Glorious Sunset Moonrise

The shoreline is quickly crowded with viewers rushing toward a dazzling sunset

Cameras snapping over and over as others sit quietly basking in the glow of red, orange, and yellow streaks across the sky

There is a holiness to the hush as the sun dips into the sea and as if on a pulley, the full harvest moon arises in sync with the sunset.

Without realizing, the crowd is being awed by the creator of all things —

light, darkness, seasons, change,

even the ability to appreciate the gift of nature’s art

All created by a living, loving, masterful artist.

He is the Lord God who has lifted the same moon over centuries.

He has pressed the same sun into the same ocean of millennia.

He has painted the same sky over and over for time infinitum.

He has turned the pages of the seasons repeatedly over generations.

And still his most beloved creation, you, me, the homeless, the wealthy, the weakest, the strongest, the worn down and the high and mighty, all stop to acknowledge the stunning beauty and majesty of a sunset. A moonrise.

Who ever said, “how boring” as the sun blazed brilliant colors across the sky?

Who ever didn’t gasp at the enormity of a harvest moon in all its glory?

Who says it’s all just a monotonous routine, the rising, the setting, the brilliance, the tides, the change of seasons, the ebb and flow of life?

The stunning beauty of it all should ignite a spirit of praise within us that leads to complete devotion to the most high God, to the most magnificent artist, to the creator of heaven and earth.

©Belindabotzong2018

Lazy Summer Evening

Respite from the blistering heat of another summer day where everything moves slowly, even the sun as it lingers on the horizon before it melts into the edge of the sea.

High tide laps lazily against the boulders and Slate blue waves ripple in the sunset shimmer

The schooner Zodiac plies slowly along in the last moments of daylight

Framed by Lummi Island she is majestically poised for a perfect sunset

The breeze rewards her crew with perfectly filled sails as seagulls loop and dip along the shore [wpvideo TEhIfl5X ]

Speedboats are the only quick moving thing as they race for the harbor as a fishing boat moans and rumbles along the shore

Hazy thin layers of far away forest fire smoke hang over Orcas Island creating a mysterious mood over Mt. Constitution’s towers

And filters the sunset into an artistic filtered hue

Another beautiful, lazy summer evening on Bellingham Bay.

©Belindabotzong2018

My evening

The kayak club cleared the beach with gusto heading out to dinner with friends, home, or even a vacation in Montana was announced with glee. He has a cabin in the sawtooth mountains where he plans to hike and relax for the last weeks of summer break.

The dinner cruise droned by after a tour of the nearby islands and disembarked its satisfied passengers at the nearby ferry terminal, heading home with that feeling one gets after inhaling an enormous amount of fresh sea air. Hair blown askew, stiffened by salty breezes, they make their way hand in hand to their Subaru, satisfied with their choice for such a grand outdoor experience.

A lone woman sits on a boulder at the quiet end of the beach. Her bike handlebars askew as she left it parked on the goose-poop covered lawn. Her forehead draws together in a frown at the intrusion of another woman taking a seat on a nearby bench. Solitude is clearly desired as she works through and ponders her troubles. The bench seated woman feels the discomfort of invading another’s space and moves on to a quiet spot to watch seagulls and sailboats and write about her view, snapping a few photos.

Jets fly overhead for their final approach to the nearby airport with those returning from trips around the country or around the world. They will disembark with that left over stale feeling one gets from flying too far for too long and they will breathe deeply the cool August day air and say “home sweet home”.

A helicopter flies quickly south, meaning another crisis in some family as a loved one is rushed to Seattle for advanced care and the patient will disembark on a journey through healing and recovery. Or not.

A train rumbles past filled with passengers all looking forward to either a return home or an exciting adventure beyond the routine of home. The incessant warning of the engineer announces their passing.

Multiple sailboats glide in the evening breeze like the seagulls that swoop and soar as the sun sets slowly beyond them. Some are racing while others take their time to embrace the freedom of being on the rippled sea, inhaling that same fresh air that will later lead to a deep restorative sleep.

The woman on the bench is now alone and there is a deep peaceful lull in the activity. Waves lap lazily onto the shore bringing her treasures to find. Sticks and stones, shells and glass. The beauty and artistry of nature in the perfection of an evening at the bay surrounded by the San Juan islands, the Salish Sea, the harbor, the beach and the sky.

[wpvideo Z4n1Hwas ]

©Belindabotzong2018

Gold Medal Winter

Granite clouds drip golden honey sunbeams

Sagging barn window fills with with liquid golden sunlight

Slate islands form puzzle pieces on the horizon edged in golden ripples

Bare poplar giants reach into the golden light as brisk winds blow across fields of untouched, pristine snow reflecting golden shimmers

Winter pours out her heart in aching beauty and awards herself the gold medal in sunsets.

©Belindabotzong2018

Seascape Sky

Foamy waves of rolling white billowing clouds tossed by the wind in the endlessly deep ocean sky.  

Fauna and flora rise up beneath the overhead seascape sky creating a forest of abundant lush vegetation teeming with innumerable creatures who fly above rather than swim below. 
The seascape sky is filled with voices of dolphins disguised as hummingbirds, clicking and trilling and singing their giddy songs, dipping and swimming through the vast blue ocean sky. 

Sunset Soup 

Pink tinged curdled clouds pour across the clear blue summer evening. Bright yellow orange yolk of sunshine slips slowly into the salty cauldron of the sea. 
Heavy sultry evening slowly cooled by breezes blowing across the bay as another hot dry summer day puts on a sunset show. 

Painted Evening

Nature’s paintbrush strokes the evening with wispy watercolored hues of pink and purple.
Lichen and moss textured maple trunks rise above the path pouring a shady green umbrella over a warm evening stroll.
Inky black bats snatch up insects as they rise and fall over the pond reflecting deep blue dusk skies.

Lovers in Watercolor 

Fingernail moon tinged in pink hangs high over the bay and bids the setting sun farewell. Heavy breezes lift and release splashing waves. Watercolor strokes paint billowing sails on a backdrop of blue hued islands etched into the horizon. 
Two gulls tango over deep slate colored tides rolling into the harbor. A red sailboat with crisp white sails turns back toward open water for one last roll in the waves.
Rose scented breezes blow over the park bench where two lovers lean shoulder to shoulder speaking softly of bittersweet things — past, present, future. 
A thousand times they have graced this spot to ponder, to plan, to work it out, to sit silently watching that ever present and familiar view but never growing weary of its sameness. Never growing weary of each other.
Content to love and be loved. Comfortable in the silence or the sounds. Holding hands and reminiscing. Thankful to live in such beauty and their precious peaceful glorious life. 

Sunrise Sunset 

Darkness fades into the brightened eastern sky as sunlight returns to bring another cloudless day. First chirps break Stillness of morning and hummingbird dancers begin their warmup. Stretching and twirling in the coolness then resting again in anticipation of another day spent flitting and racing through the trees, between the houses and up over roofs in their frantic ballet. 
The edges of yellow pink sunrise fade into the deep blues of heavens canvas. 
Evening
Creamed streaks spread high and thin coating the evening sky awaiting sunlight’s final dip into the sea. 
Hummingbird clicks and chirps a final melody chasing his beloved across the sky and through branches anticipating restful nesting. Finding one last taste of lavender and roses and Hydrangeas wearing lacy blue caps and purple Pom Pom buds. 
Daisies await closing time covering their round brown faces in petals of gold. 
Sun bursts into flaming clouds streaking the sky with gray smoke-like wisps and bids another day adieu.