Better than Fireworks

I received a real treat on Monday night. I guess that good things can happen to bad people. In the spirit of generosity I had offered to drive out to the stables after work and take care of our horse. Usually I avoid the place where possible. But I had a moment of weakness, coupled with the fact that there was nothing decent on television. Monday is typically a slightly longer evening at the stables as it's also our turn to fill up the heated water troughs. But that was ok. The stables was empty when I got there. Which suited me fine as I don't have a lot to talk about with the other stables users. I'm not a horsey person as such. So I got his box cleaned, sorted out his food, and then headed outdoors to start filling the troughs. It wasn't until I was actually standing in the middle of the paddock that  looked up and saw that the Northern Lights were out. Not just out, but putting on a real show.

When we came to Sweden for a short holiday back in 2005, there was a fantastic show of Northern Lights as we touched down from our flight. Since then I haven't seen anything to rival it. Monday night came pretty close. For anyone who hasn't seen them, they are a bit difficult to describe. Which makes them all the more mesmerising. I gather than they come in a variety of colours, but the one's up here I've been lucky enough to see have always been a sort of off-lime green. The lights form a number of different shapes and forms, presenting a glowing image. Some look like clouds, while others look like snakes. I think it's the sheer size of them that I'm in awe of. It's hard to guess, but I reckon that each shape could easily be several kilometres across, and the snake-like shapes often span from horizon to horizon. The shapes move and change all the time. But it's not always easy to catch them in the act. Often I would glance down for a few seconds and when I glanced back up it felt like someone had completely replaced the painting. It didn't even look remotely like the glance before.

The entire show lasted maybe an hour. I felt a little sad and cheated when it was gone. Sometimes nature dishes up something that reminds you of your place in the world.