Friday, July 18, 2008

Arizona Sunsets




This morning I opened the shutters and viewed the clouds turning a pale pink. To start the day with such a lovely sight made me glad to be alive.

This started me musing about other beautiful scenes that nature displays. What is it about sitting on a beach watching the waves crash or being by a gurgling brook in a mountain setting that can give one a feeling of peace and utter contentment? To watch a butterfly land on a beautiful flower is a vision more beautiful than any painting in the Louvre.

Our connection with nature is inbred and very strong. When I return to my home in Colorado Springs I am greeted by Pikes Peak and it's as if I am seeing an old friend. It is inexplicable to me, but mother nature calls us to her and there is no escape. We don't really want to free ourselves from her pull for she is very nurturing and loving at times like these.

The last photo of my sunsets is taken from the front of my house looking down the street as the sunset begins to unfold. The other scenes are taken from my back yard as a different sunset progresses.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Darlene,

The sunset pictures are beautiful and I loved looking at them.

You live in a wonderful place but you also come from a wonderful place. When we visit Colorado we are always impressed by the beauty of that state.Arizona is beautiful,too but in a much different way.........

Darlene said...

Thank you, Nancy. Yes, the beauty of the desert is quite often an acquired taste. I loved it immediately but others find it harsh and unforgiving.

I guess for sheer beauty I prefer Colorado, but I don't like the winters.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Darlene
These pictures are incredible. They gave me a sense of peace.
You are excellent at this skill.
Wish I lived nearby and you could give me lessons.
A hot day in Tennessee.

Darlene said...

It's hot and muggy here too. It's 998 right now and I am not sticking my nose out of this air conditined house.

Thank you for your compliment.

Darlene said...

Ernestine, I am sure you know that temp was a typo. I didn't hit the shift key hard enough. It's 99* and that's hot enough. ~;-).

Anonymous said...

Darlene,

For a minute there when I saw the temperature was 998 degrees, I thought maybe you were the cause of Global Warming.

Glad it was a typo.....

I know it is a hot day in Tennessee,Ernestine. It is hot in Philadelphia,too. Right now it is about 98 degrees. PHEW!!!!!

Judy said...

These pictures are just breathtaking. What a wonderful view you must have there. I love your pictures and enjoy visiting your blog.

Anonymous said...

Darlene,

They are wonderful sunsets.

We are supposed to be in High Summer in Northern Ireland yet the temp is only 14°C.

Darlene said...

Nancy, you have such a wonderful sense of humor. I laugh when I read your take on things. Thank you Kay, Judy and Grannymar for the compliments on my pictures.

Anonymous said...

Many, many years ago - early 1960s - I lived in Phoenix for awhile. One of our weekend jaunts was to Prescott where there was a huge barn-like bar and dance parlor that always had a great country band, so we drove up their frequently.

One Sunday evening, about halfway back to Phoenix, in the middle of the desert, my friend who was driving pulled over to the side of the road and told me to get out.

Huh? I felt mild panic. I hadn't known this guy for long and it sounded like something terrible would happen - like a bad movie. Perhaps I had misjudged him.

I'm sure it is different this many years later, but we had not seen a car going in either direction for many miles.

So I got out of the car with trepidation. Then my friend said, "turn around." More mild panic. But I turned around anyway.

And there was an Arizona sunset my friend had seen in the rearview mirror, like nothing any photograph has ever captured. Breathtaking only begins to describe what it felt like to see. And the only response I was capable of was tears.