Winter Sun

In late fall and winter, often the warmest place is not in the house but outside in the sun.   At this time of year sunrise abruptly strikes the front of the house, lighting up the interior, luring me outside, to winter sun.

I've thought about painting that winter sunrise light on the wall in a lighter paint, so it is always there, not just in winter.
Outside, roses look blueish in shadow...

...but glow bright in direct light...

The stucco walls of the garden are hard and cold to the touch, foliage somber in the gloom of blue shadow.  

And there is contrast of bright and dark with the sun low in the sky.  

Relishing some sun, I got that lawn removed, and the area mulched.  The succulent cuttings are planted on the stairway...

The Tagetes is cut back for the year;  a pleasure to do because the sun was warm when I did the cutting, though it was not warm for long.

The on these short days shadows quickly loom. 

So why did an Iris decide to bloom?

The sun sets in winter such that it picks out the tips and toothy leaf margins on the front slope.

Senecio vitalis is at its most dramatic these days:

The 'Cherry Bomb' ice plant blooms so proudly...

for such a modest little plant, so small the light barely hits.
The Aloes spotted by rain still glow, backlit...

...or not backlit...

Sweet can be a winter day, if there is sun.