Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling
“To him whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is a perpetual morning” Henry David Thoreau
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... Mother duck and ducklings enjoying the morning
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... Two lovebirds pruning in the morning
The early hours of the morning are quite special; the earth stirs, morning blossoms open their eyes and the sun peeks through her velvety baby blue curtain and paints the sky orange or a soft gray depending on the day… For those souls who meet the morning with a spring in their step and glee, I applaud you. For night owls like me, the morning is a bit of a struggle. But while it takes a cuppa or two to get in the mood, we appreciate the promise each morning offers all of life.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... that morning cuppa helps
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... whitetailed deer lurking
When I was gathering photos for this project, I imagined capturing an early sunrise but the morning sun would have none of it… instead she offered me overcast mornings; gray skies and even days of rainfall. Rather than turning my attention elsewhere, I focused on the early morning activities of life forms around me and there were plenty of special moments, some of which I’m happy to share. I’ve added a poem by Mary Oliver that speaks to the blessings of the morn. Sit back, relax and enjoy. What did your lens capture? 😉
Morning Poem – from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver ©
Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orange
sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again
and fasten themselves to the high branches —
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands
of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails Cont’d below and more 🙂
“Each morning sees some task begin, each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night’s repose” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... a walk on the croton aqueduct
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... TappanZee Bridge and Boats...
Morning Poem – from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver © Cont’d
for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within it
the thorn
that is heavier than lead —
if it’s all you can do
to keep on trudging —
there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted —
each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,
whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.
from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver
© Mary Oliver
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... breakfast calling
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning Calling... morning blooms of buttercups and widow's tears
Some of the shots I added were taken on a single morning when I took a walk on the Croton Aqueduct; it was a quiet day. I loved capturing that whitetail deer peering at me by my driveway. I love the night time, but the morning offers plenty of flora and fauna to fuel our creative juices. Another thing I cherish about the dawn is the promise it offers each of us to take a step to add to the hum and buzz that makes life exciting. I start each morning with a prayer and trust that the Creator will guide our path and help us fulfill our dreams for each day. What are your thoughts? What morning moments did you capture? Do you have a favorite time of the day? Do share? 🙂
Positive Motivation Tip: Morning maiden or night owl, find your rhythm and make the best of it.
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- Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning (roscoesdreams.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning (mikevictorinophotography.wordpress.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos from my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Beautiful photos Elizabeth! Love the deer and all the greenery. I am a morning person. I love the freshness. It seems almost as if everything has been cleansed during the night and is anew. Very early, it is quiet but for the animals and those sounds lend a calm and peacefulness I cannot find at other times of the day.
I find it interesting that you start the morning with a prayer. I do the opposite. I pray just before bed (a habit from childhood, I guess). You brought me a smile. Thanks! 🙂
Thank you Karen,
As an avowed night person, I marvel at my early bird friends who bound out of bed with the first light and start running around. I do enjoy the morning and took all my shots on early mornings around the village but it is not so easy; I unfurl like a lazy bloom and slowly build up to my day… And then the night sees me energized and ready to do work. Some of us are nocturnal beings and it’s all good. I end my day in prayer and start my day with same. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Some beautiful photos Elizabeth, I especially like the one of the white tailed deer!
I am a morning person, up with the lark – it’s my time of day. I love the quietness of the house and listen to the birds chirping at a new dawn; I love to watch the sun come up, waking our sleepy world in all its glorious colours, to a bright new day. Magical!
You live in a magical world Barb and one worth staying awake around the clock for… I hope to visit your part of the world in this lifetime. 🙂
TY for the comment as I appreciate the feedback! 😉
Lovely way to start my morning 🙂
Well, TY dear Tilly! 🙂
what is the name of the little bread on the breakfast table? roll, rolls?
cup of coffee = my morning + a white tailed deer: looking into our kitchen window – when I am visiting my daughter in Bavaria
Sour dough bread rolls… and I love the connections you made to your own experience… I will check out the photo link. TY! 🙂
I love the early mornings. It’s a beautiful, quiet time of day and I cherish those moments all to myself. I take my coffee to my front porch, listen to the birds and enjoy the cool morning air.. I often think of that Cat Stephen’s song, “Morning has broken like the first morning. Catbird has spoken like the first bird…God’s re-creation of a new day.”
Oh yes, I love that song and it’s a perfect wake up call on an alarm clock… Mornings and all the things you mention are quite beautiful but for us night owls, it takes a moment to absorb it all… And then we are as equally happy with the morn as anyone else. TY! 🙂
I used to be the child who woke up all the other kids at camp with my compelling renditions of “Rise and Shine.” I couldn’t understand why the other kids viewed this unfavorably. Didn’t everyone feel invigorated by the prospect of a new day from that first moment of morning consciousness?! The answer, of course, was “no.” I understand it much better since becoming a parent. I still love the morning, but . . . waking up seems to take me a lot longer these days, anyway!
