Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Total Eclipse of the Heart

The lunar eclipse on the same day as the winter solstice.

Big doin's in the sky.



I woke at 2 a.m., on my own, and made a trip to the frosty outhouse. 
At that time, the moon was half eclipsed. 

I shrugged and stood outside for a few minutes in the nearly single digit cold,
wondering where the beautiful moonlight had gone. 

Quite frankly, I felt robbed. 

It was getting darker, and dreary. 

It was then I decided I wasn't a fan of the full moon eclipse. 
I love the full moon too much to give up any part...for any reason.
Wonderful things have happened in my life, during a full moon. 

I believe our 20+ sled dogs felt the same way.
As if on cue, they began a slow, mournful howl that carried into the night's sky. 
One I had never heard before and perhaps never will again. 
Sled dogs howl for many reasons. 
A "thank you howl" at the end of feeding. 
A "don't leave for work" howl. 
A "member of the pack died" howl. 
A "rainy day" howl. 
And last night, I heard a howl that mourned the loss of the full moon. 

The beautiful light, illuminating shimmering crystals of snow, was gone. 
In its place - darkness.




1 comment:

D.K. Wall said...

I love your descriptions of the various howls. While my pack is much, much smaller, i love listening to their songs and have learned to tell the difference between tunes.

P.S. - The Herd was curled up in the house at the time of the eclipse, so I don't have a song for that.