A few photos from yesterday morning.
I've always been such a morning person. I wake up early and while I shower my head is usually full of ideas and energy and enthusiasm. If there's anything to be done that requires brain power or motivation, it has to be done in the morning.
I like the early light and the peace. That quiet before the world gets busy. The garden still belongs to the birds. Their song is the only sound. The light is golden, filtered through more layers of atmosphere, making the greens a softer yellower version of themselves.
I love to walk to school with the children. Some days I feel I could take on the world. It doesn't last of course, and not every day is like that, but if I am going to feel amazing, it's always in the morning.
It's the best time to take a moment to enjoy the natural beauty of the world. The pale blue of a clear sky, the fresh purple of newly opened lilac blooms, the dewy white petals of that day's roses. The scent increases as the day goes on, but the beauty doesn't, the morning is the most beautiful time of day. While I think of the morning colours as cool ones, the light is warm. It's an intoxicating combination. The bird song is clearer and more heartfelt. The sunlight through leaves is mesmerising. There's a quiet magic in the morning that evaporates as the sun climbs higher.
I heard an interview with Alexander McCall-Smith the other day. He'd just won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for his comic novel, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party. The prize was a pig, and quite a substantial pig at that. You can see it here should you wish. I digress. In his interview he said that he gets up at 4 o'clock to write. 4 o'clock! It's a thought. And not entirely abhorrent to me. I've got up at 4 o'clock before now when I can't sleep. And I've worked in a job which didn't end until 4 o'clock or later. That didn't work so well for me. I like to do all of the things that require effort and forward momentum early. Late in the day is for kicking back and relaxing. Of course if I'm getting up at 4am I shall need a little siesta after lunch. Would that be allowed? A whole new way of life I think. Are you a morning person? Or a night owl? Do tell.
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Definitely mornings for me too. I love the idea of a pig for a prize - but, as it was the Wodehouse prize, feel it should probably have been a black Berkshire! I think if you can get up at 4 then a little siesta would be perfectly acceptable! I love the photo of the washing - just look at that blue sky; so gorgeous. Have a great week CJ. xx
ReplyDeleteOh yes morning are best for me too. The early walk is such a delight and as you say sometimes you feel like you could take on the world. When I'm tired all my problems seem huge and I worry about silly stuff.
ReplyDeleteAt this time of year I bet 4am is beautiful....but yes a siesta would be essential.
Jacquie x
This resonates with me, I am definitely a morning person. Best time of day for getting things done.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of both, I suppose - although late nights these days are a no-no most of the time! I too love the idea of early get-ups, especially in summer. Not sure whether I could face it once the days shorten again though...
ReplyDeleteThere is something magical about early mornings, isn't there? I keep meaning to rise before dawn then head out with the camera. Never quite managed it but one day I will!
Love that lime-green pond water, and I can never resist a washing line photo :)
Sarah x
Definitely a morning person too. I like nothing more than waking up early, grabbing a cup of tea, and listening to the bird song, before everything else wakes up. I could often do with a siesta too! :) Enjoy your day. x
ReplyDeleteI read a blogger recently who has decided to get up at 5am every day.
ReplyDeletehttp://mirandasnotebook.com/my-miracle-morning-challenge-aka-why-i-get-up-at-5am/
I love to get up early, which is just as well because I'm awake anyway! Much easier in summer of course.
Beautiful sunshiney photos, CJ - I love the green leafy path at the end. I'm going against the grain here, but I'm more of a night owl. I find it hard to get going in the morning and need to sit quietly for a bit to gather my thoughts before I start on anything. Most of my energy comes later in the day, and in the evenings my mind is buzzing with ideas. Summer evenings are magical - of course at this time of year early mornings are not to be missed either. I think a siesta would be essential if you were getting up at 4!
ReplyDeleteCathy x
I'm with Sarah, I like early mornings in the summer, not so much in the winter darkness. but I do love the quiet of the house before everyone stirs, whatever the season x
ReplyDeleteI am probably a night owl in that I stay up late, but I love if I wake up really early and can be totally alone, in the summer sitting out in the garden with a glass of ice cold water and just being as the sun slowly rises. That is a real treat. I can totally see the thing of getting up really early to write, before the world starts and the distractions are all around you from everything else going on. Hope you enjoy your mornings! xx
ReplyDeleteCool colours with warm light - I love the way you described that, CJ. There's something so intoxicating about the freshness of everything in the morning, the gentleness of it all.
ReplyDeleteIn a normal week, I am a morning person, but this half term I've been late to bed and late to rise. I had a sudden urge to deep clean the kitchen last night at 9pm and spent two hours doing that, so perhaps I am really a night owl. xx
I must chuckle....my 'morning' started this morning at 2:30 am. Couldn't sleep. So my morning is still rather dark at the moment, but what I've gotten accomplished!!!! Love the photos.....the early morning light is so special, and this morning I'm going to be ready to greet it at first peek!!!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be lovely if all May mornings were sunny with blue skies, it's rainy, cold and dull here today. I'm definitely a morning person which is very annoying to the rest of the family who are night owls. My bed calls to me on an evening whereas they're all just starting to wake up. I've just read Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party and I was quite disappointed by it.
