Embracing Winter Sunsets

 “Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight across the snowy places.” - LM Montgomery

Moving from Long Island to New York has been a shift in setting and an interesting experience. In Long Island, I was awed by the ocean but here, in my Virginia community, the woods in front of my house look serene when nightfall comes. Sunsets are remarkable paintings of beautiful, muted scenes or fiery, colored markings in the sky. 

Other areas of the country share the glow of winter sunsets, too. 

Oregon coast in winter- Rita Wirtz

Pink clouds hover.

Provide a backdrop

For bare winter limbs.

Serenity surrounds life.

-Faige Miller, Los Angeles

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purple winter sunset serenity

blissful

tranquil

filled

with

blissful

beauty

awakening

senses

blissful

winter sunset-purple serenity

©CVarsalona, 2022, skinny poem

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I appreciate the pause in life each week where I can slice my thoughts with Two Writing Teachers.

City Sunset_SOLSC 6/Poetry Friday

Fiery hues lit the sky as sunset settled in for its nightly painting ritual. Quickly, nature brush stroked the sky in front of my eyes. Taillights added extra glimmer to the scene, introducing the blackness of approaching evening tide. A parade of lights continued during evening rush hour as winter snuggled in. 

A City Sunset

by Thomas Ernest Hulme

Alluring, Earth seducing, with high conceits

is the sunset that reigns 

at the end of westward streets...

A sudden flaring sky

Troubling strangely the passer-by

with visions, alien to long streets, of Cytharea

or the smooth flesh of Lady Castlemaine.

A frolic of crimson

is the spreading glory of the sky. 

heaven's jocund maid

flaunting a trailed red robe

along the fretted city roofs

about the time of homeward going crowds

-a vain maid lingering loth to go.

Today is Poetry Friday hosted by the Floridian poet, Rebecca Herzog at her blog post, Sloth Reads.  Rebecca is sharing not only her poetry goodness but the work of many in the writing community. It is also Day 6 of the Two Writing Teacher's March 2020 Slice of Life Story Challenge. I presented at a statewide literacy conference this week and just returned home after a 7-hour drive so please excuse my lateness with adding my post.

Each year since March 2015, I engage in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. 

Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically

through writing, photography, and digital art. 

March Musings '19: Grateful for...

Friday, I woke to another one of those gray days but that was fine. Even when the rains came while traveling to my literacy conference, it was fine. The rains continued as I walked from the car to the conference but that didn't matter. I felt gratitude for this day the committee had prepared. It was finally here. I would soon engage with colleagues for a day of learning and that is something to be grateful for.

According to an article from Psychology Today, "Gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what one has--as opposed to, for instance, a consumer-driven emphasis on what one wants or thinks they need." 

So what else am I grateful for this weekend?

• A full reading and writing life
• A family visit to see my grandbaby in Virginia (I will be there in 15 minutes and Sierra is waiting for us! Now that is something to be truly grateful for.)
• Beautiful sunsets as we drive through Maryland

It doesn't matter what color you choose, ranging from gray to brilliant orange, 

embrace the hue and let it make your heart sing.

Listen to a lively, feel-good song, Grateful, 
and let the upbeat message stir you.

Day 23 of 31 days of writing

March Slice of Life Story Challenge

Two Writing Teachers

Energy Boost - March Musings/#Sol19/Day 14

At the end of a day filled with high energy and enjoyment, I was rewarded with a beautiful sunset drive home. Gray days moved aside to let in the sunshine that turned into a beautiful bluish, pink tone with touches of orange sun peeking through the clouds. Simply lovely. Thank you Mother Nature for sharing your high energy to make my day complete. 

-a slice of sunset-

Day 14 of 31 days of writing

March Slice of Life Story Challenge

at Two Writing Teachers

Evening Thoughts

"Evening Thoughts", my short video created with the digital video platform, Animoto.

It was later in the day. The long ride back to Long Island from Virginia seemed endless. Just then, as the sun began to set and Manhattan was faintly visible in the muted haze, I felt a burst of energy. Peacefully, I watched the sky change colors before my eyes. 

From one side of the bridge to the other, I turned to capture nature's magical moments. Poetic thoughts rumbled in the corners of my mind, as my husband continued the drive.

It was surreal as the sky transformed itself before my eyes. Exhaustion from the endless, slow-paced ride in traffic seemed to be a faint memory. Transforming the photos into digital art allowed the last hour and a half of the journey to become a joyous occasion.

Today, I found this quote by Ayn Rand that speaks to the pure pleasure of gazing upon a Manhattan sunset. “I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. Particularly when one can't see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible..."

At Two Writing Teachers, it is Slice of Life Tuesday. Join me there.

Creativity Spurts

"Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." - Bruce Garrabrandt

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An ordinary day,
a backdrop of muted hues,

seagull against the sea

soaring

©CVarsalona, 2017, Long Island

⁕⁕⁕

Using the beginning of the Grarrabrandt quote, Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment, and Sean Mitchell's original photo from Ontario, I digitized the beach scene and created a Golden Shovel poem. 

one ordinary day, creativity

enters but doesn't

stand still and wait.

it moves, longing for

a time that

holds a perfect

light in a sunkissed moment.

©CVarsalona, 2017

⁕⁕⁕

 "Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way." - Edward de Bono

This summer's Poetry Swap led by Tabatha Yeatts has brought forth a surge of creativity. For Swap #3, Joy Acey, children poet, sent me a lengthy letter on life in Hawaii followed by another mailing with a colorful series of patterns representing sunset over the water. What fun it was to receive two packages. 

Letter writing seems to be a lost art these days. Joy's artwork and handwritten poem are below. I look at this and imagine the beauty of the Hawaiian shore line. What a gift of nature-inspired artwork from a talented colleague!

My reply to Joy:

Joy's artwork inspired me to create a reply. I superimposed a photo of a summer sunset on Long Island onto Joy's original image. Joy's poem as well as Sean's beaching image will be placed in my summer gallery, "Sunkissed Moments".

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This week's Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted for the first time by fellow writer, Kay McGriff. You can access Kay's post and poems here.

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More quotes on creativity can be found here.

If you catch a sunkissed summer moment, 

please consider offering it for my summer gallery.

Story Unfolds

The passing of summer to back to school time has been celebrated for years by my family and friends. Each Labor Day, we gather together to mark the passage of time. We bid summer good-by with a toast, a barbecue, and lots of well wishes. Similarly, at nearby beaches, summer leaves its mark as the sites close for the season. The ritual begins with lifeguards and families transitioning from surf and poolside to life outside summer.

Last night, Mother Nature rewarded all those who gathered at The Rockville Links' club lawns for the annual Labor Day barbecue with a magnificent sky show. Unbeknown to all who attended, a surprise awaited. Instead of pelting rain at the hands of Hermine, the storm turned out to the ocean and the skies were ablaze with color. 

The evening crowd was dazzled by the pastel hues before us. The photo opportunity was exceptional and so unexpected that I shot away with my friend and others. 

Mother Nature gifted us last night and so I share the evening's warmth and sparkle with all of you, if you care to linger in the summertime mood. While the calendar shows that we still have a few more weeks to the summer season, the Labor Day crowd transitioned to another state of mind. 

At Two Writing Teachers, Slice of Life Tuesday is being celebrated. You can find a lovely digital inspiration that set off the tone of the writing for the day. While I anchored myself into a comfortable slicing stance, the image of what I saw last night called me to let the story of the passing of summer vacation unfold. Please visit TWT here to read what other slicers are writing.