Allow 20 minutes for eyes to adapt to dim light conditions before expecting the best results. Find out where the namesake constellation for the shower is located and don't look there. Most meteors will show up more than 20 degrees away from the point of origin, and at least 20 degrees above the horizon. Get comfortable in a reclined position because patience and vigilance are the hallmark of a successful meteor shower. Unfortunately, meteor showers are always better after midnight so take a nap the day before.
Planets are visible every night with Mars still lingering after sunset in the southwest sky.
Saturn and Jupiter rise before midnight, earlier every night. Sparkling Venus has been rising before dawn through the summer but now moves closer to the sun rising later, and in the brighter morning twilight, until the end of the year when it will be too close to the sun to observe. Previous to that, blue moons were simply extremely or seemingly rare events. There have been a few real blue moons caused by forest fires or volcanoes that spewed dust into the sky coloring the moon's light. The rest is history.