Winter Skies

Malibu winter skies always stop me in my tracks. For some unwelcome reason, I have been waking up every morning at 5 a.m. this week. When I wake, I am annoyed. How does my internal alarm clock know it's 5 and wake me up? The bright side is that I have seen a number of spectacular sunrises. First there's a burst of fiery red that seems to fill the entire sky over the ocean. Then it gradually softens through shades of orange and yellow until it lights up a clean blue sky.

That blue sky is so clear and beautiful. Not a cloud in sight. And it's warm but with a cool breeze. It's most inviting to get Scout and me out for a walk. And, today, Saturday was a perfect day to sit in the back yard and read and now and then throw a tennis ball for the dog. She has never learned -- or perhaps wanted to learn -- to give back the ball in spite of seven years of trying to teach her to "drop it". However, she definitely wants to interrupt any pleasant activity such as reading a book or talking on the phone by dropping a dirty wet tennis ball onto my lap -- and then grabbing it again before I can. It quickly exhausts my interest in tossing the ball.

Winter sunsets are spectacular as well. Again in some of them, like tonight, the sun appears as a ball of fire spreading tentacles of orange and yellow across the sky. One evening it started as red then softened to pink and then melted into lilac as it spread over the ocean, turning the ocean a warm bluish purple. I watched this from my office looking toward the west. When I turned toward the east, the rays of the sunset were reflecting off the towers in downtown, giving them a special hue. Behind them the snow capped mountains sparkled. What an evening to be alive.

It has been a full moon this week. Last night it hung like a giant orange ball low in the sky over the ocean. I had to stop on the drive home to see its reflection in the ocean that was a deep blue, almost black.

Then when I went out at 9:30 to let the horses out of their stalls after their dinners I marveled at the night sky and the many stars I could see. The big dipper was shining right over my driveway. When I get annoyed that I am stuck with the responsibility of taking care of the horses, I walk out on a night like last night and realize they are the reason that bring me out to marvel at the dark skies and its stars.

Now I hear on the news that the rest of the nation is being hit with a fierce winter storm. The temperatures give me a chill just to hear them cited. And for Malibu -- well, it's going to be 75 tomorrow.

No wonder our winter skies are worth savoring.