Light

Or more specifically sun light....... I grew up under mostly sunny skies.... lots of sunlight and not alot of variation day to day.  Not much seasonal change.  In my memory - 10 months summer, 2 months winter when the mornings were frosty but by midday it was often warm enough to shed layers and usually sunny.  I'll tell you the big difference was there was no central heating and the buildings were mostly brick or concrete so we huddled around heaters (often asbestos!!! YIKES) and sat at our desks at school wrapped in blankets.  I was colder there at 5 degrees C than I am here at -5 degrees.

Anyway... back to the endless months of sunlight..... and then moving here, in a January, and adapting to the reality that sunlight is often in very short supply especially in winter. And the amount of sunlight in any given day changes so radically with daylight saving changes and the seasons.  It really takes some getting used to.  I don't mind going to work in the dark but I hate coming home in the dark.

What I really love is the dramatic seasonal changes - very distinct :
Summer (all too short but often very warm with loooong light evenings - relaxed ),
Spring (a wonderful freshness and lengthening days but still nippy and damp - expectant),
Winter (cold and grey but with the occasional benefit of snow - alot of darkness - cherished sunny days - cozy) and
Fall (vibrant colours and shortening days, a nip in the air, a bit of melancholy about what is ahead, soft light).

Here on the West Coast ("affectionately" called the Wet Coast) one can get quite glum from all the grey wet days or one can get the gortex on and carry on!  As they say in Norway - there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!!  So at this time of year, when you get a sun shiney day, the world seems new and fresh and you can sense the expectancy in everyone.  One sunny day and it seems everyone is out walking or biking or running - you suddenly see your neighbours again...... and Summer is just around the corner.

So the sudden increase in sunrise and sunset photos filling my camera will soon come to an end until the Fall when my communte will once again coincide with these breathtaking moments.  So here are some sunset and sunrise photos from the Spring of 2011.

Sometimes dramatic

A stormy morning with the sun pushing through

A very Spring sunrise

A "sunny break" - I love the soft blues

Sunset this week - we have had some dramatic ones

Red sky at night........ from my front yard.....