Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening!

Today is the last morning of February, 2010.

At 6:00 AM. I glanced out my window and saw a big golden full moon not to high in the western sky. The sun wouldn't be seen for at least a half hour. I thought I might be lucky enough to see my second moonset. I put on my woollies, filled an insulated cup with hot coffee and headed out to the beach.

I walked north while the moon slowly dropped toward the Gulf. The eastern sky had ever so slight a hint that the sun was working its way up. As I walked I sensed a race between the two. Would the sun come up before the moon reached the horizon and cast enough light to obscure the setting moon from my view? I got a feeling that time was irrelevant for a while. It was both day and night all rolled into one. It was beautiful. The moon was a bright ball in the west above the Gulf, just like the sun gets when it sets in the evening.

It looked like the moon would get to melt into the water before the sun was high enough. I felt so lucky. Then, Oh No! Unexpectedly, the moon only fifteen feet above the water (or so it seemed), suddenly got flat on the bottom. Oh No! It was slipping into a slice in the sky and disappearing. I couldn't see any clouds, but the moon was now only half a moon, then only the top quarter of it could be seen and I was so disappointed. And just when it was about to disappear all together, the bottom of it slipped out from another slice and it caught my breath. There was still enough sky at the horizon for whole moon to sit. Maybe! It was still dark enough, although barely. The eastern sky was beginning to get pink. I held my breath. There it was...the bottom half of the moon! Moving toward the water. Then... another shadow, another cloud, the moon once again getting flat on the bottom but not yet at the water line. At one point the moon was a rectangle in the sky before it disappeared completely no more than a foot above the horizon. Drat! I didn't get to see it set into the Gulf. Double drat!

As I walked home a very bright yellow sun popped up. Another day had begun. It was 6:40AM.

Although living alone has it definite advantages, one of the disadvantages is that when something interesting happens, like almost experiencing my second moonset, there is no one to tell. By the time I got this computer up and running, the awesome feeling I had of being out on the dark beach watching the sun and moon vie for the sky was waining a little. I thought I'd gotten lucky and then it was over. But all in all, it was a great way to start the day. It's seven:19 on a lovely morning. 50 degrees. Light blue sky. I hope your day will be, is, or has been fantastic. Mine is looking good.