Hill Street

It was an evening back in September that I found myself on Hill Street in Picton. Hill Street? There is no hill on Hill Street, unless I guess you refer to the steep road that runs off it and descends to the yacht club below. The street could be called Running at the High Edge of the Harbour Bluff Street, but there again how would you manage that on a sign without causing damage to passing vehicles by its obvious protrusion. Come to think, it could work if you installed the sign somewhat vertically and indulged the population to look with their head tilted to imagine a hill. Come to also think, all of this is irrelevant to my point of being in that part of town.

It was a just-so-happened particular date on the lunar calendar. There was a full moon rising, which again just so happened to be a Harvest Moon. With that image in mind, at this very moment I’m hearing the songbook of lyrics being sung all the way from Smokes Point to well…Half Moon Bay. The point is, it was as if I had planned my arrival at opening curtain of a theatrical gala to which I had reserved the best seat in the house or rather, in this case, best seat in town.

I was taken by the chance of sitting on a bench under lunar magic; the tips of sail masts poking above the harbour, partly camouflaged by the greying tall grasses at the edge of the cliff while sifting from over the far shore came the geese, the Canada’s lonely call as they formed through the veil of the Hallowell sky.

So thinking of all of this in recall, I’ve booked a seat at the same place for this coming Friday. At midnight will be the full Beaver Moon over Picton Bay; the moon of stocking up when the beavers are more active than ever weaving a home for the winter. Also, I learn from the horoscope that the Friday event celebrates the Gemini Full Moon. That otta be something, being a Gemini myself— which almost makes me not want to know if any other Geminis show up because there can’t be too many of us in one place. You know, being two sides of one coin; jittery, scattered and hating to be told what to do. I mean who’s going to be in charge, right? And besides, the alignment of the stars in the Gemini Moon cycle apparently tends to energize toward cranky and is also driven to temper-fired drama. Sheesh! And here I was looking forward to a quiet sit in Hill Park.

I also see from the flyers that have flooded my driveway and mailbox this morning that there are moon madness sales to accompany Black Friday sales, which I also discover has an added bonus of a Red Thursday sale as further enticement to buy. Can’t wait to see what colour the marketers will come up with for Wednesday. But lucky for us! The park extravaganza is free admission with many a bench for viewers. And besides with no scalpers around selling last minute tickets and no vendors with T-shirts, this could turn out to be a soulful retreat as we consider the turn of the season.