Finding the light.

I have this thing about a certain kind of light. I usually notice it in the afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky, but not yet actually setting. Often it occurs at just about the same time the day’s winds are dying down, so that the world becomes distinctly still, hushed, expectant. The light seeks anything with the slightest cast of gold or copper and burnishes it. It lasts as long as twenty minutes, before it fades into twilight.

Now that I work all night, I occasionally stay up really late (past dawn) then drive to McDonald’s to get breakfast. The other morning, I was returning home – McMuffin in hand – when I realized I was driving through the light. It had never occurred to me that my beautiful, ethereal, magical light would naturally appear twice a day.

Yes, I have just admitted that I have never in my life been conscious enough at 7a to notice one of my favorite things. I have always been truly nocturnal, so my mornings were a miserable blur. Life is better now that I’ve stopped fighting my nature.

I had to pull over to try to capture it. Here’s what I got, using my cell phone. I’ll try again, probably in the afternoon, when I’ve mastered the good camera.