starry starry night...

I went in to work early.

I was at my desk at 7:30, and so, adhering to my plan to work more reasonable hours, I left at a little after 4:00 and was home at a decent hour tonight. My intentions were good; I intended to get home, change into sweats, and immediately knock off my 2 mile walk around the neighborhood. I walked twice yesterday, trying to offset the stress of doing my taxes...and maybe because of that, or maybe for some other reason, I was tired tonight, so when I got home and changed out of my work clothes and into some sweats, I decided to curl up on my bed for a few minutes and read more of the book on John Wilkes Booth...but within a few minutes, I was sound asleep.

I slept for a couple of hours, then woke and talked on the phone with A, who's 69 today. Then I went into my kitchen, where I cut up a couple of red peppers, drizzled them with olive oil and tossed a few sprigs of fresh rosemary across them for good measure and put them into the oven to bake, and only then did I put on my running shoes and walk out into the darkness of the spring night.

It was an absolutely beautiful night. The crescent moon was low in the sky as I started my walk, and there was a balmy wind high in the trees, and although I'm in the city, some familiar constellations were immediately recognizable overhead: Orion's belt and the big dipper loomed large, among others, and I saw the red winglights blinking and heard the wonderful motor sounds of a small plane flying out of Addison airport. I have a 2 mile loop that I like to do that takes me down near the creek that runs through my neighborhood; if I walk at the right time, I get to see the sun setting through the trees that line the creek. Last night, I did the loop at dusk, and as I approached the creek, looking at the trees and the stars, I suddenly realized there was a large, frozen shape on the sidewalk before me. I stopped just in time; I'd almost stepped on a big, slow moving raccoon...well, slow moving is overstating it; in fact, seeing/hearing me coming along at my quick clip, the raccoon froze so that I really did almost step on him (her?), which wouldn't have been good. So tonight, when I got to that part of my walk, which is where I turn around for the trip home, I was cautious, but there was no raccoon in sight. I did hear the first tree frogs of the season, a good (and welcome) harbinger of spring.

When I got home, the house was fragrant with the scent of the peppers and rosemary, and the coals are almost ready for my bleu cheeseburger. I'm listening to Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid, in anticipation of hearing Billy the Kid at the DSO on Thursday...life is good.