Another unbearably hot day in Cape Town. Here in Kommetjie the sea air is cool and soothing tonight, but inside the house it is still 29 degrees, with no wind to slam doors and suck curtains through windows. It makes one want to take a sledgehammer and knock out a few walls. But soon enough it will be autumn.
A half moon lights the sky and dims the Milky Way. Orion is directly overhead and soon will make way for the more exciting constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius, with their multitude of star clusters, nebulae and fascinating asterisms. Cooler air will make for clearer skies and better views of what the universe has to offer our mortal eyes. Outside on the deck I am subjected to mosquito attacks (a by-product of storing water in tanks) and a cricket is making a deafening sound in the tree, no doubt hoping to attract a mate with his Valentine's song.
The sea is particularly noisy, with a shore break coming in on the high tide and a slight onshore drift as the land cools in the darkness.
A plane disturbs the pattern of the stars, its flashing lights mimicking theirs, and it disappears, Europe-bound, with diminishing decibels. In a few weeks I will be on that flight, and comparing the northern skies with those of home. I fear I will find them lacking, possibly because the bright lights of Western Europe obliterate what Eskom's loadshedding reveals. If only they could schedule it for after 10pm so that amateur astronomers could enjoy perfect dark skies, without intrusive security lights and unshielded street lights spoiling the view. At least it would then serve a purpose.
And so to bed, perchance to dream.
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