Red Sky in Morning

Red sky at night, sailors’ delight;
Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.

When there’s so much in the world that can’t be predicted, it’s comforting to witness a natural phenomenon that actually delivers on its promise. Not being a sailor, I didn’t realize it at the time, but Monday morning’s red sky warned of bad weather ahead.  And so it was. First there were ice pellets and later rain, and then on Tuesday morning, more rain and high winds. 

Supposedly, a red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means a high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way. [From Everyday Mysteries at The Library of Congress]

When I took these photographs, I was only thinking of how beautiful the blushing sky appeared behind the silhouettes of the trees.  It didn’t dawn on me that a storm was on its way.  I wonder what other ‘signs of the times’ are as potentially revealing to us as red dawns.  What else are we missing while distracted by what we are seeing on the surface of things?

…When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day: for the heaven is red and lowering. Ye know how to discern the face of the heaven; but ye cannot discern the signs of the times.
~ Jesus     Matt. 16:2-3

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Epiphany

When you look at the sky, do you see the clouds or the blue and the light shining through?  Of course, on some days, the blue is more difficult to see.  You might have to look at the whole sky and not just your usual section of it.  Perhaps there’s just a corner of blue or light off in the distance.  But it’s there.

Other days, you might only be able to see beyond the clouds at certain times of the day.  Early morning is usually a time when the sunlight makes itself seen, even on overcast days.  Sometimes you have to work extra hard to see the light by going outside in the dark cold, but the effort is worthwhile.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
~ Rumi

Being a light-seeker has its rewards.  One who chooses to seek out and see the light can’t help but become ‘light-hearted’ over time.  At its essence, is being light-hearted not unlike feeling and thinking like a child?  If so, it’s no wonder that laughter and a sense of humour come easy to those who choose to look beyond the shadows.

Einstein said that the biggest decision any of us face in life is whether or not we believe the universe is friendly.  I believe it is.  Do you?

Life is shaded, through and through
Mostly by man’s point of view.
~ Anonymous

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December’s Days of Enchantment

The only words that ever satisfied me as describing Nature are the terms used in fairy books, charm, spell, enchantment. They express the arbitrariness of the fact and its mystery.
~ G.K. Chesterton

Perhaps it’s because skies are so grey and the days are so dark, that late December’s sunrises seem especially precious.

You don’t need to be a child to feel that there is something magical in the air at this time of year.  Who would have thought rose hips from summer’s wild blooms would have transformed so easily into a snowman’s grin?  All you need is a little imagination…

Nature has been waiting all year to share its gifts of the season…

With or without the presence of snow, there is something enchanted in the outdoors… available to everyone and easily bought for the price of opening your eyes and your heart.

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things…
~ Sara Teasdale

The woods look barer than they did this fall when all the bright leaves covered the trees.  But,  it’s at this time that reflections of the sky can finally reveal themselves in previously hidden forest brooks… You never know what’s waiting to be discovered in the woods.  Even in late December, there are still surprises to be found.

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.
~Roy L. Smith

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After being listed on the homepage of WordPress.com on December 27th, 28th and 29th, this page has received more views than any other on this site to date.  Thank you to all who stopped by for a visit.

 

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Cold Sunrise

Canada geese rest quietly on the water as the sun begins to rise.  It’s colder this morning than it’s been since last winter.  Some days, you can tell just by looking at the colour of the trees and the sky that you’re going to have to need mitts in order to walk outside, especially in the salt marsh, where there’s always some sort of wind.

There are no hot pinks or warm oranges in this morning’s sunrise.  Everything looks cool and barren.  Of course, nothing looks as cold as the water…

Except perhaps this poor duck…

At least someone’s sense of humour hasn’t frosted over.  Yet.   

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The Sleeping Place

The word cemetery has its roots in the Greek, meaning ‘sleeping place.’  In Cow Bay, this place is the Bowes Cemetery located just off Cow Bay Road. 

  

Typical of many outdoor surfaces in Cow Bay, both the cemetery sign and several headstones are covered with lichens.

The ones on the sign include usnea hirta, also known as Old Man’s Beard. The lichens on the headstones are particularly bright in colour.  This provides an especially striking contrast on the dark stones.

Yellow lichens contain usnic acid.  Some German scientists have researched the site preferences of different types of lichens and concluded that the yellow varieties are most likely to prefer sub-strata that is also more acidic.  

This cemetery is the only place in Cow Bay where I’ve noticed yellow-coloured lichens.  Most are the dull greenish grey characteristic of the Old Man’s Beard.

Jessica at Jessica’s Nature Blog has photographed several bright varieties of lichens in her neck of the woods in the UK.  When I first saw them, I wondered why these brighter varieties were less common here in Cow Bay.  Perhaps the sub-strata is more acidic in her area.

Regardless of the science behind their preferences, these lichens add their own distinct beauty to this special sleeping place overlooking the ocean.

A grave is braced not just by a tombstone but by angels as well.
~Adabella Radici

For more information on the Bowes Cemetery in Cow Bay, see This Life of Mortal Breath.