ReplyDeleteIf you write a post at 4:00 am I'll guarantee that I won;t be reading it until much later. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty exhausted at both ends of the day these days but definitely see the attractions of being up and about in the early morning, especially at this time of year. Lovely post (washing line/blue sky photos always make me smile), thank you. Sam x
ReplyDeleteI like all the different parts of the day, although there is something about being up early when many folks are still abed. Doing the breeding bird surveys is lovely for that reason (a dawn start), but then so is being out recording bats which happens an hour or so after dark. Last night I sat in a tree watching for badgers in a wood while the darkness came down all around us and that was a beautiful experience too. I think this post of yours is lovely and poetic and thought-provoking, which are all Good Things xx
ReplyDeleteYour post is brilliant dear C.J and so beautifully written, I escaped to your morning by reading your words. I am a morning person, I love the feeling and freshness of a new day... I am also a night owl, I like it when the house is quiet.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so beautiful, the flowers, the blue of the sky, the scent of morning sunshine on sheets drying on the line. The pond looks wonderful, I was telling Annie in her comments about the creek behind my primary school when I was a girl and your photo reminds me so much of the special days visiting there.
xoxoxo ♡
I am a total morning person myself. It's the best time of day for me and I do my best thinking and planning in the early morning. I love your images, both photos and words. I think having a brisk walk to school must be very good for kids and their parents. I would enjoy it very much.
ReplyDeletei too am a morning person ,full of the joys,i love to hear the birds ,see the sun rise and the air smells fresh ! i am up ,jobs done,and out with the dog by 8 30 then i have the day to do all the things i love ,this can prove a problem though when you go away with friends/family and your all ready to embrace the day and they are in bed and by the time we all get out of the door,half the days gone ! hope your allotments flourishing claire,somethings eaten all my cauliflowers and peas,so need to get some more ,enjoy your early mornings xx
ReplyDeleteLovely post about the morning, CJ. I'm also a morning person, so could identify with almost every word you wrote. I heard Alexander McCall Smith speak in person a few years ago (I've actually been lucky enough to hear him twice), and he talked about getting up at 4:00 to write. He said he then naps around 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. The getting up early appealed to me, but not so much the morning nap.
ReplyDeleteAs always an enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Like you I'm a morning person, and I certainly like being on the allotments early. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteI used to be a lark but I seemed to have morphed into an owl. Of course in an ideal world I'd be both and only need a few hours sleep.
ReplyDeleteThe greens in these shots ... they have the intensity of spring ... so beautiful :)
I find you morning people fascinating. I think we should do an anthropological study on you. I live with 2 of them, though adolescence seems to be mucking that up a little. I am called, "Big ball of sunshine" in my home, yes it drips with sarcasm. ha!
ReplyDeleteFavorite photo: clothesline. I can smell the goodness of the morning. I think it woke me up a little and made me feel things were possible :)
I'm not a morning person.. I don't mind admitting it but a LOT of people look down on those who aren't early risers. I'm sure you don't do that. :-) Everyone has a personal body clock and my best time of day where I shine and accomplish most things is in the early afternoon. So, it's noon and I'm off to volunteer at the falls! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteI am most definitely a night owl by choice. But, life says that most of the time I must be a morning person. LOL
ReplyDeleteMy favorite time of day is late afternoon ---- the light is just so beautiful at that time of day.
I wish I was a morning person! I've tried for years, but can't seem to shake the grumpiness in the morning:) Hopefully that will change soon since I'll be getting up a lot earlier with a baby, though! It is beautiful and peaceful in the morning before the rest of the world wakes. Hope you're having a wonderful week, CJ!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm with you totally on the morning thing.It is definitely the best time of day.
ReplyDeleteI am a morning person in the sense that I function best when I am still fresh. I do not like getting out of my warm bed though. If it wasn't for a self imposed strict routine, I would never get up. I do start work early and really enjoy my cycles through the woods on the way there. You are right, the woods/garden still does belong to the birds. Have a lovely weekend. Cxx
ReplyDeleteI think mornings are the best time of day - anything can happen in the full day ahead. I've always gone to bed early, even in college as much as that made me the oddball! I have house sparrows nesting outside my bedroom window, so I wake up to their noisy chorus, which always makes me smile. (And chickens, but their clucking is quite demanding.)
ReplyDeleteLovely post! Mornings definitely for me. My husband is a night owl. It works quite well - we each have our own time.
ReplyDeleteEarly mornings are also great for photography in the gentler light.
What lovely writing, CJ. I am more of a morning person than a night owl but like Christina, I don't like getting out of bed! I'd describe myself as a mid morning person. My hubby is a night owl so I often don't go to bed as early as I'd like. I should think a siesta would be allowed if you've been up since 4am. I had a summer of siestas when I worked as a waitress in the south of France. We didn't finish work till late, then went clubbing. Seems a lifetime ago now! xx
ReplyDeleteI like be the mirning but I do wake up at night. So I'm more of a night owl I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe mornings here are lovely now before the heat kicks in but it's getting light by 4:00 am
I just Pull a pillow over my head! 6:30-700 is much more respectable. I wish I could get up early and last all day. Lovely post!
CJ that shot of the blue sky set against the white sheet on the line is amazing!!! And I am with you on taking on the world in the morning! Your walk is so outstanding! So glad you get this time to enjoy nature and your boys! Wishing you more of the same this weekend! Nicole xoxo
ReplyDeleteI used to be an evening person but just lately my whole world seems to have shifted and I am enjoying getting up at 5am and, like you, loving experiencing things before everything wakes up. Getting chores done and then sitting back and enjoying the rest of the day. Have a great weekend xx
ReplyDeleteHey CJ,
ReplyDeleteI'm an early riser, although there is a luxury to a lie in. I rarely get those. I like the idea of a siesta; it works for the Spanish. Your roses look lovely. I have lots of buds, which I inspect on a daily basis.
Leanne xx
Love the way the light works in your photo's CJ ... lovely to see.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Definitely a night owl, though whenever I am forced to get up early I love the freshness of the day at its start, and the feeling of being beforehand with the day. Feeling you could take on the world describes it perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning Alexander McCall Smith - I really enjoy his work but he's so prolific I'm usually several novels behind. Shall have to order up this latest. A pig seems a worthy prize for anything with Wodehouse in the name ... Empress of Blandings etc. :)