Night Light

When it is dark here, it is very, very dark.  Can't see your hand in front of your face dark.  When the moon is full, as it is now, it is a floodlight in the sky, so bright it washes out the stars and one can literally read newsprint outside.  Bessie Anne wanted to go walkies before the moon rose, so I put on the wonderful lighted hardhat that Craig made and recently updated to LEDs and out we went into the dark.  Night birds cry and little birds roosting in the oaks rustle uneasily in the leaves overhead as we pass by.  A pair of small eyes over by the chicken pen caught in the light from my hat stare; a cat? a fox?  The glow winks out as the little creature turns away.  Bessie's nose leads us around the drive and she marks her territory here and there before we head back to the house, mission accomplished.

Before one of our extended Christmases, Deb and Craig had given me a set of three night lights.  Not just any old night lights, these are LEDs with battery backup that will provide soft light during a power outage.  I've always put flashlights by the guest beds and have given warnings never to get up in the night without carrying one, but once there was a terrible accident here because my guest disregarded instructions and fell down the stairs in the dark.  That made me absolutely paranoid when anyone stayed over.  I put those first three lights in both bathrooms and the hall, and asked for more.  The Kids brought up three more last weekend and now there is one in the kitchen, the guest room, and downstairs.  In the dark of night, my house glows like the Starship Enterprise.  I feel much better.