I was up early, and out to the Point to enjoy the brilliant dawn colours. Katrina enjoyed sniffing the trails of the raccoons and deer that had visited overnight while I watched the shifting colours and the morning flights of gulls, geese, and ducks.
The rarity of an almost cloudless sunrise allowed me to identify just how far the sun has moved north. More light, more warmth. And it's most welcome!
This afternoon we’ve returned to blue sky. This morning’s brightness darkened to heavy rain, then brightened again… and the swirl of these clouds this afternoon is just plain awesome.
Yesterday we had a short reprieve between storms: the sun shone, the wind dropped and the sea settled to a mirror calm. Mt. Baker glowed on the far side of the Salish Sea.
But best of all is the sweep of clouds, with the small pale moon visible beyond them, to the left of centre frame.
Among the benefits of early rising is the gorgeous sunrises we get here: always different—
On the particular morning of this photo, the patterns of light and colour in the cloud captivated me and inspired this work of 'photo art'.
The wide open canvas of the sky, and the extravagant swirl of cloud...
I stand here, small, waiting and in awe of what is given today even before I begin.
The rain has started in earnest now. Its not a gentle sprinkling as we had overnight but a proper and welcome rain, pounding on the roof.
There was a brief pause between the overnight showers and this more definite, steady downfall, and it was in that pause I went out with the dogs, on our usual morning round. In the southeast there was one tiny window in the clouds, the lower edge gilded by the sun rising behind. That window is now tight shut, but it provided a lovely glimpse of the light that's ever present, even while obscured.
Every morning is different. And beautiful. My early morning venture out with 'the girls' (our two Golden Retrievers) is not only for their benefit. Clearly. It is for me too, as I breathe the morning air, and revel in the daily beauty. Today again, the stillness of the water, the reflections of the clouds, the congregation of gulls on the rocks, the warm glow of the rising sun— all of it.
Soon perhaps, it'll be winter storms, biting cold wind, and raucous waves. But for now, this is what we have. And its glorious.
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These daily excursions outside and the morning by morning-ness of the wonders I see remind me of a line of an old and fine hymn that remains with me: '...morning by morning new mercies I see...' Maybe that's the tune for the day today...?
The reward for venturing out with our two Goldens this morning: the rising sun spread its light through the one opening in the cloud, lit up a path of light on the water, and gave a rosy gold hue to the underside of the clouds.
In the brightness, just to the right of centre you can see the outline of the mountain peaks of Washington State. The southern shoulder of Mt. Baker, just barely discernable in the centre of the light. (Click on the image to see it full sized).
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Happily the time of sunrise is getting later: one of the benefits of autumn. I'm grateful not to be sleeping through the glories of the early morning light-shows like the one I was grateful to see and posted here.
