Early riser

Woke up at 2am when various family members came home, as they had forgotten their keys. So I was up and about in the garden under the magnificent sweep of  stars from the constellations of Taurus with Jupiter in its midst, across Orion and the Gemini twins and further on to Sirius. With no moon, it was a magnificent time for stargazing, but I had been woken up after only 3 hours of sleep and couldn't do more than put a few cars in the garage before stumbling back to bed. Where of course I lay wide awake, thinking of all the things I have to do this week and trying to quieten the mind, but having no success. Eventually at 4.30 it started to get light, so I gave up and got up.

Into the kitchen, kettle on, piece of toast. I did a little bit of writing - a list of emails I must do, the odd bit of grocery items that came to mind. Then out onto the balcony to enjoy the extremely chirpy dawn chorus coming from the old gum tree next door and enjoying the perfect solitude as the sky lightened in the east. When I went back inside, it was only 5am and for some strange reason, I found myself wanting to do some dusting and pack the dishwasher. That wouldn't have gone down well with the rest of the snoring household, but if I were alone, I would have got the vacuum cleaner out. I realised that this must be why I never feel like housework in the day - I'm an early-hours-of-the-morning person. I should be going to bed at 9 and getting up at 4! What a pity I have to fit in with the rest of the household.

I thought of defrosting the fridge - after all, how much noise can melting ice make? But that meant I would have had to go down to the garage again for the cooler boxes and that was too much trouble. So I went back to bed, but by 5.30 I was up again, in the shower and outside to water the garden.

I did defrost the fridge today, and spent 4 hours at my desk, despite it being one of the most magnificent days of the year here in Kommetjie. Such dedication. I'm sitting outside again as I write this. A flock of night herons have left their day time roost in the milkwood trees and passed by the lighthouse on their nocturnal business and a sliver of moon hangs in the dusky sky. The birds are twittering their last messages for the day and I smell crayfish cooking in a pot next door. The lights of the upper cableway station twinkle on top of Table Mountain - it must have been magic up there today.

I am reminded of a song from the 60s as I look up at the moon and I know many of you will hear it as if it were yesterday:

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the starsThis is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius...

The song was from the then scandalous musical Hair and sung by The Fifth Dimension.

Who would have thought that time would come? Here we are on the cusp of the Age of Aquarius - 21/12/12 - when human consciousness will have the opportunity to enter the Fifth Dimension.

Interesting times...