Writing for Beans

I mean that title literally.  Sometimes when I'm outside at night, alone or perhaps walking the dog, I'll look up into the sky and speak out to the stars.   Mostly to Orion.  On a clear winter night I'll greet him, ask him how goes his hunt.  I don't expect him to answer.  He's a bunch of stars after all, and just an imaginary figment of connect the dots in my head.  But I cannot see that pattern and not think of Orion.  At this point, it's the single constellation I can always pick out in the sky.  I used to be able to pick out a bunch, and maybe if I concentrate, I can divine in the sky the big and little dippers.   But mostly, just Orion.  So we chat, he and I.  Well, mostly I.  Orion's  a good listener.  And yes, it's an odd behavior, and I know it, but on a cool crisp clear night, I don't care.  I'm enjoying myself, staring up in marvel at the stars in the heavens, and taking in that beauty.

I think it's a sign I don't spend nearly enough time outside in nature anymore, and so I'll take it even in tiny doses walking up from the street to my front porch.

Past few nights we've been out with the boys past sundown.  Easy to do in the winter I guess, what with the short days and all.  But as I carried my son in from the car I caught him staring up at the sky.   So I stopped.  Held him up close to my head, and pointed out Orion to him.  I told him about the great hunter in the sky, and pointed out the three stars that to me are easiest to pick out in the sky.  I tried to draw the outline of the rest of the constellation, but that's kind of hard to do for a four year old while holding him up to your shoulder and hoping he can sight properly down your arm.

The next night, due to circumstances, we were once again out later than usual for us, and as I was bringing the Little Man in from the car, he looked up and said: "Look at the belt."  I looked at where he was pointing, and sure enough he'd found Orion's belt.  It made me quite happy.  Then he said: "Can we stay outside and count the stars."  Which made me laugh, because it was so innocent and fun, and I let him look for a while longer before dragging him inside to get going on the bedtime routine.  I can't wait for the first time we can get somewhere far away from the light pollution in our area and really show him what the night sky looks like.  Though it's not so bad as a city where we live that you would be hard pressed to be able to count all the stars in the sky, I know from my summers out at my uncle's farm that there is so much more to see in the sky than we suburbanites get to experience.

There's nothing quite like watching someone experience something to remind you how simple the joys in life can be. 

So what about you, what constellations do you know?