STRIKING WINTER SUNSETS

     I have noticed through the years that no sunsets in southeastern Pennsylvania are as striking as those in winter.  They are brilliant red or orange because the air is crisp and dry.  Dark cumulus clouds, with red and orange edges, add to the wild beauty of winter sunsets.  

     The pyramid shapes of coniferous trees and the trunks and bare limbs of deciduous trees are beautifully silhouetted black, like works of art, in front of those inspiring winter sunsets.  Part of that artistic beauty is that each tree, among innumerable trees, has its own shape.  The leafless boughs of deciduous trees show how they grow toward the sunlight so green chlorophyll in the leaves can combine carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water to make sugar, the trees' food for growth.    

     Stars, and a couple of sun-reflecting planets and the earth's moon glow attractively through bare deciduous trees as each sunset fades.  I like watching the moon "climbing" slowly behind a tall Norway spruce tree standing in our back lawn, bough by needled bough, to the darkening sky.  Of course, the spinning of the earth on its axis is what makes the moon look like it is inching up that spruce tree.

     Water in quiet ponds beautifully reflects the breath-taking sunsets, and silhouetted clouds and the trees standing along their shorelines, doubling the charms of them all. 

     Flocks of geese and ducks floating on those ponds are silhouetted black on the sunset-reflecting still waters.  And those same waterfowl are strikingly silhouetted by brilliant sunsets when they fly off those ponds and speed noisily across the sky to harvested corn fields.  Those groups of geese and ducks circle a feeding field to watch for danger.  When the coast is clear, the waterfowl swing into the wind and sweep down to the field, disappearing when below the horizon.

      Winter sunsets are never boring.  They are constantly changing, minute by minute, making them even more intriguing to experience.  Their colors might change as they fade and clouds are blown across the sky, creating ever-changing shapes, and pictures, as they go.  And, finally, sunsets quietly fade away.          

     This winter, watch for brilliant sunsets to see natural beauty and intrigue.  They are enjoyable and inspiring, and free.    

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