Essentially the Only    One

For the past few nights now, I have been lulling myself to sleep with Erik Satie's set of six Nocturnes. Very much in the idiom of the well-known movement from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata they are, but with that extra otherworldliness that Satie demonstrates in his best compositions.

They reminded me of a scene from our vacation in 2005 in Quebec Province. We were staying in the highest hotel in Tadoussac, overlooking both the town and the St. Lawrence River just at the point where it widens into an estuary. During the day, it is possible to make out the far bank but it is a long way away.

At night, though, a bright moon came out to illuminate the water and the silver sheen seemed to draw the other bank much closer. That, and the clear and bright lights from the towns and villages across the water. I photographed it, but it only gives a pale impression of the beauty of that scene. Nevermind, it is better than nothing, and it was nice to look at it again tonight.

By the way, that is one reason why I like digital photography so much. It is so much easier to find and look at old photographs!