0302 2026.07 In the night sky

Near where we lived was a hill. On the side of the hill facing the sun was a large exposed boulder, big enough in every direction to be a feature. Big enough and flat enough to lie down on when the mood takes, since lying down on the scrubby dirt and vegetation just invited a visit from unwanted insects in unwanted places.

Lying down on a rock was not something one did for long, but there are times when it was good to flatten one’s back against it, feel the immensity off the rock, of the planet, and be close to nature.

With summer fading, the air was cooling rapidly in the clear evenings. The thermometer says it’s still warm, but the black sky of night is sucking up the radiant heat and you can feel the top of your head returning heat to the universe.

The evenings are also windless, so you know that the stars will twinkle brightly, not that subdued look they have when there is high altitude wind bringing a change in the weather, or in summer when leftover heat or a dust haze blurs the view ever so slightly.

In such conditions it is nice to sit on the boulder, sometimes with a dog for company, taking in the sounds of birds going to bed and the nocturnal insects scratching themselves awake.

Then, tired of eyeing the distance as the twilight fades the horizon, to gently lie back, feel the solidity, feel the warmth as the rock too gives up its stored heat. The dog settles too, for the same reason.

Head on the ground, directly above the cold black sky, the emerging stars, the infinite distance, looking back in time, wondering if anyone is there. Looking for colour, the red of giants, the yellow of main sequence, the blue-white of the very bright. Trying to match the patterns seen by the ancients, one or two constellations making sense, but the rest needing a vivid imagination.

Wondering if anyone is out there.

Wondering why, for the first time ever, there are stripes across the sky.

Posted on #Medium July 2026