The Misty Grays Of Winter...

We're in the thick of it, the misty grays of winter. They roll in every year. They make the cold days colder, and for those who love and worship the sun, the separation can be excruciating. 

There's peace in the mist, a stillness as if the clouds lower just to give rest to everything below. Sounds are dampened just like the light of the sun...it's filtered, smoothed, muted. The humidity surrounds you, it covers everything, encases all it touches in a frozen cocoon waiting for warmth to make it disappear.

Venturing out into the haze can be problematic. It clogs the lungs, limits visibility, and leaves surfaces slick with ice. It's as if nature warns us to stay inside, light a fire, and warm up chocolate in a mug. If you're lucky, you've got someone with you to enjoy the "hyggeligt" night.

As with all things, the misty grays of winter are temporary. Soon the earth will move, its tilt allowing the sun to warm the ground and the air above it. The mists will disappear like ghosts in the night. The sun worshipers will rejoice and those who love the cold will lament the passing. But all will know that if you wait long enough, the misty grays of winter will return. They always do.

I Can See Clearly Now...The Smog Is Gone!

Oh what a difference one storm makes! On Saturday I wondered out on the back porch and took a panoramic photograph. What you see is a view looking west. There's the neighbor's field that converts into a sledding run in the winter and the pine trees that line the field. 

What you don't see is much of anything beyond that. You don't see downtown Farmington. You don't see the Great Salt Lake, and there's no way you see any of Antelope Island. You can barely see the sun.

Saturday night/Sunday morning a storm rolled through and cleaned out the air. Today I went back out on the porch and took another panoramic view of the valley. This time, well...there's so much you can see. We get winter inversions every year and every year people complain. I can understand why--it's not the healthiest thing to breathe.

And so today we flew the flag to honor President's Day and the sunset was beautiful. I'm glad I can see clearly now. And so is everyone else.

Blue Sky...Just Wait

You know how it is. You are looking at a couple of the 1500 or so photos that are still stored on a SD card in your digital camera and you come across some pictures you took months ago and you see something you haven't seen in a while.

Blue sky.

We live in an amazing place, geographically speaking. We have mountains and valleys, rolling hills and high plains. When the temperatures dive in the winter pollution gets trapped between the ranges and the air gets dirty. It's called an inversion.

I've heard that this phenomenon occurred even before civilization came to the area, that the native Americans told settlers that in winters the whole area was covered with fog and bad air. I haven't researched this, but it doesn't really matter. It's bad now. Finding these pictures reminds me of how things were, and how they will be again. We've just got to be patient.