Sunsets That Change Seasons

9/15/2021

We experienced our first taste of autumn here in western Hungary in the final week of August. Temperatures have rebounded since then, and though it still very much looks like summer in this part of the world, the warm sun and the balmy air no longer feel like summer.

The lingering summer masquerade is unclothed soon after the sun sinks away and temperatures drop to single Celsius digits.

But the impending change of season subtly reveals itself just before the sky darkens over. The sunsets cast a considerably cooler quality of light. A patchwork of clouds inevitably shrouds the last dying rays. The sun itself dips below the horizon at a seemingly sharper angle. No blackbird song serenades the descending twilight. After darkness falls, all is silent.

Sunset - Mihály Munkácsy - 1873

7 Comments

S.K. Orr link

9/16/2021 04:38:33

Ah, the silence after nightfall at this time of year. You got it exactly right, Francis. I know that many feel somber at this time of year, with the cooling earth and the departure of leaves and birds and sunlit hours, but I thrive on it. And I thrive on it because of the silence. I love the quieting of the world, the tamping-down of the land. It's as if God is putting His earth to bed, tucking it in, saying, "Shhhhh....see you in the morning."

S.K. Orr link

9/16/2021 04:40:32

Oh, I forgot to mention how much I like the painting "Sunset" by M. Munkacsy. Very evocative. I have long appreciated the works of art you post here, Francis.

Francis Berger

9/16/2021 07:59:29

Thanks, S.K. Your comments are very much appreciated.

Bookslinger

9/17/2021 02:41:15

francis, it sounds like you've made a connection to the land. does it feel
like Hungary is "home" now? or do you still feel like an American who is just living in Hungary?

Francis Berger

9/17/2021 10:15:47

@ Books - Good question. I never really felt "at home" in America, regardless of where I lived. In this regard, I suppose I do feel more at home here in Hungary. And since I have no desire to move, I would have to say that this place is home now.

Bookslinger

9/17/2021 16:33:44

Your description of time of year, time of day, sun angle, etc., correlates closely to a post I wrote:

https://www.jrganymede.com/2019/10/12/an-autumnal-objective-correlative/

I currently live at approximately the same latitude as where I grew up, and at about the same elevation above sea level, and in the same climactic/weather zone.

If I am outdoors at a certain time of year, in the fall, and the right time of day, and the weather is the same, I have a powerful flashback to similarly configured situations in childhood. It's a "magical" combination of astronomical, geographical, and meteorological conditions, that creates a time warp for me, to some time before age 12.

There is another combination for spring too, that creates a time-warp corresponding to moments that occurred somewhere between ages 15-17. This one is connected to the song "Here Comes the Sun" which gets triggered and replays in my mind.

Francis Berger

9/17/2021 21:26:43

@ Books - That's a good post! Thanks for sharing.

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Sunsets That Change Seasons

Leave a Reply.

Archives