Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Losing daylight


Curious eastern cottontail rabbit
Midsummer is here and already I must think about taking a headlamp when I leave for an early morning walk with my dogs. This morning was overcast, which only emphasized what is soon upon me; the days already grow shorter. 
Fleeing
The need for a headlamp is noticeable as I start my morning walks. We begin our walk in the forest, with its thick canopy of summer leaves. It is dark in a summer forest, darker than during winter’s longer nights, when the trees are bare and my view of the sky is unobstructed. Once we leave the sheltering dark of the woods, the pre-dawn sky is pale enough for easy walking.
 
I am always surprised by how this change in the day’s light sneaks up on me. I know it is coming but I never expect it "today." This morning was my reminder, my wake-up call, that a headlamp is soon needed. Tomorrow, if the sky is undimmed by morning clouds, I will have a brief respite before the headlamp is truly needed again. But by next week, even with a clear sky, the headlamp will again become a morning fixture on our walks.

5 comments:

Pablo said...

I was out running Saturday at 5:00 a.m., and I probably should have taken my headlamp (though I was on sidewalks for a long way). By the time I finished at 9:30, though, it would have just been more ounces I was pulling along with me. (Only got 17 miles out of all of that time. And it wasn't even that cool in the early morning either.)

Carolyn H said...

Pablo: I am seriously impressed that you ran for 4.5 hours and for 17 miles.

Scott said...

Carolyn: I have another reminder that the days are starting later and later. There's a Northern Cardinal living somewhere near my bedroom window. This bird starts singing...loudly...at the first hint of dawn. I unceremoniously get up out of bed and shut the window, and then climb back into bed until the alarm goes off. Well, of late, the alarm's been going off before the bird begins its singing, so I'm well aware of the shortening days.

I know, I know...a Northern Cardinal is a lot better than cars honking or sirens screaming, but I still can't sleep through its morning melody.

Carolyn H said...

Scott: I have a singing cardinal, too, but not right outside the bedroom window! They sing almost all the time, even in February. No excuse or reason needed, I guess.

Sharkbytes said...

haha- you must be up much earlier than I am!