Poked my head over the ridge when we were driving back from the bowling alley recently and saw the lights in the back of a house at the bottom of our bend. Sort of crazy to put together the scene on the other side of the trees and up the ridge from a part of the Conestoga River I’ve been on quite a few times.
There are other places on the river where I have a pretty good idea what lies beyond, especially on the stretch we do from the house, but for the most part it's a mystery.
But this was somehow going to get on the subject of lights. We’re here…
I’ve been doing a lot of night kayaking. Partly because sunset is at 5 pm, partly because we just went through a full-moon cycle. I try to get out on the full-moon every month, but this November I hit the moon more than usual.
In the middle of the winter when the leaves are all off of the trees and the full moon is high, you could read a book out there. Not that it’s not cool in the summer, too, but it just isn’t as bright.
It’s especially not as bright (well, it’s as bright, but..) when folks have flood lights on high beam. It’s a bummer. I’m sure that they would tone it down if they knew that in the summer the bugs just aren’t as happy with the lights and that in a neighborhood where everyone is sort of keeping an eye on things, security doesn’t seem to be an issue. Most of the folks along the river get it. They’re dark. No lights.
This issue sort of concerns me relative to the proposed development on Sunnyside Peninsula. The air b and b’s already built by the same developer are lit. Lights all over. If the new places are lit like these, the usual darkness present at night on that stretch of the river is gone. Sure, I don’t know how far away from the banks the new places will be, but there is potential. Yeah, the lights will put a damper on the absolute awesomeness that is a night float and that’s a super lame thing to be concerned about with all of the real bad in the world, I know.
So, there’s gotta be another better reason why the river should remain dark. While I’m no biologist it would seem like the animals, insects, fish, birds and plants would agree with me.
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