1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies. (Ps. 148)
I went out tonight to take out the garbage. It was 11:30, dark and cold. Darker than I expected, in fact.
When I got out on the back steps I realized the neighbors’ security light wasn’t on.
I frowned, thinking about the very uneven ground between the steps and the garbage cans.
I fumbled my way down the steps and then looked up.
Lord have mercy!
I stopped, garbage bag in hand, gaping at the piercing light of a thousand, thousand stars. Orion was as bright as I’d ever seen it. I paused. I was looking at the Orion nebula without binoculars.
I don’t know how long I stood there before I realized I was still holding the garbage. I put it in the can and looked up again. I was almost in tears. The sheer infinity visible…
Going back inside for a hat, gloves and binoculars, I told Father how incredible it was.
I spent another fifteen minutes leaning back on the hood of the car, staring up into the heavens. I saw three meteors. One was seen through the binoculars which has never happened before. I checked and realized I was seeing a sneak preview of the Geminid meteor shower which won’t peak until December 13th.
I got Father outside and showed him how to adjust the focus on the binoculars.
He got to see the Orion nebula and Pleiades before we got too cold.
All thanks to a darkened security light.
God is good.
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| Pleiades: approximately what we saw (not my picture – link) |
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| The Orion nebula: approximately what we saw (again, not my picture – link) |
Praying With My Feet 
Oh, what a special treat that must have been!
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This is why I love the early morning walks Papa and I take! Glorious skies and Psalm 148 always comes to mind–how glorious thou art Oh Lord.
So happy that you had such a treat!
Mom
loving my ornaments!
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Hi Matushka Anna,
How wonderful! Orion and the Pleiades are my favorite constellations ever since my father showed me how to identify Orion when I was a little girl and then I found the Pleiades on my own. Good memories!
By the way, do you know that Orion is also known as the “Irish Constellation?” 🙂
I've just recently found your blog, Matushka and I really enjoy it.
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Welcome Carlyn! I'm glad you're enjoying it here. I loved your post on rejeuvinating old cast iron! I'll have to check my local thrift stores.
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That must have been incredible! We, unfortunately, are too close to the city to see stars like that.
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wow. how special!! sadly i am way too much in a city too… but wow, I am so glad you got to see this!!
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