Les UDs are headed downtown, to the national mall, to see the supermoon. If it actually shows up clearly, it should look quite the thing behind the Washington Monument.
I will blog this experience, or non-experience, or whatever.
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6:20 PM: Excitement building. An hour ago, I listened to an NPR piece about the supermoon in which it is made abundantly clear that the whole thing is hype. I went out to the deck, where Mr UD was writing.
“Let’s not go to the city. I don’t think it’ll be worth it.”
“I tried to tell you the supermoon wasn’t that big a deal but you didn’t listen. I also tried to tell you that there’ll be another supermoon while we’re at the beach, and we can watch the moonrise from our balcony, but you didn’t listen.”
“Yeah yeah yeah. Let’s walk down to the post office at 7:42 and see what we can see.”
“Okay.”
“Meanwhile, how about going to Whole Foods and getting me an asparagus and chicken salad?”
“Okay.”
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6:29: It’s a strangely cool evening, with massive birdsong coming off of the high trees. As always, I’m transfixed by the self-harmonizing thrush. I try to distinguish its eeohlay from routine squawks and pips, from the mourning dove’s drone. The fearless gray and black catbird with the big black eyes – it follows me around while I mow the lawn – lands two feet away from me and drinks from the stone bath. It has a sharp, harsh cry.
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8:59 PM: After dinner — chicken and asparagus salad; Mexican cole slaw; iced tea poured from a cocktail shaker La Kid got as a gift from one of her friends
— Les UDs headed over to the post office, one of the few places in the overgrown arboretum which is Garrett Park in which you can actually see more than a little of the sky. But the sky was cloudy and still quite light, and though, sitting on a bench by the CSX tracks adjacent to the P.O., UD was able to make out one distant star, that was all she could see. The supermoon was supermooning elsewhere.
Still, it’s a beautiful night out there, with a cool breeze; and it’s always good to see the town’s roses blooming, and to smell the honeysuckles and viburnums.
May 6th, 2012 at 12:24AM
I didn’t see it rise last night (our Saturday) but the night was brilliant – such a brightness all night long. It should be coming up shortly tonight (Sunday) and I’ll be more alert!
May 6th, 2012 at 6:59AM
In central NYS about 10pm it was visible despite the overcast sky: not especially big, I thought, but far more brilliant than normal.