We went out for the first time in over two weeks last night to try to see the comet.
Turns out it was probably too close to the horizon, despite the amazing vantage point we found overlooking the lowlands and coast.
Still it's always great to get out to even semi-wilderness and be the only people around. Plus it was perfect timing to watch a nice slow pass directly overhead by the International Space Station.
We noticed abundant gazelle droppings along a path, but did not catch sight of any actual gazelle.
We listened to jackals yelping and cackling all around us and had fun howling back at them.
We heard owls screeching, bats and crickets clicking and chirping in the silence between the spookily loud jackal calls.
We heard the distinct rustle of a porcupine's quills moving through the bushes below but could not make out its shape in the inky darkness.
In the twilight we saw several braces of chukar partridges doing their comical chicken like run along paths and rocky hillsides, visible for an instant then melting back in to the thickets and undergrowth.
We saw a swift fox dart across the road in a blur of bushy fur.
We heard nocturnal bird calls which even I didn't recognise.
We watched the lights of the coast, picking out power stations, towns and roads, their glow illuminating the distant horizon even as full darkness settled on the wooded hillsides above.
We watched planes overhead and in the distance (so long since we've seen that many) and a helicopter circling several times.
Most of all though we enjoyed being out in a wide open space that allowed such a clear view of the wonderful vast canopy of stars, along with Jupiter and Saturn. Plus the odd stray meteor.
How wondrous is Your Creation. מה רבו מעשיך
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