Another Red Sky, Another View

From my study window last evening, I noticed the clouds glowing red. The window faces north. Why was the northern sky so red? Last evening's sunset was spectacular—another sky so blazing with fall color that I guess the western sky couldn't hold all of it. I went outside for another view.

From the front porch, I took this picture:


The Peaks of Otter appear as blue barely above the tree-line at the far right. That's north.

Moving my camera westward, I saw the sky even redder:


From the deck, and facing westward, I could see wisps of clouds reaching upward:


I peeked through the pines that divide my lawn from the pasture, and saw the western sky ablaze:


If I were writing a story that took place at sunset, how much of the sunset should I describe? To go on and on for pages would be boring. How could I capture the grandeur of the sunset in a few words? How much setting is really important to plot.

Is much nature-type description even necessary when the action is what's important? So, what action might have been happening yesterday evening?

Not much, just a mantis couple wanting a little privacy on my house's back wall:


Would the mantis picture be more effective if the setting were included? After all, the female will kill the male after their little tryst is concluded. And that red sky in the background can lend an ominous tone to what's happening in the foreground.

See?


Just something to think about. So many words, so little time. . . .

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