Once upon a time I was camping by one of the three wild rivers that flow west from The Olympic National Park. I had my pastel-blocked road map spread out on the picnic table with only one small lantern in the profound dark of the lush towering rainforest. The whole place became so theatrical with the effect of a sole footlight.
Then a large moth, 3” across and a velvety celadon/lichen green, lit on the map area it’s exact color and spread out. Magic camouflage.
I do not understand how the unnatural timing affected the moth, benignly or not. But it was certainly unforgettable. Digital evidence has disappeared, so I hope I can keep this scene in my mind forever. 🌌
Be careful with DS publicity, might get more than you bargained for
I love that you might become a Dark Sanctuary. That's something I've become more interested in during our travels. Alas, so far very little luck finding any.
As for red light and "Big Light" -- I had no idea about red light, but am I glad do now for when we stop traveling one day. As for "Big Light" -- blech, yech, hate it. Give me several smaller light sources scattered about.
We're deep in conversation about lighting for our house and one of our big questions is: do we even put in recessed or overhead lighting at all? Do we run the cabling "just in case"? Or do we commit to a total lack of anything overhead and roll the dice on the potential future remodeling headaches that could create?
If I was building right now, I think I would do recessed, but across several different light switches and all on dimmers so that you could light up certain areas softly if needed and of course you could turn all of them on max if you’re a crazy person, but that’s probably expensive? I have no idea.
My husband is a total data nerd/automation engineer/electrician, so I can guarantee that no matter what else we do with lighting, every fixture will be independently controlled. I'm actually planning a future post on all of his (open-source) data nerdery and how it's making our house so smart and functional without relying on all of the big data companies. :-)
But YES. I love this idea. Which is the important thing.
If those fixtures are so high up that it requires special equipment (and life threatening risk) to change a bulb, it may be worth asking an insurance agent if that would be a factor in rates charged? Not my field, but they probably find a way to charge for it. Just a thought…
If it’s a roof location, check out solatube for ideas.
Fortunately, our home is single-level and the highest areas would be safely reachable on a normal ladder—but I absolutely appreciate this idea Ali, because I never would have thought of it!
I'm not familiar with solatube and will check it out—thank you!
Wow, you just pulled up a childhood memory for me of walking in the dark at night. I knew how many steps to my bedroom door, then across my sisters' room, down the stairs, and to the bathroom - so I never turned on a light if I had to pee in the middle of the night. I'd even do it with my eyes closed to prove I could if I was blind. Funny to realize that we all have similar experiences all over the world without knowing it. :)
Our small community was the 3rd one in Colorado to get the Dark Sky Community designation. Sometimes it annoys me if I'm walking home at night after a drink at a friend's house because it's SO dark and the deer always startle me, but overall it's definitely pretty dang cool to see SO many stars thanks to our lack of light pollution. I hope you guys can get it done, too!
I remember the first time I really saw the Milky Way—in my 20s, on a work trip in British Columbia, and I thought I was dreaming. every time I’ve seen it since feels like that first time too; it never gets old. And as for red lights, I’ve already sold tanner on them—he just ordered more for the house and he’s only lived here like 3 weeks. He knows we don’t use the horrible lights (overhead or white LED) unless totally necessary, so it’s only a matter of time before I totally bring him over to the dark side (pun intended)
Ooo this was a fun read, friend. I hadn't heard of Dark Skies (slightly different from DarkSky) until moving to the UK. There are 17 "discovery sites" in my county! Some in parks, near reservoirs, etc. and some just on the side of the dark country roads. It's not quite the same designation as DarkSky (though we have 20+ of those in the UK too and a couple aren't too far) but I love the concept. No light pollution, go outside, soak up the view. Also, I grew up in a house where anything/everything was on all the time. The light and noise pollution was chaos inside me. Now, The Lighthouse is filled with small lamps, only turned on when you're in the room.
Interesting about the red light. My husband and daughter are both in the technical side of theatre, lighting and sound. The red light to me always reminds me of the rape scene in Man of La Mancha. 😬…Not sure I could do a red light...but maybe now knowing another side to a red light might be helpful. 🤔
We never, ever use the big light unless absolutely necessary. If nothing else, it makes it far too easy to see the dust 😂
Light of shame
Once upon a time I was camping by one of the three wild rivers that flow west from The Olympic National Park. I had my pastel-blocked road map spread out on the picnic table with only one small lantern in the profound dark of the lush towering rainforest. The whole place became so theatrical with the effect of a sole footlight.
Then a large moth, 3” across and a velvety celadon/lichen green, lit on the map area it’s exact color and spread out. Magic camouflage.
