Liquid gold

When you live surrounded by Nature, you need to stay near a window at all times. In suburbia there isn’t much to miss, at any time of day. My camera stayed shut in a drawer for months on end. But it’s making up for lost time now.

I headed across the living room yesterday evening, on my way to plastificate another piece of furniture that the cats have claimed. Don’t ask.

However I only got half way, as I turned my head and witnessed liquid gold pouring from the sky. I’ve said before that I am no great photographer, but the picture you see is totally accurate. I am a person who is not easily impressed, but my mouth fell open and I gasped “Oh my God.

Nature treats us often to these special displays, always totally unique, as no future sequence of celestial events will ever be quite the same. The hill behind the house hides the western sky, so I can only guess that a particular cloud formation had brought an early end to day on the ridge where I stood, while allowing sunlight to spill over abundantly onto the opposite hill.

The light show was magic. I was frustrated only in knowing that I was not equal to the challenge of capturing it photographically in a way that would do it justice. Afterwards, I thought I should have jumped in the car, and driven to the top of the ridge that was bathed in gold. What other views did I miss? But you cannot be everywhere at once.

I watched, spellbound, for some 15 minutes as the sun continued it’s descent. As gold began to dissipate , the valley suddenly filled with mist that briefly blotted out the hills. Then it appeared to wind itself back as if on a great roll and it seemed to mass… being well inland, I knew not to be afraid of what looked like a wall of water coming to wash everything away. In moments it was gone, and I alas was not able to capture that vision, except in my brain…..although……..

.........Well, perhaps not only in my brain. My photographs like to hide from me!

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I was on a cruise once that took us to where the sun does not set, but only kisses the horizon. It was torment to try to sleep, for fear of missing some wondrous sight. And yet, on that ship, there were people who sat, as they might as well have been, in their living room at home, playing scrabble.