Sunset, Monday, 19 October 2009

William Theodore Van Doren. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 16 x 20.

Today we had a general light frost – our first. When the sun came up, it fused with sparkling fields in one cold light. As the sun climbed, its rays revolved and wheeled the frost up into the sky, leaving us with a mild day. 

With the frost, we’re now eligible for Indian Summer. 

Maybe a Virginian of Pamunkey, Mattaponi or Monacan lineage could tell me whether ‘Indian Summer’ means anything to a Native American.

It’s a strange feeling sometimes to realize that the vantage point of all these sunsets once belonged to the Monacan people.