I do not understand how the unnatural timing affected the moth, benignly or not. But it was certainly unforgettable. Digital evidence has disappeared, so I hope I can keep this scene in my mind forever. 🌌
Be careful with DS publicity, might get more than you bargained for
You’ve described it beautifully!
Back atcha, Kelton! You feed my soul so many times, ya wee 🧚Aspen Sprite.
Happy YOU enjoyed it!
I’m trying to remember the fragrance, it’s been awhile. Definitely need to get back soon. Camping while school is still in session is key. 🏔🌲🐿
Very much on the never use the Big Light train!
Nice job with the audio! I listened while driving. I feel so lucky to see the Milky Way at night also.
Why thank you!
I love that you might become a Dark Sanctuary. That's something I've become more interested in during our travels. Alas, so far very little luck finding any.
As for red light and "Big Light" -- I had no idea about red light, but am I glad do now for when we stop traveling one day. As for "Big Light" -- blech, yech, hate it. Give me several smaller light sources scattered about.
Seeing the list of sanctuaries, I was tempted to just make it my future travel list
We're deep in conversation about lighting for our house and one of our big questions is: do we even put in recessed or overhead lighting at all? Do we run the cabling "just in case"? Or do we commit to a total lack of anything overhead and roll the dice on the potential future remodeling headaches that could create?
If I was building right now, I think I would do recessed, but across several different light switches and all on dimmers so that you could light up certain areas softly if needed and of course you could turn all of them on max if you’re a crazy person, but that’s probably expensive? I have no idea.
We did this exactly; no regrets. Our builder said he’s never seen so many dimmer switches!
My husband is a total data nerd/automation engineer/electrician, so I can guarantee that no matter what else we do with lighting, every fixture will be independently controlled. I'm actually planning a future post on all of his (open-source) data nerdery and how it's making our house so smart and functional without relying on all of the big data companies. :-)
But YES. I love this idea. Which is the important thing.
If those fixtures are so high up that it requires special equipment (and life threatening risk) to change a bulb, it may be worth asking an insurance agent if that would be a factor in rates charged? Not my field, but they probably find a way to charge for it. Just a thought…
If it’s a roof location, check out solatube for ideas.
Fortunately, our home is single-level and the highest areas would be safely reachable on a normal ladder—but I absolutely appreciate this idea Ali, because I never would have thought of it!
I'm not familiar with solatube and will check it out—thank you!
I practice walking around our condo all the time with my eyes closed, and in the dark, in the event I go blind. I don't feel so weird now.
Wow, you just pulled up a childhood memory for me of walking in the dark at night. I knew how many steps to my bedroom door, then across my sisters' room, down the stairs, and to the bathroom - so I never turned on a light if I had to pee in the middle of the night. I'd even do it with my eyes closed to prove I could if I was blind. Funny to realize that we all have similar experiences all over the world without knowing it. :)
Our small community was the 3rd one in Colorado to get the Dark Sky Community designation. Sometimes it annoys me if I'm walking home at night after a drink at a friend's house because it's SO dark and the deer always startle me, but overall it's definitely pretty dang cool to see SO many stars thanks to our lack of light pollution. I hope you guys can get it done, too!
I remember the first time I really saw the Milky Way—in my 20s, on a work trip in British Columbia, and I thought I was dreaming. every time I’ve seen it since feels like that first time too; it never gets old. And as for red lights, I’ve already sold tanner on them—he just ordered more for the house and he’s only lived here like 3 weeks. He knows we don’t use the horrible lights (overhead or white LED) unless totally necessary, so it’s only a matter of time before I totally bring him over to the dark side (pun intended)
Ooo this was a fun read, friend. I hadn't heard of Dark Skies (slightly different from DarkSky) until moving to the UK. There are 17 "discovery sites" in my county! Some in parks, near reservoirs, etc. and some just on the side of the dark country roads. It's not quite the same designation as DarkSky (though we have 20+ of those in the UK too and a couple aren't too far) but I love the concept. No light pollution, go outside, soak up the view. Also, I grew up in a house where anything/everything was on all the time. The light and noise pollution was chaos inside me. Now, The Lighthouse is filled with small lamps, only turned on when you're in the room.
Interesting about the red light. My husband and daughter are both in the technical side of theatre, lighting and sound. The red light to me always reminds me of the rape scene in Man of La Mancha. 😬…Not sure I could do a red light...but maybe now knowing another side to a red light might be helpful. 🤔
That's one reason that the summer I spent in a Forest Service lookout on the edge of the Idaho Wilderness area was one of the best summers of my life.
Weirdly we don't even *have* a big light in our living room. So we have cosy lamplight whether we like it or not. (We do like it).