Watching the Sky

A couple of weeks ago, my sister in law told me of a time when she was younger and would often try to "race the sun." She told me how as soon as the sun started to go down, she would get on her bike and race across town to a spot on the East hill. Her goal was to get there before the sun had completely set."

Suddenly, I was inspired. So I decided that for a couple of weeks I would "FOCUS" (that is my theme this year after all) on the Sun. I wanted to spend one week photographing the Sunrise, and one week photographing the Sunset.

This was what life looks like at 5:40 am around these parts.

And this is life 10 minutes later.

There is something a little bit eerie about being up at that time of day. It.is.sooo.Quiet. I turned the radio on for a moment, but had to turn tit off. That type of noise seemed almost sacrilegious.

I've really been enjoying reflections lately, and am constantly taking pictures of random dugouts, ponds and very large puddles. This photo made me think of a quote from a recent book I read, and loved:

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." (Walden, Henry David Thoreau)

If I were to be honest though, I would have to confess that I fell dismally short of my goal to observe the Sun rising for an entire week. In actuality - these pictures were all taken on the same morning. That is the same morning that I came home, stumbled through the morning routine and fell asleep while Sam and Jess kept themselves busy.

That was rough!

*******

Thankfully, FOCUSing on the Sunset was a million times easier. I think that is because by the end of the day, (after wiping up freezie spills, searching for lego pieces, diffusing arguments and so much cooking), there is nothing I want to do more then get in the van and drive.

Far, Far away.

At any rate, I was actually able to spend several days during the week capturing some Sunsets.

I loved this still moment with these deer.

I noticed this tree once during a walk with my sister in law Luci. For some reason, I love the image of a tree standing all alone.

I may have trespassed onto someone's property to get this picture of the tractor. But tractors remind me of growing up in Claresholm. So, imagine my delight!

And again with the reflections, I know.

And this sunset, I like just because of the full rolling clouds! My silly little camera lens does not do this image justice. These thick colorful colors stretched the entire sky!

This shot was taken just a few minutes after I took the picture above. It's actually pretty surprising to notice just how quickly the sky changes. It goes from Nice, to Stunning, to Gone in a matter of minutes.

In fact, if you aren't careful you could miss the whole darn beautiful thing entirely!

I'm beginning to understand why Sarah called it "Racing the Sun!"