Prairie Sunsets

It has been nearly four decades since I moved to Minnesota as a young bride. And although the prairie has a beauty all of its own, I still miss the hills and trees from Southern Illinois where I grew up. I remember shortly after arriving at our new home in the late 1970's, I told my husband..."the sky is bigger here." Traveling across the flat prairie your eyes can go from one horizon to the other with nothing to block the view. 

Through the years and especially now that I am retired and move at a slower pace, I have enjoyed watching the prairie sky. With winters that seem to stretch on forever, the colorful evening sunsets are a special treat at the end of the short days. I don't know if they really are that much more colorful or vivid than a summer sunset...perhaps they just seem that way when the rest of the world is in black and white.

My kitchen window faces to the west and often as I am busy preparing dinner, I will glance out and notice the orange glow beginning to cross the lake. That is my signal to grab my camera and quickly walk the short distance to the shoreline. I try my best to capture the beauty of the moment in a photograph that will last, while at the same time giving thanks to God for creating such a work of art! 

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

(Psalm 19:1)