Sunrise/Sunset/Sky

Evening Sky

The clouds were nice all day but as the sun headed westward, they were dramatically lit and quite beautiful. This is the view from my office window shortly before leaving for the day.

Lowering Sky

Actually, I’m not sure if this really qualifies as a lowering sky. It was actually the sun shining through, which is a much more cheery. Still, it looked dark and threatening. It was actually a nice afternoon. Not too cold and a nice day for a walk.

And Yet Another Sunrise

Maybe I should change the tag line for the blog from “Here and There…Now and Then” to “What’s This Guy Doing?” (if you’ll pardon the pun and with apologies to Jimi Hendrix). I don’t know if it’s a function of the time of year, when the sun happens to be coming up as I’m getting Dorothy off to school or if the weather pattern just happens to be right, or what, but we had another wonderful sunrise this morning.

Another Sunset

After writing that I’m not a big fan of sunset pictures, here I am posting another two days later. This was taken from Hadley’s Park on Falls Road. It was too nice for me not to stop and take a few pictures, despite the “No Use After Sunset” sign.

Sunrise

While sunsets are overdone, sunrises are sadly less common. They have, if anything, more beauty than their post meridian siblings but are considerably less commonly seen or appreciated. I suppose they share most other attributes with sunsets but are more private, somehow, and therefore somewhat more precious. Today’s sunrise was particularly beautiful, although this photo, like so many, doesn’t do it justice.

Blue Sky

Sadly I was in a meeting today when the snow was coming down so I wasn’t able to get a picture of it. I did get a shot of the beautiful blue sky with clouds down low, though.

Sunset

In general I’m not a big fan of sunset pictures. I’m not entirely sure why.

Sure, sunsets are beautiful, that’s not the issue. Maybe it’s because everyone takes sunset pictures, they’re too common. Maybe it’s because in general sunset pictures are really just about capturing the color and don’t have a point of focus. They don’t stand on their own in terms of composition. A picture of orange clouds, usually without any thought to the rest of the photo and without any significant foreground really isn’t all that interesting. So why does everyone like sunset pictures?

I guess it’s because we’ve all seen sunsets and we all know how beautiful they are. Sunset pictures, even mediocre sunset pictures like this one, remind us of the real thing. I understand why people like to be reminded of sunsets, of course. It is more than their sheer beauty. I think their ephemeral nature adds to their attraction. For their very brief existence they can be almost painfully beautiful, and yet we know we cannot hold them. That sums up much of life’s struggle, I suppose. Think of a wry expression on a loved ones face, the taste of a cold drink on a hot day, the remarkably fleeting childhood of our sons and daughters (or ourselves). They are all enjoyed for a moment but all too quickly vanish to become cherished memories. Then even memories fade and become indistinct.

But that’s true not just of the obviously momentary. The time scales are different but the fleeting nature of all things seems to be the only constant. “Everything changes and nothing remains still…and…you cannot step twice into the same stream,” said the dead Greek, Heraclitus. Viewed from a distance, and it doesn’t take a particularly great distance, all beauty is ephemeral. “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls” (1 Peter 1:24).

Yet we shall not despair. For “…The word of the Lord endures for ever.” (1 Peter 1:25).

Microwave Tower at Sunset

I stopped for gas on the way home and thought the sunset was nice. The only view I had, though, was over an industrial park with this microwave relay tower in front of the best part of the sky. That’s alright, it gives the picture something.

Clouds

I didn’t get a chance to go out to take pictures today. I was just too busy. I did enjoy the clouds out my window and took a minute to grab a couple photos in the early afternoon.