Well we know winter’s here when the black-outs start. No power, means no hot showers, no internet and grumpy two-leggeds. I was just a whipper-snipper last winter but I seem to recall numerous black-outs and a lot of barbeques with the cooks wearing beanies… not attractive. The thing is, out here the service isn’t that good and black outs are frequent during cold winters and hot summers when usage increases.

So it was yesterday that when dusk fell the power went out. Now of course it doesn’t affect my life very much. I still get fed and watered, but when the house lights go out, the sky comes alive. Beautiful. It was one of those evenings when I could just lie on the lawn and gaze up at the constellations. Even the puppies were intrigued. They quietened down and joined me and Jill and we all looked skyward. I pointed out that years ago, both dogs and two-leggeds understood their natural environments a lot more. There was no bright light to deflect from the heavens and come to think of it no inside toilet for the humans.

I was watching Jill nosing one of the pups aside so they could ‘go potty’ and it got me to thinking of the long walk to the out-house, when parents would escort their children to the toilet after dark. I could imagine those youngins stopping and staring and pointing to the night sky, staring up into a moon that seemed to envelope the sky. Of course when you’re working in the bush everyone’s happy to get away from the scrub by the end of the day, but that doesn’t stop all of us, two-leggeds and dogs alike looking up at the sky one last time before lights out… and although the two-leggeds complain of the cold and no hot water and cooking outside I know the inconvenience is short-lived. They always go indoors with big smiles.

Me? Well if it’s a clear, crisp night I fall asleep beneath the stars.