The moon casts a bridge of light over the river

Last night was the same as so many nights last autumn. I brushed my teeth outside on the terrace because, for some reason, brushing my teeth outside is just much more enjoyable than in the bathroom. Light peeked through from behind the edge of the forest. Someone must still be awake in the village houses. Except there are no houses in that direction. Right, today is the full moon, and the sky is almost free of clouds for the first time in a while.

I tossed my toothbrush into the sink, grabbed my camera, a blanket, and some sweaters, and headed down to the shore to watch the full moon.

My cabin is on top of a small hill. From the shore, the moon was not even visible, not even its glow. Only a solitary bright star shone in the dark blue sky. I sat down to wait.

The moon rose slowly, golden yellow against the backdrop of the black forest. I set the camera to record a video and simply watched the screen. It was quiet, so quiet that the splash of a fish breaking the surface of the river here and there felt like a loud sound.

I heard a familiar call from afar, one I hadn’t heard since last autumn. The familiar, trumpet-like greeting echoed through the forest on the opposite shore, bounced off the calm surface of the river, and returned to its source. Whooper swans. I could hear the rustle of their wings as they passed by me and my shore, where I sat seemingly invisible under a dark blanket. Last autumn, the whooper swans gathered by the river in dozens, waiting for the right time to head south. They shed their feather cover and left behind snow-white feathers drifting in the quiet flow of the river. I collected the most beautiful ones like the most precious treasures. They are still displayed on my wall.

It’s wonderful to start everything anew by the same river. Familiar things that repeat themselves according to the seasons, yet every moment is different from the one before. I just think about how amazing it is to live here. I can watch the moon rise peacefully, accompanied by the song of the whooper swans, in an otherwise completely quiet and calm evening.

Wishing you a bright and magical autumn!

♥ Hugs, Sanna