Perseids

Tonight is the peak of the Perseids meteor shower.

The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for about 2000 years. The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak in activity being between August 9 and 14, depending on the particular location of the stream. During the peak, the rate of meteors can reach 60 or more per hour! They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere. As with all meteor showers, the rate is greatest in the pre-dawn hours, since the side of the Earth nearest to turning into the sun scoops up more meteors as the Earth moves through space.

(images and meteor shower details via Wikipedia)

Meteor shows are magical. I remember lying on the docks at the campground in Maine where we used to stay every August for a week in my childhood watching the falling stars sweep the sky and just being so in it. Being totally swept away with all that sparkle and magic myself, like I was up in the sky.

I don't know if we'll have a clear sky tonight to watch the "show" here in Chicago, but if we can, I just want to lie out on our beach in the darkness and get all swept up again.

Makes me wish, again, that I was back on Cape Cod, lying on the sand, with the dunes as my pillow, my family all around me...