January 15, 2020 Sun Dog Days

It was 5 degrees and late afternoon by the time I was heading home from work. I wished I hadn’t committed to taking a walk every day in 2020, but there’s not much point in making a commitment if you abandon it at the first sign of inconvenience or discomfort. I’m not taking my camera with me, I thought – too cold. No outdoor photos today. And then I saw it in the sky – a sun dog! Sun dogs are God’s gift to us in the Northern Lands, much like the northern lights (which I’ve actually never seen). Here’s the scientific explanation:

“The sun dog is a member of the family of halos, caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sun dogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22 degrees to the left and right of the sun…”

Scientists take the fun out of everything. Here’s my explanation:

Sun dogs are rainbow pillars that flank the sun with rare beauty and can only be seen when the days are so cold that your eyelashes freeze.

I guess they can be seen anywhere in any season, but they’re most obvious in really cold weather and when the sun is close to the horizon.

I actually drove to a spot to get a good shot and then went home and took my walk without the camera. The sun dog was way more beautiful in person than in this photo.

Sun Dog Days
Will you dare to catch a sun dog?
Will you run to grab his ears?
His bark is fearsome frost,
His eyes like dreadful mirrors.
Oh, you’ll never, never tame him –
Just when you think he’s yours,
He’ll sink into the shadows
With icy growls and roars.

That about does it for today. I’ll probably delete this in the morning.