By the Dawn's Early Light

I awoke in the pre-dawn dark this morning.  Liam was on my mind.  Tomorrow is his third birthday.  I tried imaging what three year olds are like.  He's been on my mind for a little while.  I decided to throw off the covers - gently, as Thomas was still snoring - and get my day started.  After a hot shower and making a hot breakfast, I realized the gift Liam was giving me - dawn.

To be up at six, I usually need an alarm and a jolting reason to burst out of bed.  To be up at seven (the usual time), I still need an alarm and usually a nudge from Tom.  I don't typically set an alarm to watch the sunrise, so it really was a gift.  I enjoyed the shift in colors every second, and though I couldn't capture it all, I tried to capture a little:

Swiveling from east to west back to east again.  A bit later as I drove on to work, the full moon sank low enough to be captured in the first rays of the sun.  The dull yellow of the dried pastures glowed gold as I drove north along the foothills in the first rays.  A beautiful morning indeed!  Thanks, Liam!