When the Day is Fresh!

I've been trying to get out and exercise again. It's been hard. Really hard. I used to be able to get up at 5:30am, go walking and then be back by 6:00am, get my devotions done, breakfast eaten, take a shower and all that before letting the kids come out of their rooms by about 7:30 or so. But, the 5:30 thing just hasn't been happening for a long time.  So, finally, I decided that I would do my devotions in the evening before bed (although that can be kind of dicey, depending on how tired I am) and then get up at 6:00am and go walking. That's been working better. I love being out at that time of the day. It's just before sunrise. The sky gets that blue color. You know, just one shade of blue lighter than nighttime.  Sometimes there's a big, full moon in the west. Then the sky in the east starts to lighten up with the sunrise. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are in the east, so they get all silhouetted as the sun starts to come up. It's really neat when you see the morning star, Venus (which is actually a planet, but let's not get too technical), in the east as well.  It only lasts a moment and then the sun is up, but those few minutes are just magical.  Yesterday, I saw two owls.  We live by the river, so there's always critters coming up into our subdivision in the wee morning hours. I've seen raccoons and coyotes wandering around.  I've smelled skunks.  But the owls are my favorites. I'll hear their call and then look for the tallest tree, which is usually a redwood. They like to perch up there and hunt.  It's always a treat to see one, because it doesn't happen too often, but two.... now that's tremendous. I had to be careful not to trip as I wanted to keep watching those birds talk to each other. Or maybe they were telling each other to stay away from their territory. I don't know how owls relate to each other. Anyhow, all the sudden the one owl just swooped down from his perch and flew away. It was awesome. They have such a large wingspan and they are silent fliers, you know!  Eventually, the sun got a little higher and the second owl flew away, too and I finished my walk. It was a lovely way to begin the day!