Aligned

I couldn't sleep at all last night so by 4:00 a.m when the dog barked I'd been awake for an hour.

We don't know why he gets up so early here, but it's like having a toddler again.

I took him out to the living room with me to see if I could sleep better on the couch

and just as I was closing my eyes, a bright star was perfectly aligned in the window.

Too bright.

Because it wasn't a star, but a planet. One of the five you could see lined up just before dawn this week.

I dismissed it for exactly 2.5 seconds then hopped up and ran outside.

Even without glasses or contacts I could see them.

I dashed to my bedroom for my glasses, then hauled the telescope outside. 

Can you see them? Venus on the horizon, then the moon.

Mars is next, then Jupiter. Saturn was farther outside of the picture and not quite as bright,

but in the same row. 

I couldn't get the telescope focused on the moon, but soon Dan was outside too.

I ran inside to put in my contacts and heard him yell he'd gotten it.

We could see the craters and everything!

We couldn't see anything at Venus, but then focused on Jupiter and 

I'm not even kidding, I could see stripes and was pretty sure it was Jupiter.

AND several of its moons!

The telescope is probably my favorite present ever

(maybe second to the Redline Proline bike in 8th grade)

and seeing the craters and Jupiter's stripes and moons 

made all my summer dreams come true.

I'm just sorry I never took my kids to the observatory at the U on Wednesdays in the summer like I had planned on doing for so many summers. 

(To my credit, several times it was cloudy when we'd intended to go.)

I'm really more science-y than my love of reading suggests.

After, we went back to bed for a couple of hours with Kershaw, the toddler.

As we were falling back to sleep Dan asked if Mars was the biggest planet

and I suddenly understood why Marty laughed so hard when I asked if 

now that Pluto wasn't a planet, was it a star?

Hike to the bridge in the Box. 

It's hard to see, but the Williams Creek was clear and flowed into the muddy Piedra with a distinct line where they met.  

Trip to town to take the ATV to get fixed and buy some supplies at ACE to hang our porch swing.

Plus a stop at an Art Gallery in town and a little furniture store.

Bought an entry table that's too small for the entry but looks pretty good as a game table.

We've got our own outdoor art gallery just walking around the property.

Leaving early tomorrow. But coming back in a week for the 4th!