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image to enlarge
29cm x 42cm, 2004, ink and watercolor on paper (available)
A bunch of birds are
sitting in a tree waiting for bugs to pass by. One jumps up, swoops
down, picks up an insect, settles back on it's favoured branch and
waits for the next unsuspecting, careless bug.
A cool breeze blows from a westerly direction keeping my beer and
me fresh. I am sitting on my balcony on Lamma Island watching those
birds doing their bird things. For those of you who live in the
city, birds are like those chicken you see in the super market but
with feathers, usually smaller and they fly around.
At this very moment there are 5 different kinds of birds sitting
in one of the trees in between the ocean and me. The crashing sound
of braking waves, amplified by the wind is carried through the trees.
The birds are weaving little musical accents into the slow rhythm.
I get myself another cold beer. The sun is disappearing behind a
curtain of haze and Venus is showing it's first flickers of the
night. A strange kind of melancholy sets in my heart, a heavy happiness
like the remembrance of a long lost friend. Venus and I have a special
relationship.
It started a few years ago when I realized by watching the night
sky, that Venus is always close to the sun. Once I figured that
out, I suddenly understood the structure of our solar system from
a different point of view.
In a way it was the reverse of knowing your way around in a city
but only understanding the relationship of landmarks for the first
time when you see it on a map. Familiar already with the structure
of our solar system I have then gotten comfortable with it on street
level, I saw the big picture from the inside out. I was very thankful
to Venus about that. My admiration of her deepened once more when
I realized that Venus goes through phases like the moon does. I
actually had a chance to see the beauty of that event for myself
with the help of a pair of binoculars. By then I was in love with
Venus.
Recently I read that this coming June 8 Venus will transit in front
of the sun. For a few hours you can see Venus as a little, black
dot moving across the sun. For those you who live in the City, the
sun is that big, yellow, hot thing in the sky at which you should
not look straight without something to protect your eyes with and
especially not with binoculars.
I just thought about something. If this event will happen so soon,
then theoretically Venus should be a crescent by now. I put my beer
down and get the binoculars. Oh yeah, yes indeed, a beautiful crescent.
Now I am really in love with Venus and I am certain that Venus,
in her own cute way, likes me too.
I am watching her slowly disappear behind Lantau island while the
birds are singing lullabies to each other. A warm and fuzzy feeling
spreads inside me. I quickly cool it down with a cold beer before
somebody calls me sentimental or something like that.
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yesterday
