Today began cool and rainy, mid-day the spring sunshine warmed the yard and when dusk settled the cool again came sighing upon the landscape of my street. The afternoon sky was a study of white and blue and aqua and grey and purple. Father Sky pushed his colored pastel sticks all across the sky canvas, letting the clouds gather together as they were tinted.

The delicate light of twilight settled down as Mother Nature began painting the sunset. The clouds were rolled up in fluffy loose layers on the horizon and her watercolor brushes swept a pink tint across the bellies of the clouds. The low skyline was white. Above the skyline Mother Nature swept her paint brush across the sky and left a line of aqua watercolors stretching up touch the pink tinted clouds.

The sun had begun sunset as a bright spotlight of white, blinding to the eyes through the overcast sky. As she readied for the pageant stage, the sun dressed in a tea length gossamer gown of lilac and lollipop silk, hemmed with rows of rainbow colored rick rack. Crowning the sun’s head was a tiara of sparkling yellow diamonds, sending rays of golden light into the evening’s gloaming. The sun walked regally down the horizon escorted by Father Sky, who was costumed in an inky black tailcoat tuxedo. As they stepped off the horizon, night swept softly across my yard and the moon came out to play with the tiny silver stars. I sat on the swing as the night engulfed the day, coming in the house when the darkness settled. Another glorious day on Mother Earth is welcoming the nighttime.

I got a new tool in the mail today for my tool box. If you know me, you know I can fix anything with duct tape. I love duct tape! My handyman told me he had “never seen a lady of the manor with such duct tape skill.” I was thrilled with the compliment. Today I got a roll of screen wire tape. This stuff is great for repairing holes in screens. I fixed my front screen door with the new screen tape this afternoon, carefully pulling off the old duct tape. Won’t win any contests but I love that old door and I’m hanging on to it. Bye, bye to the pesky flies who were sneaking in.

Been reading quotes and pondering on different things today. I’ve been enamored with the sunsets since I moved to Roanoke three years ago. My friend sent me this beautiful quote about sunsets. “The sun begins to dip below the horizon, as if bidding the world a fond farewell, its rays stretching out like a last embrace, before it retreats into its slumbering place. A sunset, like a life, has its own story to tell, of beginnings and endings and joy and farewell. The vibrant hues, that streak across the sky, are like the memories that stay with us as time flies by,” Unknown.

Comparing our lives to a sunset is a beautiful thought. We begin our life’s sunsets as small rays of sunshine on the planet Earth, our beginning marked with our date of birth. Our early sunsets are filled with happy colors of yellow and orange and pink and light blues, the color of the rainbows brushed across the horizons. We grow and change adapting colors to the sunset of our lives as we age. Sunsets of joy, painted by Mother Nature, are seen in happy colors of honeycomb yellow, fiery orange, blueberry and pink watermelon. When we have trials and tribulations our sunsets are subdued, the high sky overhead sky filled with dark purple mackerel scale clouds. Sometimes when storms hit we see nothing but the angry grey clouds heavy with rain blocking Mother Nature’s beautiful rendering of sunset. But these sunsets show us the simple things in life that are free are the most glorious of God’s gifts.

There is something so simply beautiful about the creation of the sunset, the colors that flood the sky and tint the clouds. Each day a different magnificent painting of the day’s demise. Sunset reminds us that the ending of something can be just as beautiful as the beginning. Sunsets can give us comfort in their beauty and help us feel the wonder of God’s creation. Sunsets can symbolize the end of life and the glorious gates of heaven. When I see a really beautiful sunset I think of Chief and what a wonderful view he must have of the sunset each day.

“Enjoy the beauty of a sunset, nature’s farewell kiss for the night.” — Sharon Rene