Trina Machecek: Oh my stars!

The stars at night shine big and — beautifully. You thought I was going to say “bright” didn’t you? Well good luck getting that song out of your head today. At least that one isn’t as bad as “It’s a small, small world.”

The real truth is that yes, in rural Nevada and rural everywhere you haven’t seen the stars of a summer sky until you see that sky without any other light. The light muffles the starlight. But. Yes a starry, starry night “but.” If you can find someplace to go where the light is low the night time sky will take your breath away. If you are like me the bazillion stars in the summer night sky literally does take my breath away.

Say for some strange reason I left my gate open and the cows are out on the range to the north of my little piece of heaven in Diamond Valley. That would mean if I don’t close the gate there is a more than 90% chance I will be awakened sometime in the night hearing cows. Really close to my bedroom window cows. Knowing that chasing cows in the middle of the dark night, in my jammies, hollering and wagging a flashlight is not something I care to do. AGAIN! So, I make the decision to walk down and close the gate. In the dark. In my jammies.

It’s probably about 400- to 600-feet down to the gate from my house with a big ole tree, some weirdly produced shadows and usually an owl screeching from the tree as I walk to get this gate chore done. At night. Yes, you would think I would learn after blabbity-blabbity years.

I do have a yard light that lights up some of the yard. Truthfully it only makes enough light to bring in bats. Lots of bats that I hope are only there to dive after the big bugs that are flittering around in the light of my yellow yard light. So, thinking that I have light to light my way down to the gate is a misnomer. OK, that brings me to the star speckled summer night above me as I step lively to go down and close the cow opening.

On this particular night the moon is on vacation. Not a spec of sunlight is hanging around like you know there is on those long summer evenings. All there is, is a bit of a breeze, a small very tall yard light being pelted by big flying bugs that are on the menu of what seems to be hundreds of diving and circling bats. That huge elm tree with branches heavy with summer foliage. Limbs wagging just enough to wake up and poke at the owl who hoots as I come close to his perch. Below all this activity is me, in my jammies. Above all that earthly activity is the summer sky.

Now this is where my breath is sucked out of my lungs. I am a grown-up. I have lived here more years that I probably will live from here on out. So, I have seen a lot of coolness along the way. But that nighttime sky. The black as ink background with the speckled points of light. The smattering of the Milky Way streaming all the way from north to south further than I can see. As I walk across the yard I look up and see it all. Big. Bigger than all I can see. At one point it seems the stars are close enough to reach up and grab a handful. Then again sometimes it seems as I walk looking up at the summer sky, the stars seem to be drifting down and getting closer to me with each step I take. Then I notice my heart is stepping up its speed as are my feet. My lungs are filling to capacity and they don’t seem to be emptying before I take another breath. That is a walk under a summer sky for me.

The sky is so big. I have seen and I bet you have too along your life path, that picture of the universe and the heavens and then maybe the Milky Way. Coming in closer is our solar system. The huge sun, the planets from largest down to our mother earth. Then down some more to North America, us born in the USA, just one state, just one look at just one town – then just one you! I have to remind myself that when things get icky in life, and yes when things get amazing too, that we are just a moment in time.

Enjoy sitting on the dock of the bay looking at the stars. Now go back. How many song lines can you find in this story?

Trina Machacek lives in Diamond Valley north of Eureka. Her books can be purchased at www.theeurekacountystar.com or signed from her at itybytrina@yahoo.com.