Texas Skies

They say that everything is bigger in Texas. The more I get to know Texas (and Texans) I am starting to believe it.

It surely seems as if the sky here is bigger and bluer than anywhere else. I am constantly amazed to wake every virtually morning to another clear, sunny day. The sun blazes hot here, even in the early morning, yet it only reaches is full power and glory in the mid-afternoon. Afternoons here are made for siestas, as puny humans are truly not equipped to meet the Texas sun head-on. At least, humans that were bred in the northeast aren't!

It is not the sun that is so remarkable, however. I find the sky here breathtaking. It goes on forever after, wide and wonderful. The Texas sky is a blue so powerful that it almost hurts to look at it. It's surreal; not even remotely like anything I've ever seen before. Even a clear day in NY will never get this intense, color-saturated vibrancy. The Texas sky sings to me.

As if the universe knows that I couldn't quite bear that thoroughly unrelenting blueness, I am always gifted a few fleecy, white, cottony cumulus clouds hanging peacefully above me. They hang low, so low I can almost reach out and touch their softness.

The light changes at dusk, as an ethereal glow settles around us for a few fleeting moments. Sunsets are a blaze of Texas colors -- peach, orange, red, gold, violet, and indigo, all melting together in a swirling Cezanne-like display, finally dancing offstage to make way for the black velvet of night.

The stars are low here, and lavish in their display. I can see eternity in their serene abundance. The night sky is a soft shawl, wrapping me in it's embrace.

I am a pagan here, connected to Creation as I stand on the hard clay earth and gaze at my gorgeous Texas sky in all it's glory. Time loses meaning when you are celebrating eternity and singing with the universe.