Palettes change with the seasons
![12.24.15 Sunsets January Fran](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/12.24.15-Sunsets-January-Fran.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
For some it’s a ritual at the beach, but I have always loved to watch the sunset in a park. The sun sinking through pines lights up the landscape. A pastel backdrop frames moonrise in the east, while off to the west, there is a last hurrah of bright color.
Every sunset is different. Many days it’s a vibrant light show, but there’s a certain regularity through the year: rainbows in spring; storm clouds summer into fall; and in winter, calm vistas with fog thrown in from time to time.
(All photos are by Fran Palmeri.)
![Fog steals the show from disappointed beachgoers.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/12.24.15-Sunsets-Fran-February.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&ssl=1)
![Muted colors are reflected in Deer Prairie Creek.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Sunsets-by-Fran-March-for-Dec.-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C667&ssl=1)
![Sol sinks beneath the waves at Siesta Key Beach.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/April-sunset-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C667&ssl=1)
![The fire station on Honore Road is framed in a late day rainbow.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/May-sunset-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C647&ssl=1)
![Whistling ducks prepare to roost for the night at Lake Osprey.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/June-sunsets-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C667&ssl=1)
![A thunderstorm closes in at Oscar Scherer State Park.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/July-sunsets-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C563&ssl=1)
![A rare sundog shows its face along a roadside.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/August-sunset-for-Dec.-24-2015-Fran.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&ssl=1)
![Downtown Sarasota is limned by the fading light.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/September-Sunset-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C678&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/October-Sunset-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C667&ssl=1)
![Stickney Point grows dark under a December sunset.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/November-Sunset-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=750%2C1000&ssl=1)
![A mosaic of pines is turned red by the setting sun.](https://i0.wp.com/sarasotanewsleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/December-Sunset-by-Fran-for-Dec.-24-2015.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&ssl=1)