Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Sunny South

I love light, whether it's artificially arrived at, or the natural light of early dawn. It's so great to be able to wake to the clear shimmering crystals left by an overnight rain, made magical by the reflection of the pool lights, on the leafless tree outside our window. Upon seeing the sun, we have all day of twice the light as the it beams down and reflects up from the mirror of the marina.

When we're in the forest, light doesn't descend on us until the sun tops the hill behind our house in the latter part of the morning. Even then, the illumination in the foothills of the Smokies is hazy, hence the term Smoky Mountains. The light then leaves rather early as it dips behind the vast array of both deciduous and evergreen boughs on the opposite hill. It can be very soothing, especially in the heat of summer, but not so soothing when winter lingers long. It is true that we also have our share of fog, but we on the water see the sun fighting to free itself behind the bank of morning mist.

Maybe some of us suffer from a vitamin D (as in daylight) deficiency. I don't know, but I do submit that, whatever the case, winter in the woods is not the best for me and my mental health. And we all know that "If Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy" -- at least in the sunny South.