December--Sunset, Sunrise, Barn Again

Sunset, Sunrise, 5 by 7 watercolor card

Another trip around the sun...every day marks the end and beginning of that journey, no matter what the human calendar says.
But as December wanes and the month named for the two- faced Roman god Janus nears, we seem more aware of endings and beginnings.
I've painted versions of this aging barn many times this year, and I'm not sure what is the attraction, except maybe a fascination with the passing of time. Yesterday's and today's are the most recent, reminding me of the journeys we all travel as the earth makes its journey.
Six months ago, July's daily watercolor challenge included eight more versions, including the seasons, beginning July 6.

Oklahoma Sunrise, 5 by 7, July 6

Here are the links on my blog to each of those: "Oklahoma Sunset," "Oklahoma Winter," "Oklahoma Springtime," "Oklahoma Moonrise,"  "Oklahoma Dust  Bowl," "Green Leaves of Oklahoma," "Oklahoma Autumn."

(Day 27 of 31 December paintings)

"People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall."--Thomas Merton

Dawn of Janus--a new year--today's watercolor

New Year's Dawn, 9 by 12 watercolor, 140# Fabriano

Janus, the two-faced god of the Romans, the god we worship as January arrives on New Year's Eve. New Year's Day, a day of looking back, looking forward. 
He is the god of beginnings and transitions, and thus of gates, doors, doorways, passages and endings. 
Taking stock. Resolutions.
Today I took stock, journaling in reflections over the last year, the magnitude of evil and bad in the world and country, and my long list of personal positives. I don't make resolutions, but always a  list of challenges, and goals looking forward.
These reflections come with thoughts finishing books while drinking coffee in a coffee shop, listening to old music on a record player, walking two miles in Hafer Park, and then this watercolor of the dawn of a new year.

Janus--Record month "blogstone"

Screen shot of stats at 2:36 p.m. today

January, month of Janus, the Roman god of two faces, looking back and forward, set two  records, reaching a 'bloodstone" for Coffee with Clark. 

Roman god Janus

The blog surpassed 6,000 page views this month between 2 and 2:30 pm CST today, about 500 more than last month, and more than 6700 page views in the last 30 days. 
Boosting the traffic this past month have been the numerous articles about my twitter for journalists class at UCO, #clarkclass, which generated a lot of interest. As with the new year, I don't know where this is going, but Coffee with Clark will continue to change and grow as it approaches its sixth birthday.
And during the month, a reader from Cameroon in Africa notched the 131st country to have readers of the blog, and 19th in Africa.

Cameroon

Cameroon, located just north of the equator, was colonized by Germany in the 1880s, but divided by Britain and France after WWI. After about 10 years of fighting against those colonial powers, the country gained independence in 1960-61. 
With more than 20 million people, Cameroon is slightly larger than California. While it is relatively stable and economically strong compared to its neighboring countries, there is a lot of poverty. In the early 2000s, unemployment was about 30 percent. French and English are official languages.
It has the same authoritarian president since 1984, and corruption is rampant, ranking it 144 out of 179 countries, according to one report. Still, it is a haven for many refugees from neighboring countries. Its flag was adopted in 1975. 

With more than 200 linguistic groups among the population, and a widely varied geography, Cameroon is often referred to as "Africa in miniature."I have no idea who the reader from Cameroon was this month, but these visitors help me travel the world in my imagination.