Saturday, December 03, 2005
Winter view
One of my small pleasures is the view to the west outside my window, particularly in the winter, when the sun is far enough to the south that it sets over a horizon - an urban horizon, to be sure, but still a horizon. During the summer, it just disappears behind Joe's house next door, and it's much less satisfying.
The ideal sunset watching time won't be until February or so, when the sunset will move north just enough that it goes down behind the bare tree that's sort of in the middle of this picture. (Behind the telephone pole.) With the right middle blue in the sky, and the sharply drawn black branches, and sometimes a flight of crows heading home, I see few things in my daily life more sublime, and that's not a word I use lightly or often.
Since the sun usually sets in winter before I get home from work, this is mostly a weekend pleasure. I have been known to retire to my couch - from which the picture was taken - with a small glass of bourbon and a book, and watch as the sun goes down with clouds, as they did tonight, catching a little more light. It reminds me that we're all on a big spinning ball, and that as it's getting dark for me, it's still light in Nebraska, there's still plenty of time to clean the gutters in California, and day is just beginning to break in Seoul.
