The Blue Hour

The blue hour comes from the French expression l'heure bleu, which refers to the period of twilight each evening when there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. This twilight time is considered special because of the quality of the light. It infuses the environs with surreal calm, casting crisp silver light on the greying shadows and the promise of the evening ahead. It is a new time of day for me. Remember the Platters' hit song "Heavenly shades of night are falling, it's twilight time. . . . When purple colored curtains mark the end of day. . .". There was no blue hour in California. A celestial switch was thrown, the sun went down, the daylights went off and the headlights were turned on. It happened in five minutes. But here, I am learning about the blue hour. "Deepening shadows gather splendor as day is done. Fingers of night will soon surrender the setting sun. . . ."

Twilight time seems to encourage reflective thoughts, which come easily when looking out at the dock, the still water around it and the nearby forest at the back of the house. All seems calm at first blush, "in the afterglow of day", and yet the life that is slowly realized out there demands attention. I watch the heron that reigns from atop the tall pines that line the shore disappear into the evening sky, its wingspan barely reflected in the water. There is a warren of rabbits that lives under the bushes near the front of the grounds. During the blue hour, sometimes I see a small movement in the trees and realize a bunny is bouncing toward home for the night. I imagine a little salad is waiting for ingestion. The hawks circle, then squawk goodnight before disappearing into the pines, and the egret too goes off to wherever it goes at night, long legs dangling in the sky. This twilight time spells a long good night. I hear Scott pattering around the house and wondering aloud about dinner. It warms my heart just to hear his voice. This is our l'heure bleu, our twilight time. "Each day I pray for evening just to be with you, together at last at twilight time." I couldn’t have asked for more, or better.