Missing Perseids

I went out to see if I could see the Perseids last night. Actually, very early this morning, just after midnight. As it happens, I can see most of the northeast sky from my deck. I also know roughly where Perseus is. He and Cassiopeia are pretty tight up there, after all, and she's one of the easier constellations to find.

Viewing conditions weren't very good. Suburban glare is always an issue with my night sky, even more in the summer than in the crisp cold days of winter, it seems. Besides that, the bright waning Moon was behind my neighbor's tree and creeping upward. I looked at the sky for about 20 minutes but didn't see anything I thought was a meteorite trail. Unless I did. I thought I might have seen some faint lines. Unless I didn't. It could have been a trick of monotony.

I probably should have stayed longer, but I had an appointment with unconsciousness I couldn't put off much longer, and it was distinctly chilly. I haven't had all that much luck with naked eye observation over the years. Though I saw a faint spot, the hyped Comet Kohoutek was a bust, for instance, and Halley's Comet was an even bigger letdown. But if I really want to see the Perseids I would make a point of being somewhere remote in mid-August. It hasn't happened. Yet.