sometimes we just need a reminder of a promise
The fire was going in the wood cookstove and water was getting hot for tea and for a bath in the old washtub. Finally, the chill was gone from the air as flames licked the stone fireplace and heated the log cabin. It wouldn’t be long until the smells of a hot meal filled to room and welcomed the hikers yet to return from the mountains.
The steady rain eased up and rays of sunshine managed to squeeze through the clouds. It was then I noticed a rainbow. The arc was so close, I could see the colors of the prism between me and the trees just beyond the Ward and Parker gate. Had we been in Ireland, I am positive there would have been a leprechaun searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Never had I see such a sight. The colors were bright and vivid. I thought about walking toward the trees but was afraid the bow would disappear altogether. As if a magic wand painted the sky, another fainter rainbow appeared over the brighter one. Just as quickly as it came, they were both gone. When the hikers arrived a few minutes later, all evidence of the colorful phenomenon was erased.
Over forty years later just a few miles away, another rainbow appeared. Once again, the colors of the bow could be seen rising up from the prairie grass casting its hues on the trees behind. A second bow arced over the first.
at the edge of Porcupine Butte; the colors of the bow in front of the hill
Another rainbow looked like an arch holding up the sky, spanning across two corners of the earth. The second bow sent sparkling water particles upward until they faded from view. I think that was the biggest, most magnificent rainbow I have ever seen.
over Big Timber 2012
When rain has fallen and the sun magically appears, look to the east. You might just see a promise of a lifetime.
Autumn rainbow 2018 – it followed us all the way to Livingston