the Way of the Turtle

2.4 Mile Walk on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Monday, February 20, 2012

I wasn't quite ready to head back indoors yet, so I headed over to the bike path in Niskayuna and walked down to a little ways beyond the Niska Isle bridge and back. Couldn't see much - it was getting dark when I arrived and was fully dark by the time I left - but I heard geese calling out on the river, and a heron squawked a couple of times down near the bridge. I also heard a number of splashes that I suspect were muskrats heading for safety underwater when they realized I was there.

What really stood out was the night sky... Venus and Jupiter leaped out in the southwest, and as it got darker more and more stars became visible. Despite having multiple degrees in astronomy, I'm only familiar with a few constellations (astrophysics was more my thing, what can I say?) but I definitely saw Orion and Ursa Major. Once the sun went down the air temperature dropped pretty rapidly, so it was a cold night - but definitely a gorgeous one.

JMH