"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

When the sun stands still--equinox

Equinox--5 by 7 watercolor study, 300# d'Arches
If you're up at sunrise and heading east this week, the sun seems to stand  still straight east.
Equinox, when the day and night are of equal length, the signal of a new season...yet so much more.
As I pull out of my neighborhood heading west, the glare in my mirrors blinds you. If you're driving home in the evening, the same is true. While the official day is only one 12 hour period this week, the sun barely moves.
The ancients knew and accurately measured it, whether at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, or at Stonehenge or in many other sacred sites. Why? More in touch with the seasons and nature than us, they took years to be able to mark these days, days critical to their livelihoods and religions.
Those are my thoughts this week--having camped at Chaco on equinox, and having pulled out of my subdivision heading to work. The sun seems to just sit on the middle of the road on the horizon, not moving north or south for a few days.
Today's watercolor, what I saw, in fact, and in imagination, this morning.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.