May Sunset

I never cease to be amazed at the beauty engendered by a simple sunset.

As summer approaches, the days are getting longer, and I was struck once again by the beauty of the central Texas countryside late Friday evening. The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, but it cast a warm glow on the grasses that stretched endlessly toward the horizon. With little rain in the last couple of months, the vibrant verdure of the vegetation has become tinged with gold, which seemed to glow in the evening light. I couldn't take a picture of the sunset as it reflected on the ponds, but I can tell you that the water shone brilliantly at dusk, like liquid fire.

There is a raw beauty to this land I've grown up in. I like the simplicity of the geometric divisions of fields. I like the juxtaposition of rugged barbed wire with the delicate petals of wildflowers. I like the partial spectrum of colors that ranges from golden brown in the sun-touched fields to deep green along the creeks that cut through them.

It makes it hard to imagine living anywhere else.