The Incredible Lightness of Being on Sanibel Island

We have been at our vacation rental home, Toucan House, for the past several days.

To say the time has been sublime would be a gross understatement.

The weather could not be better. Sunny, hot, with a touch of a breeze during the day. The sky is blue, the clouds are puffy and white.

And the quality of the light? Well, there is no describing it.

Much has been written about the quality of light in Provence and other locations around the world.

But I have yet to find a locale with the green, brilliant, clarity of a Sanibel landscape on days like this.

I have been following the light around Toucan House.

It comes in our eyes in our bright orange bedroom, though I have the blinds closed. It is persistent and sneaks into the cracks letting us know the day is beginning and it will be our loss if we do not get up and seize it.

By the time we sit down to breakfast on the lanai, the sun has swept around and though diffused by the palms, it sits on the breeze and comes with gentle certainty.

All day long, I feel the warmth of the light and at times smell the perfume of the light.

As it disappears with dusk, I watch it descend from the small porch off our loft. It colors the sky with its good night good bye.

I am sorry to see it go, but I know it will return in the morning and if, we are really lucky, it will keep us company all day. On our walks, at the beach, as we sit and read. There is no light like the light on Sanibel.