seem to increase as does their intensity. Some seem to flicker like fireflies while others are constant like beacons guiding a lost ship to shore. The freshness of the air is an exhilarant, filled with the scent of pine, oak, and all the elements a maintain haven can have.

The quiet cannot be expressed in words, but must be experienced. Each subtle sound registers on my consciousness. A movement through the carpeted forest across the road catches my attention. Is it a deer, a racoon, or perhaps just a rabbit?

Unless they break cover, it is up to my imagination to guess at what my eyes in the darkness cannot see. I experience each moment in the now. It is more than just existing. It is being one with all that is above, below, and beyond. It is a connection and an experience of the spirit of God.

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