The Perseids

I was reading some blog, then followed a link to Bad Astronomy. He reminded me that the Perseid Meteor Shower was upon us.

Since the thunderstorms that were predicted for the area did not appear and we had nice clear skies, I got my sleeping bag (and a big maglite in case any wild animals showed up) and lay down up the hill with all the lights out. It is just magnificent to see all these stars - we don't seem to have them in Berlin :)

It did take about 20 minutes for me to see my first shooting star - and of course, make a wish - and then I kind of dozed off. Waking up I was about to go back in, but just then another one streaked past. I amused myself with making up new names for the constellations - The Lawnmower for the Big Dipper, The Inline Skate for the Peliades , The Sofa for Cassiopeia.

One more streaked by, then the mosquitoes got to be too bad. The newspaper today says that there are 48 different species of mosquitoes, which seems to be the national bird of Sweden. I swear, I have bites in my ears and on the inside of my nose..... So I packed in - this is my kind of camping, I can go home real fast anytime to a real bed with a bathroom and a kitchen!