Hill Country Alliance tells us that “October is the annual, month-long celebration of the region’s most dazzling night-time feature -- the star-twinkling, planet-glowing, comet-crossing night sky -- where beauty and wonder abound.” BCFNS invites you to find ways to celebrate the Night Sky in October! Here are a few ideas:

• Spend some time outside staring at the stars and learning about the constellations
• Plan a “Tailgate with the Stars” evening for your family
• Find local activities centered around the night sky
• See if the library is holding a night sky Storytime for your children
• Check out the library featured section on Night Sky information for adults
• Log on to the various websites of BCFNS, Hill Country Alliance or DarkSky to learn how you can help prevent light pollution
• Tell your family, friends and neighbors how important it is to preserve our beautiful Hill Country Night Sky

Check out this website for more ideas and events: Night Sky Month

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Vice President, Vicki Guidry was fortunate to be able to attend the Hill Country Leadership Summit representing BCFNS. The theme this year was “Rooted in Resilience”. This summit is the “Hill Country Alliance's premier annual gathering, providing opportunities for learning, networking, and being inspired by our region's top community leaders, conservation practitioners, and natural resource managers.”

HCA Leadership Program Manager, Leah Cuddeback summed up the 2025 conference this way: “We know the stakes in the challenges we face – from catastrophic flooding to slow moving disasters of drought and land use change – and some years feel harder than others. As Angela (Keynote Speaker) said, ‘there’s a measure of grief anytime we dedicate ourselves to a place or a purpose,’ but holding space for both gratitude and grief - creating opportunities for community and celebration (and even dancing) is what will sustain us for the long haul.”

While the summit did not focus on Night Sky this year, we were treated to a presentation by University of Texas at San Antonio PhD Candidate, Cody Cly about the Navajo stories of the constellations. “As a first-generation Diné (Navajo) astrophysicist, Cody is committed to raising awareness of Indigenous perspectives in astronomy and fostering understanding across communities.”

You can learn more about the summit and the speakers by clicking the link below:
HCA Leadership Summit

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JUST FOR FUN

Here is the last poem from our Annual Poetry Contest.

What is a star?
by Vicki Guidry
Have you ever pondered a star
It makes you wonder what you are
It makes you wonder where you are
When you observe it from afar

It makes you wonder if you should be logical
It makes you wonder if you should feel magical
Is it precise, technical and scientific
Or is it magnificent, splendid and just terrific

Each of us must decide
To stay in our cozy bed and hide
Or sacrifice some much needed sleep
To gaze at a star in the sky so deep

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CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER

A membership sign in your yard is a great way to let others know that you care about the night sky and perhaps make them curious about the organization. We have been successful with our Membership Sign Promotion but still need your help. The more signs we can get out in the public, the more people we can reach with our message about “saving the stars”. There are now 160 BCFNS membership signs hanging on fences and gates throughout Blanco County (and beyond). Each of these shouts to the world “Stop polluting our Night Sky”.

If you have been thinking of joining BCFNS or renewing your membership, you can still take advantage of our special offering of a free one-year membership ($20) with the purchase of a sign ($35 tax included). A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs

For more information on all our membership options click here: Membership Options

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NEXT BOARD MEETING

The next Board meeting will be October 15th at 9:00AM, at the Blanco County Community Resource Center (CRC) in Johnson City. The address is 206 South US Highway 281. Meetings are informal and consist of part business and part brainstorming. You are welcome to join us.

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THIS NEWSLETTER

We hope you enjoy our newsletter. We are always looking for ways to make it better and more enjoyable. To that end, we invite your suggestions, comments and ideas for articles. In fact, if you would like to write an article to be published in our newsletter, we will certainly consider including it. Please send them to: newsletter@blancocountynightsky.org

Remember we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details regarding deductibility for any donation you make.