December Rainbow

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Our sky remained low and white much of the day.   A ‘snow sky;’  but since we were well above freezing, we knew it promised only rain.  Drizzle, actually.  And mist.

It was already late afternoon and dusk had settled.  We’d opened the pile of packages our UPS driver brought.

I was working with photos at the computer, slipping peacefully into another ‘long winter’s night’ when my partner called to me.  “Is your camera ready?”

That always means he sees something worth capturing.  I followed his voice to the windows by our deck, amazed at the warm golden light of sunset bathing every twig and branch of our surrounding trees.  Sunlight?

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He had seen the light, and called me out to photograph our winter sunset.  Warm golden peach filled the sky beyond our windows, and I opened the slider to step out and capture the moment.

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But wait, it was still pouring rain!

The setting sun shone through a crack in the clouds to our west, illuminating the pond below our home.

It dazzled the trees, reflected golden against the clouds, and created a huge perfect rainbow in our eastern sky.

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We could see the entire arc of the rainbow rising from the trees to our north, and disappearing in the trees to the south.

Every band of color shown clearly and it all hovered there, determined and bright, through the falling rain.

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What a gift.  What a moment. 

We stood out in the rain as the colors deepened in the west.  Soft peach intensified to bright white gold, then faded into shades of fiery orange .

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But the rainbow remained.

And it hung there still, witness to the setting winter sun, even after we retreated back into the warmth inside.

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Woodland Gnome 2015

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About woodlandgnome

Lifelong teacher and gardener.

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