MOON RIVER

Serendipitous is a lovely word for this evening.

I must explain that when I plan things for a particular, set time, it is simply doomed to fail. If I absolutely must be at certain location at a set time, I am will be either be a half-hour early or four minutes late. But never at the exact time that I plan on being there.

So if I google in advance something, like the precise moment tonight that the moon will appear at the horizon, forget it. I stumble out in utter darkness hours before it happens, or notice through my window that, wow, the moon is in mid-sky right now.

And I miss eclipses - major meteor showers - Venus passing Mars - Jupiter getting a speeding ticket from Saturn - all those cool celestial events that get lotsa press and are partiuclary impressive out here at 5,000 feet, clear skies and almost no light pollution.

But tonight, when I wandered out to give my horses their normal late-night snack (carrots) and allow my dog to take his last tour of the yucca, mesquites and odd spots where the greyhound has earlier staked/marked out, I noticed something unusual.

Right on the horizon was either a huge brush fire just cresting the Mule Mountains or the biggest, most orange, spectacular lunar appearance I have seen in years.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky instead of good.