Sunrise

I've become one of those middle-aged women who sleeps odd hours—3 nights ago almost straight through from 11 p.m. to noon, and last night fitfully from midnight to 4 a.m. Since it gets light so early in June, I decided to just get up and make some coffee at 5:00, after a fruitless hour trying all my tricks (go to the bathroom, eat something, read) to try to fall back to sleep. The birds were already singing, "Hey, it's a new day! Get up and get started on it!" So I did.

Coffee in hand, a small breakfast of crackers with peanut butter and jelly in stomach, I sat down at the computer to check e-mail, etc., and looked up to see the sun make its first appearance on the hill out back. A spectacle of lighting I don't often get to see!

I grabbed my camera and ran out on the deck (tripping over the dog who was sure something exciting must be happening, only to be disappointed when there were no squirrels in view) and took these photos. By the time I got back inside, the clouds had covered the sun again and the lighting display was over. A fleeting moment of beauty. And I can thank my middle-aged hormones for the chance to see it.