Light The Night

Light The Night

What reasons do we have for wiring up and lighting the out of doors? Beyond the security aspects there is the beautification issue. But there must be something else. I have had my own little internal wrestling match on this issue through the year. To start with, all my motion or photosensitive security lights around the house (I have nine of these), I replaced earlier in the year. I did it for two reasons, the technology was getting old and sketchy in terms of functionality and the fixtures were looking old and tired. I find that nothing makes a house look more shop-worn than old rusted lights and outdoor speakers jutting out from under the eaves. Should I care? Absolutely, pride of ownership is an important sense that in many ways distinguishes the young at heart versus the old and defeated. Letting a rusty and visible fixture remain is like not replacing a tooth because you’re so old you think it doesn’t matter. It is a sure sign that you are on the short path to the abattoir. I gave up on outdoor speakers years ago (though my Ithaca house still has them from twenty-five years ago sitting up there under the eaves in places). New Bluetooth systems make it so much easier to use remote speakers wherever you want them for whenever you want to use them (never as often as I think). But lighting still can’t be done entirely on a remote basis. I have table lanterns that are rechargeable and work great on the patio, but for more extensive outdoor lighting, the next best thing is LED low-voltage, which is both relatively easy to install, move and/or replace and using far less juice in this era of energy conservation awareness.

In some ways I also worry about low-voltage systems because they are so easy to install and I feel like I have pulled them out from places where their vestigial presence is a reminder that what seemed like a good and effective solution in the past, can easily fall into disrepair is left unattended. So, do I want to have an outdoor lighting system that requires lots of attention? Logically no, but emotionally yes. What that means is that we always want to feel like we will be entertaining (even if it is just our families) for years and years to come and thus must present as pleasant surroundings for the gatherings as we possibly can. I want everyone sitting on the patio or deck as well as when they are driving up or leaving to feel warm and welcome. I think that is what makes outdoor lighting so worthwhile. Whether we will be able to entertain or gather in the future as much as we may wish is part of the conundrum with which I have been wrestling this year.

The bottom line is that, as I find myself thinking, saying and even writing more and more, we have to act like life will be going on in a positive way even if we have our doubts. And the thing we feel most certain about I’m sure, is our homes and hearths. We can live without travel, we can live without going out, we can work and even play from home, even when things get bad and we must hunker down. But there is no substitute for home, and for those of us fortunate enough to have houses versus apartments, our outdoor space is a big part of our home, especially when you live in a fair weather place like Southern California. Indoor/outdoor living is cliche, but it is very real out here. There is nothing I love more than opening up the fifteen-foot expanse of folding glass doors in the kitchen, extending our home out to include our deck. It is fundamentally why I am going to hell and back to make our new and in-process deck renovation so solid and comprehensive. Even though it can be too hot or too cold to sit out there as much as I would like, when I can and do use it with those folding doors open it is glorious and worth every penny and every bit of trouble.

It is critical to our state of mind that we feel we will enjoy those glorious moments for many years to come and that our homes will be the welcoming places we all want them to be. My outdoor lighting guy told me that his business is 60% up during this year of COVID. He said he didn’t know where people were getting the money, but I reminded him that people of limited means do not put in outdoor lighting and the affluent people cannot travel this year and are allocating their budgets more and more towards making their homes more enticing for themselves and their loved ones. I sense that as a modest means of wealth distgribution, which suits a liberal like me. Assuming a standard business model, a 60% rise in business translates into about 30% more wages to be paid to the hard-working people that make it all happen. It is all so very true. And unlike a trip that comes and goes as a fleeting hedonistic pleasure, improving your home for gatherings and warmth is somehow a reasonable expenditure that is being done to share with others and is a long term investment in yourself and your family. It is not at all hard to understand.

This evening, my brother-in-law Jeff came over for dinner and saw our new outdoor lighting. His reaction pleased me a great deal. Generally Jeff likes to comment that I am treading the fine line of overdoing it on this house. My project fixation this year has probably struck him as overkill and he may be right about my building of a games area, my creation of a new garden on the Southern side of the house or my replacement of the patio garden on the Northern side of the house. There are many projects I have embarked upon that can be seen as frivolous or unnecessary. But here’s the funny thing about Jeff’s reaction to my new outdoor lighting. He said he was socked that the prior owners of this house didn’t think to add the kind of lighting I have just installed. It struck him as such a logical and necessary addition that he thought it was an obvious improvement. That spoke volumes to me and made me feel I done good this time.

So I have succeeded in lighting the night in the front half of my property, the part that welcomes my guests and surrounds us as we enjoy dining outside. Once I have finished my deck renovation, I will figure out what I want to do on the deck and on the hillside heading West. I know I will want to light my soon-to-be-completed Bison Boulder and my metal Joshua Tree sculpture, but the most spectacular part of the deck side of the house is the way the hillside falls away towards the Ocean and the evening and night sky command the scene. That sky is not something that can be improved by lighting, but we will try to brighten our small part of the great night sky nonetheless.