I am not good with remembering constellations. I’ve gone to star parties at McDonald Observatory and thought, “Oh, so THAT’S Pisces!” and be certain that I can identify it forever.

(Once, at one of the star parties, we heard coyotes howl; and they weren’t all that far away. Another time, one of the scopes was focused on Andromeda. I went to that scope five or six times; there was just something about seeing Andromeda that was captivating that night and I just couldn’t see it enough. Later, I hoped it wasn’t due to some residual John Denver memory, but I guess you never know.)

But anyway, back to what I was trying to get to, which is that even though I leave those star parties thinking I know a constellation or two, I really just can’t remember them. No matter how many times the astronomer uses that really cool giant flashlight to shine a light way up in the sky and point out torsos or arrows or bears or whatever, thirty minutes later, they all go back to being a bunch of stars.

For some reason, though, I know Orion. I know what time of the year I can see it, where it’ll be in the sky. And I know that Orion’s shoulder is Betelgeuse.

But I still can’t find Pisces. And now I’ve got John Denver stuck in my head.

Alpine, Texas
photographed 1.19.2013