Light

I'm seated here, enjoying the view again.  The moon is still bright in the sky, surrounded by the most beautiful shade of true-blue,  in the upper right corner of this glorious picture and to the left, I see a different sky, one that has the softest shade of pink, rising upward to meet that blue.  The sun is rising and the birds know it.  I hear them. Across the pond, the ducks seem to still be asleep, they're gently floating in a little cluster. A seagull is circling the pond and as it does, its body picks up the colors of the sky.  As it pitches West, the underside turns pink, something that would have gone by, un-noticed had I not been here as early.  It's a Spring morning.

I seriously doubt that there have been many Spring arrivals in my lifetime that were so welcomed.  I'm absolutely joyous and I don't want to miss one moment.  After the long winter, the coming of the new season feels somewhat like that of a new year, but a hundred times better.  Spring, anywhere, is glorious but Spring on Cape Cod is a gift.

As I drove back home yesterday, following a day in the Boston area, I was filled with the realization that there is something very different about the light on Cape Cod.  It's referred to as "Cape Light" and it is what attracts so many artists to this strip of land. They say that it lends itself to those who plein air paint.  Perhaps it is the fact that the air is so clean, so free of pollutants that makes this light special.  Whatever the reason, I will attest to the fact that it is unique and it fills my heart with hope.

Just as with the approach of a new year, I find myself making resolutions for getting the most out of the few precious months ahead.  April through September, time to return to the reason we are here, coastal living.  Soon, the sweatshirts will be moved from the closet to the car's trunk, to be at the ready.  They'll be joined by a set of chairs, some beach towels and a little folding table.  The beach tote will be re-stocked with the items that we will use almost-daily.  Sunscreen will be purchased, flip-flops located, and the annual beach sticker will be applied to the bumpers of our cars.  Our beaches are at their finest before the arrival of the real tourist season, marked by the Fourth of July.  Now is the time for quiet walks and for sitting near the shoreline, reading or simply gazing at the water.  Now is the time for adding to my collection of seashells and bits of interesting little items that have washed ashore, just as we have from our hometown.

This year, we have a very special goal, to find the ten best sunsets, one for each week.  We're starting to plot this out, invite kindred spirits, and ready ourselves for yet another of the Cape's best treats.

As I write this, I cannot help but think about the spiritual side of the new season and I 'm reminded that our time here on the Earth is short, that life is really one, long winter, and that we are waiting for something that, if we have faith, we know is promised to us.  It is the Spring that renews my faith in that promise and I'm grateful for the days, each longer than the day before, allowing me to see more of the light.