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Clouds in the Water

What is it about reflections of clouds in the water that make ominous weather seem less dreadful?  In the salt marsh, the mirrored effect opens up the landscape and brings light between the grasses.

Although the water was still during high tide this morning, ripples created by ducks managed to fragment the light on the water. 

From a vantage point along Rosemary’s Way, the mist made the mirrored sky and trees seem even more enchanting. 

Of course, the sunrise itself gave the most beautiful reflection of all.  Clouded days have never seemed so fair.

Clouds symbolize the veils that shroud God.

~ Honore de Balzac

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November Blush

Amidst the fog, the day dawns in a blush of soft pinks along the salt marsh trail.

Summer’s pinks may already be a distant memory, but November still has its roses to offer.

Akin to a false sunrise, a blush of pink in the northwest sky is only a reflection of the sun rising in the east.  It may be disorienting to walkers in deep woods who are without a compass and trying to find their bearings.

As they pale with the approaching winter, marsh grasses reveal subtle pinks at the bottom of their stems that were less noticeable during their green phase.

The blush of pinks and oranges at the tips of this weed growing in the gravel are reversed to the centre in its negative image.  Whichever way you look at it, the landscape in November is still glowing, and has yet to lose her charm.

When a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the most powerful charm of her beauty.

~ Gregory I 

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The Deepest Secret

… here is the deepest secret nobody knows


(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart).
~ ee cummings

The world has many secrets. Some are ancient but new ones are made (and revealed) daily.  This one is probably the most wonderful.  It’s what allows people to go on and remain connected to one another, despite the suffering brought on by separation, either through death or some other circumstance. 

Someone might read Cumming’s poem and think of romantic love, another the love between a parent or grandparent and a child, the love between siblings or friends or the love of God.  Regardless of how many hearts we hold within our hearts, somehow, they are always large enough to hold these all in.  And that, in itself, is a wonder.

This morning’s clear November sky allowed me to find these images: the root in an upturned tree (the negative image is shown), the bud in one of next year’s frosted Rhododendron buds, and a spruce tree at sunrise along the salt marsh trail.  Birch and maple leaves provided the background for the shape of the heart within a heart.

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November’s Red Dawn

Each time dawn appears, the mystery is there in its entirety.
~ Rene Daumal

Red dawns are thought to bring bad weather, but the warm temperatures experienced later yesterday were a welcome relief for November’s blues.

As the sky was overcast, there was no visible ‘sun’ rise. It simply seemed like the sky was blushing. The red blush lasted only a few minutes and then… was gone.

 

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Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze.
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears.

~ Sheldon Harnick, Zorba

 Seagulls seemed oblivious to the last hours of summer trickling away yesterday afternoon.  While a few people walked along  the shore at Rainbow Haven Beach, some were laid out on blankets, looking to catch the last few rays of summer sunshine.  Summer always seems too short, but this one was especially brief.  

As my grandson threw pebbles into the waves and we collected shells in the strandlines, it seemed like I had just engaged in the same activities with his father a moment ago.  Seasons change and generations pass in the blink of an eye.  The natural world carries on.

The sunshine and warm breezes wait for nobody.  Sparkling waters and sand can only be enjoyed in the moment.  I doubt if anyone who had been on the beach yesterday afternoon regretted having made time in their day for just one more walk on the summer sand.

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Marsh Silhouettes

Twilight reveals the silhouettes of things that are often hidden in complete darkness or light.  Suddenly, that which is commonplace and overlooked becomes apparent. The light at this time of day offers both mystery and revelation.

One way to understand something better is to look at its opposite.  Exploring negative space and color negatives in art can reveal how we look at subjects in their relation to the space around them.  So often we allow ourselves to be distracted by familiar colors and arrangements. By looking at negatives, lines and shapes become apparent that are sometimes hidden in plain view.  Likewise in human nature, who your enemies are may indeed reveal more about you than the company you keep.

It’s fascinating how familiar elements in nature still have much so much to teach us about beauty, design and ourselves.  All we have to do is open our eyes.

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.
~Aaron Rose

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Holiness at Dawn

What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter our daily lives?

~ E.M. Forster

Considering the beauty that’s available in nature at sunrise, I always wonder why there aren’t crowds of people outdoors at this time of day.  Perhaps it is because sunrise happens every day that it is so easily taken for granted.

Regardless of the vista, the sight is always uniquely splendid and a marvel to behold.  In the salt marsh, the reflection of sky in water multiplies the effect of the streaks of warm colors just before dawn.  Silhouettes of herons stand quietly before the wonder that is taking place.  These moments of the day seem more sacred than any others that will follow.

Even on mornings when the sky is brightly painted, it’s difficult to see everything clearly.  This factor brings to sunrise the element of mystery.  If everything was seen in a brighter light, it would be somehow less wonderful and holy.

At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us. You can love completely without complete understanding.

~ Norman Maclean from A River Runs Through It

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