Natural Marvels

We've seen some gorgeous sights up here during our first two months in New Paltz.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd seen a crane coasting across our local lake. It turns out that this majestic soarer was a blue-crested heron. We've also seen a woodchuck watching for predators while standing outside a store, beavers busying themselves as they ran along the road, frogs frolicking across puddles in our playground, and spiders the size of broaches in our basement. And that's just the animals! We've also seen our own trees submit to the shorter (and colder) days, dropping their red and golden coats on our still-green hills...and then there's the moon.

When I was 13 and a half, I bought myself a telescope with a large fraction of my Bar Mitzvah gelt. I stared at the Moon through those powerful lenses and marveled at the craters. What I didn't see is that if you look closely, you can actually see it rotate.

Shirra's folks gave Emmett a telescope for his sixth birthday, and we promptly put it to use in Martha's Vineyard, where we were during this celebration. But when we returned to Brooklyn, we packed it up right away, even before we knew we were moving, because there is too much light pollution in The City, even in our quiet old nabe. New Paltz is different. If we turn out the houselights, the night sky can be almost pitch, and the sky becomes alive with stars.

On a crisp night in mid-September, the moon was low and full, so I decided to take a closer look. To my astonishment, after my eyes adjusted to the intense light of the Moon, I was able to see it rotating slowly. I stared at it for a long time, and when I came in, my eyes needed some 20-30 minutes just to return to mornal. But it was certainly worth it for me to see that slow rotation a bit closer .