Thanks to Diana, at Creative Structures, many bloggers have been pausing on Fridays to reflect on the things that we are grateful for. This week, I join them, and I choose shooting stars... meteors... to be grateful for. I choose this because all this week, centered around the night of San Lorenzo on August 10, Stresa has been, as always, in the fortunate position to be able to clearly observe the annual meteor shower. Beginning on July 20th falling stars have been visible in the night skies, growing in frequency, until the maximum, an average of 60 visible falling stars an hour, on August 12. And now nightly, they will still be seen, although diminishing in number, for some days to come. Inhabitants and visitors in Stresa should be grateful to be there, where the relative darkness of the sky over the lake, or the absolute darkness higher in the mountains, offer perfect viewing spots. Atop Mt. Mottorone, for the third year now, spectators have been allowed to gather all night, and while there was an astronomer on hand to answer questions, and a telescope to peer through, most on the summit were there only to quietly gaze north-east, maybe making wishes on stars as they fell.

I love falling stars, natures own fireworks... They remind us, lest we forget, of how wondrous and magical the world around us is, and of the beauty of things fleeting and rare.