The Sun Sets on Another Summer

Living in the woods as I do, it's sometimes difficult to tell what's going on in the sky.  The forecast for Labor Day had been miserable, yet it turned out to be a lovely day with moderate temperatures and lots of sunshine.  I decided to see what the sunset had in store for this last "unofficial" day of summer.

As I left the neighborhood, I could see plenty of pale blue sky interspersed with wispy thin high clouds.  The cloud cover was much less significant than any of my weather apps had indicated.

But as I arrived at Peterson Park, I could see a significant cloud bank was surrounding the sun and thunderheads appeared to be forming along the horizon.

The cloud formations continually shape shifted as the sun sank lower in the sky.  A couple near me quietly discussed what objects they were saw in the cloud formations.  They saw a schnauzer, while I saw Kokopelli.

As the sun dipped into the horizon, the round orb finally freed itself of clouds and became sharply visible.  The water, like the sky, was cast with an orange glow.

Only a tiny fragment of the sun remained visible...

although the sky still vibrated with the its presence.

The fiery afterglow was reminiscent of skies I'd seen in photographs of the western wildfires.  Even though the last official day of summer is two weeks away, the feeling of fall has begun to creep into my consciousness.