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Abstract

4OurUTI4l8B-G5w.jpeg"><figcaption>“Wisps.” Photo ©Erika Burkhalter.</figcaption></figure><p id="45f8">But when we re-emerged, the horizon had melted into molten glass.</p><figure id="5dc2"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*eRq387mtRfR7tC_Ogep8yw.jpeg"><figcaption>“Melting.” Photo ©Erika Burkhalter.</figcaption></figure><p id="e4c3">Moments like these last for just a few held breaths. Almost before I could blink, the sun had slipped into the arms of night, beyond the blanket of fleece.</p><figure id="8485"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*osp5ZUWFucToX07vOTRAQQ.jpeg"><figcaption>“Beyond the Blanket of Fleece.” Photo ©Erika Burkhalter.</figcaption></figure><p id="ca34">And then, just as I began to mourn the loss of such glory, the crescent moon dangled into sight.</p><figure id="56de"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*ry96OeNe9Ab5gAo9n_e7iQ.jpeg"><figcaption>“Dangling.” Photo ©Erika Burkhalter.</figcaption></figure><p id="3d8a">The plane descended through the floor of clouds and we emerged into a world where night had already fallen.</p><figure id="7287"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*y0lQRRidaEYqqO_MZLn4SA.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="3750">All photos were taken with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The colors are not enhanced in any way. It really was <i>that</i> magnificent.</p><p id="a75a"><i>Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).</i></p><p id="fe53">Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my musings and photos. You might also like:</p><div id="b15f" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/astrophotography-in-maui-83eb927f1718">

Options

<div> <div> <h2>Astrophotography in Maui</h2> <div><h3>The dream series</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*ep0lgUWtfIY8_xcKdBrNfg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="9c32" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-breath-of-stardust-477e1f9d5164"> <div> <div> <h2>The Breath of Stardust</h2> <div><h3>Transcendent light</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*Q_XgEp8ziB7z8WEo93Ai_A.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="0383" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/where-the-ocean-meets-the-sky-874942382f3a"> <div> <div> <h2>Where the Ocean Meets the Sky</h2> <div><h3>Sky photos over the Pacific</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*-BFhRNWMFByOy74W2bNWXg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="683b">Medium allows three “free” reads a month. If you’d like to see more, and to help support the writers here, you can “join” for $5/month — quite a bargain, in my opinion. Using <a href="https://erikaburkhalter.medium.com/membership">my referral link</a>, gives me a small bonus.</p><p id="1b08"><i>Photos and story ©Erika Burkhalter. All rights reserved.</i></p></article></body>

Photography, Travel, Sunsets

Fire in the Sky

A sunset above the clouds

Flying from Dallas to Alexandria, Louisiana last week, I looked out of the window and saw that the sky was on fire. I’ve always loved watching sunsets from the plane. And we had seen a beautiful one a couple days before on a flight home from Maui.

But this one was absolutely otherworldly. Caught between two planes of clouds, the “alpen-glow” colors exploded into fleecy tufts of light.

As we watched, the sun slipped beneath a billowing mountain of clouds.

“The Billowing Mountain.” Photo ©Erika Burkhalter.

It looked, for a moment, like the show was over, with just a little lingering afterglow, like after a good party.

But then, the second act began. The very moment that the sun was caught between the upper and lower layers of clouds, it was as if fire ricocheted between the two planes.

All too soon, we flew into one of those towering wisps and lost sight of the sunset for a few moments.

But when we re-emerged, the horizon had melted into molten glass.

Moments like these last for just a few held breaths. Almost before I could blink, the sun had slipped into the arms of night, beyond the blanket of fleece.

“Beyond the Blanket of Fleece.” Photo ©Erika Burkhalter.

And then, just as I began to mourn the loss of such glory, the crescent moon dangled into sight.

The plane descended through the floor of clouds and we emerged into a world where night had already fallen.

All photos were taken with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The colors are not enhanced in any way. It really was that magnificent.

Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my musings and photos. You might also like:

Astrophotography in Maui

The dream series

medium.com

The Breath of Stardust

Transcendent light

medium.com

Where the Ocean Meets the Sky

Sky photos over the Pacific

medium.com

Medium allows three “free” reads a month. If you’d like to see more, and to help support the writers here, you can “join” for $5/month — quite a bargain, in my opinion. Using my referral link, gives me a small bonus.