The Conquest of the Sun

It's been quite a long time since my last post. My hands have been full with things that matter most in life. My cyber home (this blog) is also a matter of importance, of course, but there are greater needs that must be taken care of first, which are vital for the preservation of life.

Now that my load has been slightly cut back, I can go on with my spring chronicle by picking up where I left off.

Ok, that was a snow storm right during the spring equinox. After that, the sun came out conquering the sky again with its intense brightness that drove the clouds away, so that it was the only object that embellished the clear blue sky. There were days, though, when it gave way to gloom when thick clouds would remain for a whole day or some hours. For a couple of days or so, it let the snowflakes float in the air that was saturated by its warmth and light hailstones to sprinkle  the already snowless ground.

As I mentioned, the sun has been out for most of the days. The buds of the vegetation that seemed to shrink back are popping out again. Soon, the world of green will flourish.

And, of course, the spring bulbs are out to "paint" the ground with their vibrant colors and multi-faceted beauty.

The frozen city river has completely thawed out.

Last week, a succession of celestial phenomena graced the clear day sky as well as the night sky.  

On the 3rd of this month, I caught sight of another sundog looming over the hospital buildings at around 10:00 a.m. I took several shots, and a few more when I reached my work place close to the hospital.

In the afternoon of the 4th, as I walked toward the train station close to the city river for an assigned mission, I spotted another halo phenomenon that resembled an iris of the eye gazing down on the earth.

On the night of the 5th, the aurora borealis was active but clouds obscured its anticipated colorful performance. However, the moon (half moon, actually) and its close companions, Jupiter and Gemini, shone brightly below the clouds. I captured them with long exposure, which accounted for the half moon's round appearance. In doing so, I noticed some pillars of green lights flashing on and off. Yes, it was the aurora overlapping with the clouds! It was not that spectacular but the proximity of all these heavenly wonders got me awe-struck.

Then again, on the night of 11th, the northern lights were active, though I couldn't see them  because of the thick clouds in our part of the city. But in another part, someone took this picture from her veranda.

Norrsken by Emely Hansson, published here: Västerbottens Kuriren

The moon in its different phases was visible most nights. At times, clouds helped to disperse the moon's light throughout the dark space above us.

The red planet, Mars, is also prominent in the sky at this early stage of spring. I tried to capture it in 15 or 30 seconds exposure, but as expected, the movement is noticeable in the picture (the bright spot left of the tallest birch).

Because the sun is always out, the people are always out too, enjoying the much-awaited warmth of this all-conquering face in the sky. It is chasing away the last vestige of winter blues that gripped many during the dark days of the past season.

Now is another season rich with "things too wonderful for us" that declare the glory and unfathomably awesome power of our Creator.

Linking with Skywatch Friday