Sunrise. Dawn. Daybreak. Early Morning. First Light. Call it would you like, but every sunrise brings new life, new challenges and new opportunities. One quote I found several years ago, simply states, “Every human should rise early at least once per week and experience a sunrise. No chores, no obligations, just wander outside and look, listen and breathe it in.” I agree wholeheartedly! Early morning is also my favorite time of the day, when nature awakens and begins to stir.
Most critters become active as the sun begins to rise, prompted mainly by the need to find food. Whether it be hunting another animal, or simply searching for seeds or berries, animals must eat, especially after a long night of not eating. Birds are most active at dawn. Visit a Pennsylvania forest in late May or June at daybreak, and you’ll have a front row seat to a magnificent concert of some of our native songbirds. If you ask any hunter or angler when the best time to harvest game or fish is, I bet most will tell you they prefer to be in their tree stand or boat, at first light. There are a few exceptions in the animal world to this sunrise rule-reptiles, amphibians and many insects. These animals are cold-blooded, which means their body temperature is dependent on the air temperature. As the sun rises higher and warms the air, snakes, turtles, frogs and toads begin to move about, and many types of flying insects take to the wing. However, unlike most animals, many humans may not embrace a sunrise like I do, while others thrive in the early morning.
A Great blue Heron takes off at sunrise
My wife is a morning person. Many days she reminds me of the old promotion slogan for the Army, “Doing more by 8:00 am than most people do all day,” including me! Almost every weekday morning, she’s up early with the two beagle boys before there’s even a hint of sunlight. She’ll finish a couple reports for work, throw in a load of laundry and make plans for that night’s supper-then quietly jumps in her car for work and heads east toward the rising sun! When not working, she simply enjoys watching the sun rise, and often joins me on the weekends for an early morning birding trip, or local hike. On the other side, is my daughter, who still enjoys the outdoors, but does not classify herself as a morning person. She prefers to sleep in a bit later and will wait to hear about my morning adventures and stories after she’s had her coffee and the sun is much higher in the sky. But our children have seen the sunrise on several occasions. In spite of some peaceful objections, we’ve always tried to catch at least one sunrise together as a family during some of our past vacations. We’ve been blessed to watch the sun rise over some special places, such as the north rim of the Grand Canyon on a brisk November morning, over the rolling waves of the Atlantic from the warm sands of the Turks & Caicos Islands, and sat in awe as the early morning sun peaked over the Wasatch Range in Utah. We shared some early morning rays of sunshine together in the rainforest of Belize and witnessed a fantastic sunrise over the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin.
I think most people who rise early would tell you one of their favorite things about sunrise, is the sunrise! There are so many wonderful places to view the rising sun and each location can create a special memory, even in your own backyard. Every season can bring new views and fresh vistas as the sun rises over the eastern horizon. As an outdoor photographer, I see a warm, orange sky at dawn in June, or a crimson horizon on a cold winter morning like a canvas that’s been freshly painted, begging me to take its picture.
As Mark Twain once wrote, “A sunrise is like a new opportunity, if you wait too long, it will be gone!” So, jump out of bed, throw on some clothes, get outside and watch the sun rise. I promise it will be well worth it! Enjoy!
