Stella and Lucy

"You've got to be kidding.  You want to go out now?  Really?"  I'd finally gotten the wood stove fired up, traded my bibbies for sweat pants, and had settled in for the evening.  Bessie Anne looked me straight in the eye and assured me this was not a false alarm.  A couple of nights previously she'd said she had the call, but when we got out the door she put her nose to the ground and went in search of a bone she'd worried about and needed to bring back up to the porch.  Our priorities differ, and I would have preferred to let that little chore wait until morning when she could hunt on her own.  A potty request cannot be ignored, however, so I put on a heavy jacket and my lighted hat, opting for the hard hat with bigger lights because there was only a thumbnail moon, and out we went.  With the clearing of the cloud cover, the temperature had plummeted and the sky was crystal clear.  I might have been reluctant to leave the living room, but once outside I had to stand in awe.  The music in my head went from "Stella By Starlight" (1944) to "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" (1967).  With just that sliver of moon, every star in the firmament twinkled and shone.  No queen ever wore a more beautiful diadem.  Even the cats' breath was coming in puffs as we looked up in the chill air.  Then Bessie shook herself, took a quick tinkle, and we all went back to the warmth that awaited us.