The Milky Way and Taste of Wine

Earlier this week I took my oldest grandson, Jose, backpacking into the Jefferson Wilderness in the Oregon Cascade Mountains. (It surprised me a modern 17-year-old would actually enjoy being in the wilderness—except for the mosquitoes, which drove him to spastic slapping bouts.)

At night we marveled at how bright the Milky Way—that spiral galaxy of at least two hundred billion stars that contains our little earth—shined overhead. 

When we first moved to the hills above Sherwood 15 years ago, we could also clearly see the cloudy galaxy, even on many summer days. No more. 

I wonder how that disappearance affects grapes, wine and human life?

View of the Milky Way from our camp in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

Sometime during the night clouds came in and it started to rain. Let me tell you I wasn't excited about getting out of my warm cozy sleeping bag to retrieve the camera and put the rain fly on the tent.