There's something wondrous about watching the world wake up.

This morning I woke up about 3-3:30, and couldn't get back to sleep. After chatting until after 5 on RinkChat (there were people there!), I noticed that the sky outside was just starting to get light. So I bundled myself in my SCA* cloak (those who have seen my pictures know what cloak I mean) and went out onto the front porch. Since our new house is smaller than our last was, we had a loveseat/futon we didn't know what to do with, so we put it out there. I sat on that.

It was still pretty dark and still out. At that time of day, you seem to experience everything for the first time, even bushes rustled by a breeze. The mountains across from us (we overlook a valley) looked stark against the light coming over the top of them. It was very peaceful, marred only by the traffic I could hear on a busy road not too far away. Very gradually it got lighter until suddenly I realized I could see things clearly. Birds were beginning to chirp, and I saw quite a few hummingbirds (or perhaps the same ones over and over) come for the rest of the time I was out there to the feeder we'd set in front of the house.

Finally the light over one part of the mountains began to glow brighter, and then the shining golden ball of the sun rose. I looked at my watch and was startled to see that it was about 7:30. I hadn't realized how long I'd stayed outside. And now it's turned into another gorgeous California day. I think I'm going outside.

-Ayako

*SCA stands for Society for Creative Anachronism. Worldwide organization of people who pretend to relive the fun-seeming parts of the Middle Ages.