Hurrah! I am still alive, surviving from the whirlpool of final deadlines. Scattered showers have come to Gainesville this week. But the Florida sunlight soon returns to the stage as if  it just left for a coffee break. Yep, the weather plays the prelude for the incoming Florida summer(many may argue we’re already there).

I have a question as the appetite .

What is your favourite part of the day? 

My top choice will be the sunset. Midnight rank the second. I am an owl who enjoys the quiet and soothing darkness if I am awake or asleep. However, the sunset is unbeatable. You cannot imagine the nature’s talent to work on the sky palette. The light and colors are stunning. Something touches me deeply inside, that I always call it the “holy moment”.

The rainbow picture was shot in sunset after an unusual torrential rain last month. The color in that afternoon turned dark at a sudden. Then it was dyed golden orange. Can you spot the second rainbow? I didn’t saw it at the beginning since it appeared to be so blur. But it is in there.  

“ Primary rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part, and violet on the inner side. A second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed.”

Thanks, Wikipedia. Thanks, my roommate(science student) who told me the differences between the two. She said our Chinese ancestors named them with different characters. 

 虹(the primary arch)   霓( the second arch)  Check here to see the Chinese oracle for the character.

The researcher in me googled more references. Wow…(Google is our good friend)

Can you guess why the rainbow has five colors? 

I am not asking for the normal answer( we ALL know it). The Chinese myths gives the different answer, which is more intriguing. Once upon a time, a battle between two gods destroyed the pillar supporting the heaven. The wall of sky was broken that the enormous floods came down from the hollow. To stop the calamity, Nüwa, a goddess( her major role is the mother of human beings) took many measures to repair the sky including melting some stones in five colors to seal the hole.

In the Greek Myths, Iris is the goddess of rainbow. She is the messenger of heaven who also connects the sea with clouds. I’ve witnessed that the span of rainbows increasing while snapshoting. They extended and ascended  higher and higher. I felt like somebody above the clouds took the bridges back.

Why not leave a comment and share something else about rainbow?  Or to chat about your favourite part of the day? “I will be right here waiting for you.” ^o^