Last Night I Couldn't Sleep

..so finally, around 2am, I got out of bed and tiptoed along the corridor, trying not to stand on the squeaky floorboard or rattle the door latches.

I drew back one of the kitchen curtains and could see a sky full of stars.   Perfect!  Time to watch for the Perseid meteor shower.

Parsonage Cottage has the advantage of being out in the countryside, no near light polution, no near neighbours.    I hauled on my wellington boots, didn't want any pesky rodents nibbling my toes while I was gazing heavenwards.

Dobson didn't even lift his head, he continued to snore - definitely not much of a guard dog.  Miss Pinkerton thought about coming out with me but snuggled back down into her bed instead.  Coco was out hunting, somewhere.

It was cool but not chilly, the air was still, and the sky was filled with countless stars.   I found myself a perch and prepared to wait, trying to view as much sky as was possible.   Nothing happened skyward, although I could hear definite rustlings nearby on the ground.  Mice, hedgehogs, rats?

Several minutes passed then whizz!  The biggest, brightest shooting star, with a bright red tail.   It was thrilling.   Each year I watch the Perseid Shower, but this is the first time I have seen one as special as that meteor.

I decided that I should quit while I was ahead.   Besides, such was the brightness of the first one that I could totally see where John Wyndham probably got the idea of blindness after watching a meteor shower, in The Day of the Triffids!

Needless to say, I'll be out there again tonight.

Oh, and I slept like a log afterwards.