mornings

Typically, Garden of the Gods doesn’t have a large, swampy pond. In fact, there’s not really a whole of water in the garden at all. But courtesy of a whole lot of precipitation last week (rain, hail, graupel, and snow), the pond has returned. I drove past the other day but it was in the middle of the day when the sun is bright and harsh. Not very photo worthy at that point. So this morning being one without rain and cloud cover being forecast, my niece and I got up ridiculously early so we could head across town and see the pond at sunrise.

While I was waiting for her to come out, I captured this shot of the moon. Made me pretty happy that she wasn’t quite ready or else I’d have missed it.

A quick stop at the Starbucks drive-thru (so glad they open at 5:00 a.m.!) and we were off. It was a somewhat decent morning – very calm and 45 degrees. Although the dampness made it a bit chillier. I dressed well, but Bailey might’ve liked longer pants and warmer shoes. But at that point, she was doing well to be there.

It was pretty much a given that we wouldn’t be alone once we go there. The pond being a rarity, photographers tend to swarm around sunrise and sunset. There were only four others when we arrived, so it wasn’t too bad. There was plenty of room for everyone to get their shot without tripods and silhouettes in their pictures. Our timing was good as the sun was just beginning to come up so we didn’t have to wait.

Leave it to me in my gracelessness, I did manage to slip on some damp, muddy rocks and weeds, but nothing was hurt. Just some slightly wet pants. Apparently the guy who trotted down that way right before me had goat feet or something. Or maybe the fact that my shoes have almost no tread whatsoever had something to do with my abrupt landing.

Oh my word. That morning light and dew is so breathtaking.

I’ve never been a fan of hauling myself out of bed super early, but scenery like this is so worth that 4:15 a.m. alarm clock buzzing.

We were both getting hungry on our way home – it was all of 7:00p a.m. after all – so we made a quick run through Chick Fil A for those tasty little Chicken Minis. They were delicious and we had a great morning. Pretty sure I’ll be getting to sleep a little earlier tonight.

It was time to clean up the memory cards. Again. I do fairly well for awhile and then I sort of fall behind. So tonight I went through all those scattered on my desk to see which had been uploaded and which hadn’t. Naturally, I found pictures which I’ve already forgotten, though they were shot this month. Given the massive quantity I’ve taken in January, that’s not too surprising, really.

I sort of thought I had more cards than this. But there is the one in my camera. And the two in my camera bag. And a few more in my card shelf thingy. I also may still be missing one card altogether. Not that I don’t have enough to accommodate my crazy picture-taking ways.

So here are some found images:

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Early mornings are such a conundrum. That’s when the amazingly beautifully gorgeous light appears. Most days here in Colorado, anyway. It brings such a beautiful glow to a frosty or snowy morning and I love it so much. Once I’m up, I’ll get out that door, camera in hand, as quickly as possible. Even if it means pajamas and slippers. Yep. I’m that lady.

The problem is the getting out of bed part. I am SOOOO not a morning person. To those people who say, “Oh, I always wake up before my alarm ever goes off,” I don’t know how you do it. I mean that in all sincerity. I would like to be that person, but I’m not wired that way. Even if I wake up, my warm, cozy bed has this anesthetic power which seeps into my brain and says things like, “Just 15 more minutes. You’re so warm and cozy here. You didn’t get to sleep very early, so you should catch just a few more ZZZs because you really need them.” Silly brain. It listens to the bed and forgets that the morning light is stunning and fleeting.

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I like my beverages very, very cold. All should have copious amounts of crushed ice to obtain said coldness. Including milk. And, therefore, chocolate milk. I prefer to pour my chocolate syrup on top of the milk and then stir. Quite the opposite of John, who pours it in first. I always feel like there’s more syrup in the bottom with that method. Nevertheless, people can prepare chocolate milk any old way they please. Since my milk requires ice, I just pour the syrup atop the ice. Which is sort of cool, because it just sits there on top. In a blob.

Yes, I usually make it in a Coke glass.

Pop Rocks & Eye Drops

Rare Morning Reflection

Memory Cards, Morning Light, and Chocolate Milk