Have a Hammock Handy for a Heavenly Happening
Aug 11th, 2010 by Kathy
A few days ago, I attended one of my favorite annual events, which is my family reunion. Every year, on the first weekend in August, for as far back as I can remember, we have assembled at Fort Niagara, in Youngstown, NY, just north of Niagara Falls. We always meet at the same pavilion, and eat at the same picnic tables. Cousin Jim always cooks on the charcoal grill, and the aunts always bring plenty of outdoor chairs and lounge chairs.
Indeed, no matter how much is changing around us, or in our lives, we know that we have that old, familiar picnic shelter waiting for us every year. It’s among the few things in life that we can count on; a comforting constant. It’s that one same that helps to keep us sane.
As it gets on toward dusk, the long (and I do mean long!) good-byes begin, before most of the relatives fade away with the sun. Naturally, there’s always a group of us, the resistant stragglers, who remain, dodging the park patrol cars until the last possible minute. Then, another of my favorite annual events is about to begin.
We drive a couple of miles to my cousin’s house, on the shores of Lake Ontario. After hanging out around the outdoor dining table on the patio for awhile, we head down to the beach. There, we look out, across the lake, at the passing ships; and, on clear nights, we can see Toronto.
Then, moving on to more important sights, we position ourselves in chaise lounges, steamer chairs, Adirondack chairs, and on blankets, and focus our gazes skyward. It’s time to watch the Perseids! Although it’s a few days before they peak (they begin in late July), we always see many spectacular meteors.
The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for centuries; but it wasn’t until 1867 that it was discovered that the “shooting stars” are actually fragments from the Swift-Tuttle comet. As the Earth passes through the trail of space grit that it left behind, the particles enter our atmosphere, heat up, and create bright streaks, which appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus.
If you’ve never seen this breath-taking display (or even if you have), you really shouldn’t miss it this year, as it promises to be particularly brilliant. That’s because, when it peaks, around August 12-13, the sky conditions will be nearly ideal, as the faint, crescent moon will be far below the horizon by midnight, causing no interfering glare.
Of course, artificial lights can spoil the show as well; so find a dark spot, with a wide view of the sky, and settle into a lounge chair, hammock, outdoor reclining chair, or a swingbed, with some comfortable outdoor furniture cushions and outdoor throw pillows. Prime time for viewing is between 3:30-5:30 a.m., when you may be able to see at least one meteor every minute.
Now, if you’re not a nocturnal creature, that’s okay. You can still see some magnificent meteors earlier in the evening, when, though fewer, they streak across the sky at a narrow angle, and often produce longer trails.
There are many people who have made it a yearly tradition to watch this magnificent meteor shower with their families. Like our reunions, it’s a comforting constant that we can count on; a same that helps to keep us sane.
On the other hand, there’s no denying that our families can sometimes drive us crazy! Oh, well, I guess we just can’t have it all.
Yours Outdoors,
Kathy
