Star Light, Star Bright, Please Don't Let Me Get Eaten Tonight......

There have been meteor showers for the past 2 days. I love meteor showers!! I remember going out to our neighbors sidewalk and laying down for hours watching them with my brothers and sisters while I was growing up. Now I am attempting to do this with my kids, as sort of an "August" tradition. I forgot to do it last night, and ended up going outside myself about 2:30 a.m. to watch them. It was really dark, and we live in the boondocks, so I got scared. I only lasted about 3 minutes on our gravel driveway before I worried about being attacked by something. So, I came in the house and went to the safety of the back porch, but there wasn't much of a view. I propped myself up in a chair and attempted to get comfy. Didn't happen. I was having to twist myself into contortionist-like poses to get a good view of the sky, and I was still nervous being outside by myself. I know I am a grown woman, but animals can feast on my "grown woman" body after catching me by surprise with a sneak attack. I saw a few great meteors, and made it about 30 minutes this time, before packing it in and almost running into the house.

So tonight I thought I'd take the kids out there with me-safety in numbers, right? We got a sleeping bag, and walked out to the best spot of the driveway so we would have a huge, uninterrupted view of the sky. We got situated, laid down, and started to watch the stars. At least I did. Nathan was buried into my side, wanting to go inside because he was scared. Ben and Nick were trying to out do each other with the sheer number of random questions they were throwing at me. Here is a small example of actual quetions:

"Will the meteors crash into the stars?"

"How big are stars in real life?"

"What if a meteor the size of the planet Mars hit a star?"

"I saw a satellite, with mirrors all over it because it was so close to earth. Was that a satellite I saw?"

"Why can't I see any of them? Where'd they go?"

"If I wish on a shooting star, will it come true?"

"Hey! They are moving too fast! How do you wish on them?"

"Are we sleeping out here?"

"If you were taking a shower with meteors, would you really die?"

"Where is the Milky Way? All I see is fog." (He was seeing the Milky way and didn't know it.)  

I was trying to shush them, since we had neighbors and they were talking rather loudly. I should have let them talk because I soon started hearing animal movement to my left-about 15 feet from where we were laying. We have a fence that separates the highway from the property, and has a slope up. The landlord has built an irrigation thing into the side of the little hill to use it to water the plants here. Apparently, it's the place to give the nocturnal predators a drink too. I was getting nervous, because it was so close, and I was on the end....so I listened a bit more and decided it was on the other side of the fence, and we should be fine. We kept watching the stars, and I got feasted on by mosquitoes. A few minutes later we were visited by a bat that was swooping down and dive bombing us. I told the kids to lay still and it wouldn't get them. I was happy to have my little flying friend eat the stupid bloodsuckers that were making a meal of me, but a few times I did kind of have a second of panic when it came within a foot of my face. 

My furry little, bug eating friend.

We had laid out there about 30 more minutes when I started to hear the movement again....this time on my side of the fence, about 10 feet from us. I didn't want to scare the kids so I grabbed my tiny key chain flashlight and aimed it at the bushes and tall grass. I didn't see any glowing eyes peering at us, but now the kids were hearing it. I said not to worry, but I really wanted to leave everything out there and run for my life! I told them it was time to go inside, and quickly grabbed the sleeping bag and started walking away. Before retreating, I shined the light again to check for eyes, but thankfully saw none. It did sound like it was coming closer, so I turned and we did run. Done star watching for the night!

I certainly didn't want to be surprised  by this.....

or this.....

or this

definitely not this.......

All of which are native to this area. I didn't feel like having me and the boys be late night snacks for hungry night creatures, so I chickened out. Now I'm missing an awesome meteor shower, I'm sure. Tradition started-but I'll enjoy it more when we live closer to a city. What you lose in ability to see the stars as clearly, you gain in being able to live out your life uneaten. I know they say that all these animals are more scared of you, than you are of them & that they only eat small animals, not people. Well, the people who have been eaten aren't here to disagree, so does that automatically make it so? I'm inclined to think, NO. I will err on the side of caution, and stay safe inside. Plus, they obviously weren't too scared to try walking up to us!

It was fun while it lasted though.