Last night was our first sunset in our new place.  We have been going so hard we haven’t been home at sunset this week.  First let me say the view here is spectacular.  Sitting on the porch you can see almost 180 degrees of mountains.  To the left they start out low and gray with just a hint of blue in the distance.  As you move your eyes right they become closer and higher in shades of green.  There is a valley between this mountain and the next dotted with homes along the tops of the ridge.  One mountain directly in front of us is more pointed than the rest.  Next to it there is a small dip creating a curve in the view just big enough for the setting sun to slide behind.  As you move further to the right the ridgeline straightens out a bit then fade back to blue gray in the distance.  Up close we gaze out over the tops of trees, creating the illusion that we are actually sitting in a tree. 

Evidently we face directly to the west, because the sun climbs to the top of the sky to our left somewhere in the late afternoon.  It shines into our wall of windows and heats up the house, though since the first day it hasn’t made it unbearably hot.  Then it begins its decent into the waves of blue-green mountains, selecting just the right indention in the mountain tops to begin its show of colors.  A small orange ball, like a ping pong ball, it slips closer and closer to a collision with the mountains.  It stands out in the hazy blue sky but it is not spectacular…yet. 

Once the ball has disappeared just below the surface the colors begin to reflect in the sky.  Any clouds nearby are illuminated with oranges, and pinks. Textured ribbons of brilliant clouds stretch out across the wide open sky.   As the sky changes so do the mountains, starting with a blush of pink then deepening into a misty purple before they become charcoal. All of this takes place to a chorus of birds singing their evening songs just before the main concert of the katydids.  The “quiet” of nature is evident as the sun completes its show with the grand finale of deep purples and shades of pink.  Then darkness settles over the mountains for the night.  While I do not like being displaced from my home, this back porch will prove to be an inspirational writing spot I am sure.  God is so good to me.