Moonset

This morning I got up at the regular time, threw on my coat and stepped outside to walk the dogs. I am usually at least half asleep when I do this. Often I don’t notice if it is particularly cold or wet or anything. But this morning my attention was caught by the sight of the moon setting behind the neighboring mountain, and I stopped dead in my tracks. The moon was already falling behind the trees on top of the mountain, though I could still see the entire moon as it shone through the bare trees. The overnight haze surrounding the moon glowed with the moon’s diffused light so that it looked like a gleaming pearl. If there has ever been a prettier moonset, I don’t remember it.