The Land of the Setting Sun

Thursday is the solstice, and so these are the longest nights of the year.  At no other time of year do I get to watch the sunrise on my drive to work, and the sunset on my drive home.

On this particular day, I worked, then ran a quick errand or two in town. As I was driving home, I watched the golden orb of the sun drop down into the horizon. I had that feeling of racing it, trying to beat the coming of the long night.

There is a little gazebo at Gray's Cemetery that is a favorite sunset scene this time of year. If you stand at the right spot, at just the right time, you can capture the sun itself inside the gazebo.

Alas, I was a minute or two late to frame the full sun in the gazebo this time. (That last stop for a pair of cheesesteaks is what did it, but boy were they good, and well worth stopping for.)

But the landscape was still lovely, and the graveyard was quiet and still and beautiful as the sun went down. The darkness that falls at this hour is not pure black, but is shot through at the edges with color: shades of pink, gold, and blue.

The soundtrack: George Michael and Elton John, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.