Sunset

Unless something is going on in Ye Olde Salte Mine, I get home from work a little after 6pm. I feed the cats, change clothes and go for a walk. At this time of year, the Sun is just setting as I head out the door, so I don't need sunglasses.

Tonight, the Moon was just clearing the ridgeline to the east. I walk about a mile more or less to the east and then turn around for the walk home. The days have been warm and the evenings cool. As I walked back home, I saw a jet, high in the sky, heading southwest. The sunlight was reflecting from its wings and belly. The jet was putting out a contrail that dissipated only a mile or so behind the jet, so it looked like a rocket going across the evening sky. Far below the jet, a Cessna was on its way back to its home airport, the pilot probably hoping to have enough light left in the sky to make tying down the airplane easier.

Soon it will be dark when I finish my walk, then it will be dark for the entire duration. It will turn cold. I'll switch from shorts to jeans, from a t-shirt to a sweatshirt and then to an overcoat. I'll go back to carrying a flashlight to illuminate the dark corners of my walk. Then the snow will come and I will be done walking until it melts.