The 7 Degrees of Bright

It has been raining almost every day, except for the days Ms. Nimblethreads visited. Even then I think it rained some, but she brought with her sunshine. Wasn't very warm though and that leaves me wondering if it will ever get warm here. Even rain is OK if it is a warm rain.

Despite the grayness a lot of flowering trees have blossomed out. Very pretty in a soft way against the grey-blue sky. The camelia is covered in cherry red blooms and they are falling off now so it looks like red flowers blooming on the ground in front of our house. Yesterday I saw two yellow things in the way back and thought they were scraps of paper that had blown in. I trudged back bundled against the wind and the soggy ground (the grass is too tall to mow in one pass) and found out they were daffodils!

All the grey has lead me to meditate on what I callThe 7 Degrees of Bright.Perhaps it should be especially in reference to Portland, although it may have no geographic boundaries. Bright sun hurts Portlanders' eyes after a winter of gray. It's just a fact. And it takes a bit to adjust.

My idea of brightness is this: with 7 being the brightness of God and 6 the brightness of sun reflecting off the ocean or snow; 5 is a bright, sunny day with few clouds in the sky. 4 is the artificial brightness of headlights from oncoming cars at just a certain angle or turning on the bathroom light in the middle of the night. 3, 2, and 1 are the subtle variations of a Portland day.

For example, today the brightness is at 3 degrees - certainly gray outside, but with a crisp whitish sky. 1 is the murky dark ecru of daylight in the rain with just enough light to let you know it's daytime. That leave 2. The other day I experienced 2 as I sat in a parking lot waiting for the rain to subside enough to run into Goodwill. The rain was gray, the clouds were several shades of gray with a bit of grayish white. And then there was a fine strip of blue that radiated with 2 degrees of brightness - BEATIFIC and exilerating even at a mere 2 degrees. Ah, God is good.