241/365: "Lost somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever." ~ Horace Mann

5 more pictures in notes above!

This morning at 6:30am, I woke up to a very strange sight. Orange-red light was shining into the bedroom and turning the walls orange! I quickly got my glasses and when I turned to look outside, I nearly fell out of bed from the sight that you are now staring at! I was completely dazzled by this absolutely incredible sunrise for about two seconds, and then I leaped out of bed, thundered downstairs, jammed in my emergency 1 gig card, and flew back upstairs again. Even a few seconds later, the colors had changed from an even more red sky to what you see here, which is tinged with orange and yellow. I could not believe my eyes...this is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen here!!

I took half a dozen more pictures, but within about two minutes, the colors had faded completely to a soft pink and then blue. The day had begun. And this time...I captured this magical sight!! I have another picture as an inset so you can see another version, but they are similar enough that I didn't make that one public. I wonder which you like better? I cannot say, they are different and both lovely.

For me, it is a wonder to see a sunrise. I have been an incurable nightowl all my life, stubbornly loathing to be forced out of bed before 9am. But a couple of months ago, Steve and I decided we needed to change this. If we hoped to go on bike rides during the summer, getting up early was the only way we'd be able to do it. What surprised us both is that we not only didn't mind, we LIKED IT!! And so, this sunrise is like a reward for changing our waking hour. I am so happy to be awake at my favorite time of the day. It's incredibly special, isn't it?

Horace Mann (May 4, 1796 – August 2, 1859) was an American education reformist. As a politician he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1834 to 1837. In 1848, after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education since its creation, he was elected to the US House of Representatives. Mann was a brother-in-law to author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Wikipedia: Horace Mann

Explored on August 30, 2013. Highest placement, page 1 (#27).