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Last night our midwestern sunset was unique.
Purple and pink and fuchsia filled the sky. Those bold colors made a perfect backdrop behind the dark brown tree trunks and leafless branches. Looking out my kitchen window the jumble of trees and color seemed like one unified whole.
The view was more like a watercolor painting than a glimpse into my mundane backyard.
February has been comfortable this year. The temperatures have been in the 50’s instead of the 20’s. The sun has shone more days than not. Snowfall has been negligible.
As a result of this unusual weather, I find myself much more light-hearted than I usually am at this time of year. More hopeful. More focused on dreams and plans and doing.
It’s a gift, this winter of mellowness. A gift that is difficult to ignore.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
What a glorious sky! It has been a mellow winter, hasn’t it. I very consciously refuse to complain about the gray days because it has remained mostly in the 40s and 50s and shows no sign of suddenly becoming a typical February. I’m rather afraid of jinxing it. Spring seems so close that I want to be out in it already.
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Zazzy, you and me both. I refuse to complain about our weather because last year’s horrible, long, depressing, gray winter just about did me in. This year the weather is better and so much prettier, too. It may not be spring yet, but it’s not gloomy– so I’m contented.
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Your picture actually took my breath away! I love the dark branches against the vivid sky….a painter’s dream! We are going to be 70 here by Thursday and drop to the 40s Friday, but I’ll definitely take it!
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Thanks Beth. The photo isn’t photoshopped at all. That’s exactly what it looked like around here last night. So unusual to see pinks in our sky. Orange and purples show up from time-to-time, but bold pinks are rare.
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It is a very beautiful sky! It looks warm and inviting!
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It does look inviting, doesn’t it? Good description.
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It does! I wish I was enjoying such a lovely view 🙂
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It is so amazing that it does look photo shopped! Beautiful! Our winter has been OK, minus that horrible storm in January. Otherwise, generally 40s and 50s which is normal winter weather for us. A lot of rain lately though, also normal for us. 😦
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Margaret, at least you know what to expect when your weather is normal. These last few years it’s been a crap shoot as to whether it’ll be frigid & icy or warmish & sunny. No in-between– just extremes.
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Stunning! I love a vibrant pink sky at night. It makes me so happy 🙂
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Me too. It was a very happy sight to see.
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Beautiful pic AND wonderful use of descriptive words. You are a gifted writer.
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Cheri, thank you.
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Gorgeous picture. Great last line in this post. It is a gift – someone is watching over you! (and I am grateful for the mild weather and rain…our plants and animals are so stressed from last summer’s drought)
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philosophermouse, thanks. It really is a gift for us to have such a pleasant winter. Last year’s winter was awful, depressing, long and gray. I think that’s why I’m so tuned into any color that I see outside this year. ‘Tis a gift…
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It’s amazing what a difference warmth and colour can make. When we’re going through long hard winters we just get on with it, don’t we. It isn’t until spring springs that we realise what we missed. Maybe that’s a good thing; if we remembered the warmth of spring in the middle of winter, it would be harder to deal with. We’ve had a mild winter here too, only the last two weeks or so have been minus 6 to 8 degrees or so (sorry, metric). It’s set to be 18 here by the end of the week, which I think is mid 60s. Makes such a difference. Love your sky, we rarely get anything that amazing round here.
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You said it, Polly– warmth and color make things better. I’m glad that I snapped this unexpected bit of it when I did. Our sky rarely look like this, which made it all the more amazing to me.
[I looked outside at the same time last night and it was back to same-old, same-old.]
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Beautiful picture. I am glad you recognize the gift and are nourished by it 🙂
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winsomebella, thanks. I’m glad that I caught the beauty of the moment. Sights like that feed my soul.
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We’ve enjoyed an amazingly mild winter, too. In fact, Sloane is leashing up the dogs so we can take them on a long walk – in 50 degree weather. YES!
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Relyn, this weather is goofy. In a good way, of course. Tomorrow the forecast says we’ll be in the low 60s. In Feb. It’s almost too good to be true!
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That picture is gorgeous. I’m so used to seeing just gray skies that I’d LOVE to see that around here. 🙂
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Thanks. I was amazed to see that sort of sky in the winter, time of grayness. It was unusual, but it did put a smile on my fact.
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I’m totally with you on the weather out here this year…I’ve definitely been a lot happier and my wardrobe has been a lot cheerier with brighter colors, so that’s been cool. I don’t know though…as much as I am enjoying all this, it better not snow in like May or something. Just sayin’!
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Kristen, I’m afraid that you may be correct about snow in May. None of this warm weather adds up quite right. Something’s gotta give.
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