2003-10-31 - 7:54 a.m.
The sun is out, the air is warm, and it's just a beautiful start to the day...
Last night we were at my parents', finishing supper, when the 'phone rang. When my brother got off, he told me it was Jim calling to tell us the northern lights were putting on a show. We went outside, but couldn't see much from the side of the house, so Paul suggested we head up to Snyder Hill for a look.
As we pulled up, there were already people gathered in small groups, some wrapped in blankets, which in the darkness reminded me of trick-or-treaters along the side of the road. We got out, let Teddy out, and crossed the road, climbing the last bit of hill to the top. From here, with a valley on each side, we had an unobstructed view and could see long streaks of pale white light rising up into a whorl in the middle of the sky. As we watched, the lights on the northern horizon began to change. A mass of orange formed on the right like the reflection of a large fire, while to the left a pale-green glow luminesced coolly. As the colors intensified, Teddy paused in his wanderings and sat looking before us as if he, too, were transfixed by the display. But within minutes, the whole thing had dwindled again to a faint pale glow.
I came back home and let Beau off the chain underneath the apple tree. Sirius came up and together we went to get Chance, waiting at the barn. As the dogs wrestled together in the yard, I looked back where the remnants of the aurora still faintly glowed. And then we all headed in.
