Friday, January 23, 2009

The Beauty of Inversion

The past couple of days were not fabulous for various reasons.
As I drove to work the day before yesterday, the thoughts in my mind were not terribly pleasant. The weather was ugly, the air was bad, I was tired, it was too early in the morning, things at work were cranky.
The ugly weather and bad air are the result of a fairly common phenomenon here in Happy Valley. S ince we live in a valley surrounded by very high mountains, we get these lovely things called inversions. And I use the term lovely VERY sarcastically. Inversions are evil, horrible, nasty things. In a nutshell, warm air traps cold air in the valley and allows for no air movement. This results in serious pollution and haze. Those with compromised immune systems or respiratory problems are encouraged to stay inside. Even those us with healthy lungs have a difficult time breathing.
So, there I was, driving through the nastiness, when I noticed that it was...particulating? Not snow, not rain, not really ice. Little tiny sparkly crystals landing on my windshield. I looked around and realized...

I was driving through faeryland.

It was beautiful. Hoarfrost coated everything. Thick, delightful layers of frozen glitter clung to each and every branch and leaf. The sad, stark trees from the previous day were gone, to be replaced by a beauty rarely seen here. When the sun was able to peek through the haze, the coated vegetation positively glowed in the light. Oh, how I wish I had had my camera! This was not the usual morning frost that a touch would melt away, no this, this was jewellike. It was as though the trees had been dipped in diamond dust. And it would not have been possible without the inversion, without the horrible cold, without the nasty, wet air. I don't have words to describe the beauty of it.

By the time I got to work, I was in a great mood. Beauty has that effect on me, natural beauty in particular. God is, indeed, good.

3 comments:

3boysohmy said...

I can picture it in my mind! :)

Ed said...

I just wish I could have been in town to see this event. It is so wonderful when you see something so wonderful and you have your camera. I think we should carry a smaller camera with us always. The Blackett who we travel with just bought a $179 camera that is 10 mp and they alway have it with them. I am going to look into such a purchase. Thanks for sharing this special moment. Love ya. Ed

Ed said...

One additional thought last Saturday Linda and I were on our way to Las Vegas and the day was wet and the clouds were low in the sky. As we entered the Virgin River Gorge we could see the clouds hanging over the cliffs like blankets and flowing into the canyons below. I could see many wonderful camera shots that would turn out beautiful on film. Gray days are opportunities for shooting with blacket and white setting on our cameras. We have missed many opportunities over the years not expermenting with the black and white medium. I think Tara Step Father is a great example of this almost forgotten art. Just a thought. Ed