“The moving moon went up the sky
And nowhere did abide.
Softly she was going up
And a star or two beside.”
For the past week the Ancient Mariner has been on repeat in my head. as night after night in the mild weather of early October the full moon has lighted our bedroom into the early hours. Our French windows face due south. I don’t understand her itinerary, but for several nights she did indeed abide straight ahead, nudging the second brightest heavenly body, Jupiter (or so I believe).
The sun, meanwhile, has become positively aggressive. Driving west in the afternoon is uncomfortable; driving east can be worse; the sun catches your driving mirror and blinds you. Shadows are impenetrably black. Photography is almost impossible. It is the one time of year when I long for cloud cover, at least in the afternoon.
