Month: December 2019

Faithful

It is Christmas Eve. As I do on all Christmas Eves I am spending time outside, looking up at the stars and recounting them in my life.

There was a star that is no longer visible to our eyes, but I look for it just the same.

When I went out tonight, I saw that the Hunter, Orion, had risen. He is followed by his two companions, his dogs, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major. Through each cycle of night in the cooler months they can be seen making their trek across the heavens. I prefer to think of them as returning home after a hunt. The Hunter is tired, and his dogs are exhausted. They follow behind the Hunter. Procyon the smaller of the two stars – and smaller of the dogs – trails at the rear. Sirius, the larger star – and the brightest star tin the night sky – holds his rank as companion to the Hunter just below the Hunter’s right side (our left as we look up).

Perhaps the Hunter had been walking slowly home after a failed hunt. He is tired, his head hangs, his club rests on his shoulder or hangs in his hand like a weight upon his soul. Then suddenly, a loud snort, a blow of hot air, startles him into a defensive posture as the bull attacks. Doubtlessly the hunter is scared, but he stands his ground and prepares to defend himself. And his companions, the dog stars Procyon and Sirius, are now alert and snarling. They stand at his side to face the charge of the enraged bull.

The stars of these several constellations are immobile in their ballet. They stand frozen for all of us to see and consider how we will react on a sudden charge. Will we stand like the Hunter and defend ourselves? Will our companions stand by our side?

Each of us is both a follower and a leader. Each of us faces fear and must be prepared to respond.

If we chose our companions well, they will stand with us. If we chose our stance well, we will be able to protect ourselves and our companions. And if we choose well who we will follow, we will overcome.

If you walk a forest path you may come upon a bear. If you walk in the fields and meadows of the mountains you may come upon a bull elk or a bison.

In each instance, we and our companions are called upon the face the danger and follow the guidance of the One we have chosen to follow.

And will we overcome.

And in all of this, Merry Christmas to all.

The picture above is borrowed from NASA.

(*Just_A_Note) – Cold Moon / True Moon

It was the last full moon of the year – and the decade.

Our calendars and our clocks do not make any variance in the movement of the stars, or the planets, or their moons. Our clocks and calendars allow us to track the procession of the heavenly bodies, but they do not guide them. Never the less, when a celestial event happens on a meaning-filled date it is remarkable; that is in the sense that the juxtaposition may be remarked upon.

For me the 12th day of December is a meaning-filled date. When an event is forecast for that date for me it is remarkable.

So it was with the Full Cold Moon on an early morning of mid-December. I went outside and took my picture in the light of the last full moon of the decade just at the peak of its brightness.

Or so I thought.

Having herein proclaimed that the celestial bodies do not care about our watches or calendars, I must say I was 24 hours off.

I stood outside, bundled against the cold, watching the moon creep towards its zenith, and I thought its brightest. My watch told me that the time was approaching 12:15 AM on December 13th. At that moment, I turned so that I was not in the Moon’s shadow and took my picture, with the full moon in the background masked by light clouds.

The peak of the full moon, I later discovered, had been a full day before on 12 December. I was standing outside on the morning of 13 December.

But this was not like the transit of Mercury which happens and then is over. If I missed the fullness of the moon on the 12th of December, I could still take my picture of me and the moon 24 hours later. And I could still declare that the event and the picture were meaningful to me.

A picture of me with the moon at the actual time of the event would be more preferable, but I was ok. It was a grand night. It was cold and partly clear. I could see the moon and a star or two shining through the thin clouds. I could hear the dogs in the neighborhood barking, perhaps at a fox, or a stray cat, or maybe at the moon.

And I was outside enjoying it all.

Fall Burning

It was a nice week-day in the late Fall, a perfect day for a hike at one of my favorite spots. The fields beyond the Brawner Farm at the Manassas National Battlefield Park (NBP) were calling to me.

I wanted to get out and hike around. I also wanted to see how the Prescribed Fire that the Park had set in the previous week had done its job. Prescribed Fire is a technique used by the National Park Service (NPS) and other federal, state, and private land managers to aid in managing the types of plants on the land.

A Prescribed Fire is used to burn off invasive plants that have choked out native plants. This aids in the recovery of native plants once the invasive species have been burned off. Burning the landscape in a Prescribed Fire can also be used to enhance the visual aspects of a site. This is often called a “viewshed” as it improved the view of the historic site for visitors. It will enable the visitors to have a better sense of how the land looked at the time of a historical event. In the case of this area, the burn can restore the lay of the battlefield as it was at the time of the Second Battle of Manassas fought August 28-30, 1862. At that time the area was pastoral. It was a series of connecting farm lands. The portion being restored by Prescribed Fire is known as the Brawner Farm. The Brawner family owned and farmed the land before and after the battle. The battle began from the front yard of the Brawner’s house and raged around the house and across their farm for three days.

The National Park Service (NPS) uses Prescribed Fires to satisfy both natural and cultural goals for the Parks of the United States. However, as stated by the management of the Manassas NBP, “safety is the main concern”. According the NPS web-page on Prescribed Fire the Park must develop its strategic management plan which provides the background and need for Prescribed Fires. In addition, each burn must have a specific “burn plan” which establishes the conditions that must be met before a burn is executed. For example, a burn would not be started on a windy day that might cause the fire to spread to other areas not intended to be burned. During the burn the fire is monitored by on -site staff who are trained in managing and suppressing fires in grass lands.

The burn has been completed, and I can walk the trails again. I and other visitors to the battlefield can now see in the distance the railroad cut along which the battle on the second day was fought. We can gain a sense of the openness of the fields across which that the Union troops charged while exposed to Confederate rifle and cannon fire.

The native grasses will return along with other native plants including blackberry vines and ground roses. These roses are sometimes called a rose for Wisconsin, in honor of the stand made by the Iron Brigade in the twilight on Brawner’s Farm. These wild roses (Rosa virginiana) grow close to the ground in fields where hay is cut. They may be found across Brawner Farm, growing beneath the scythe.

As the native grasses return, it is hoped that the population of Bob White quail (Colinus virginianus) will increase. The call of the coveys can sometimes be heard across the battlefield in the early mornings.

During the three-day battle 2,800 men were killed and over 14,00 were wounded. Today the land is peaceful again. But a walker who pauses to read the NPS signs can be aware of the pace and horror of the battle.

Information on the Park and on the Prescribed Burns may be found at:  http://www.wildlandfirefighter.com/2019/11/21/park-service-starts-prescribed-burns-at-manassas-battlefield/ ; https://www.nps.gov/mana/learn/news/prescribed-fire-april-2019.htm ; https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1965/wildfires-prescribed-fires-fuels.htm ; https://www.nps.gov/articles/600182.htm#4/35.46/-98.57