Despite that it takes me a little while to truly feel awake, mornings remain my favorite. I love the quietness of them, and having a little time to listen/think before all the sounds of city life start rolling to life around me.
Oh boy! LOL! 🙂 I wouldn’t have wanted to be at the camp either… especially as a nocturnal soul! The nighttime sings to me in almost the same way; quiet, subtle, pensive but without the visuals of the daytime. I still love the things you do about mornings even if I am sometimes a bit groggy to care. TY 🙂
Morning call is important for me because I can’t wake up without it.
I usually set my iphone near my pillow.
That is so funny! After my favorite alarm clock that I had for over so many years broke last year, I started using my phone alarm by my bedside and it goes off daily. TY! 🙂
Elizabeth, your pictures are beautiful. It is amazing what we can find when our eyes remain open. Great post!
Thank you Miriam and that is one of the reasons I love the photo challenge… It forces us to stop and pay attention and notice the things we take for granted around us…. TY! 🙂
Beautiful! My favorite mornings are watching the sunrise over the Atlantic. I have an entire series of photos of that. I do like the quiet of the morning when I’m walking with the dogs.
Thanks for the post!
b
Thank you too Barb! Even though I am a night owl, I do appreciate the beauty of the morn and all the wonderful ways we connect with it too. TY! 🙂
Morning like this I can always look forward to. The beauty of nature and the fresh brewed coffee are just perfect combination to jump start a great day. And the poem , so sweet and inspiring.
Thank you David! I feel the same way even though I am more of a tea drinking girl… I do like a nice cup of coffee sometimes and when I took that picture, it looked like the perfect addition. TY! 🙂
I love the photo of the mother duck with her offspring. Very touching photos Elizabeth. Have a wonderful day.
You too BB! TY! 🙂 I took a bunch the day before and when I went back to the park the next morning, they were there again so it made a perfect morning shot… 🙂
Love Canada Goose goslings . . . big purple puff balls!
Le petit pain pour le petit dejeuner! Yummy!
You are funny Nancy! Hope you enjoyed your anniversary outing. 🙂 Oui, et le café pour le laver dans la gorge
The early mornings are the best time for sitting on the front porch, having that first cup of coffee for collecting your thoughts for the day ahead. Although, I have to agree with you, I am a night owl and its really a struggle to drag myself out of bed in the mronings. Great photos and thanks for the inspirational thoughts. Good Post !
Thank you too Penny! I know what you mean… we appreciate the mornings but the night is our domain. TY! 🙂
Gasp! I am in love with those teenage geese!! And I, too, am a bit of a night owl. I miss way too many beautiful sunrises!!
Teenage geese? That is a hysterical description and I love it Rosa! I’ve missed my share of those sunrises too… but we persevere. TY! 🙂
great morning shots–the best time of the day. like the thoreau quote. good weekend to you, eliz.
Have a wonderful weekend too! TY! 🙂
Thank you, Eliz…I will save this to look at in moments of stress. The photos are so peaceful.
I do love early mornings…it’s my husband who is the night owl. 🙂 But there is beauty in our world, no matter what the time is. 🙂
That is lovely how you and your hubby balance your inner timetable… Good to see you Viv and I miss your daily posts… Have a wonderful summer! 🙂
Love the nature photos.
Thank you Alexis… I love nature too. I will stop by your blog and say hello! 🙂
Very beautiful photos, Elizabeth.
Mornings are my favorite time but I also love the evenings — especially when I get to see the sunset. It’s hard to catch either when you live in the city where the lights and tall buildings take over the natural order of the day.
I like to ease into my mornings and try to stay as quiet as possible for as long as possible after I awake. I wake up naturally without an alarm — it’s too jarring to wake up by one. I rely on my body’s clock — 6 hours after I put my head down, I’m awake, happy to be alive, to experience and to bear witness to all that life offers.
Thanks for this,
Marcia
Good for you that you can find balance and quiet at both times of the day… I need an alarm clock in the morning although I have had times when I prayed to spirit to be woken up at a certain time and it happens. I promise! 🙂
I stay up very late most nights. I find the dark and solitude a great companion to creativity.
I find the mornings to be the moment of fresh reflection of the nights’ achievements. I
start the day with burning incense, possibily some yoga / meditation, green tea, and music. (which usually has been playing throughout the night. Oh yes, some bonding with my cats.
This is a great post Elizabeth, thanks for sharing.
Thnak you Walter… as a night owl and a yoga/meditation enthusiast, I can relate. The night is my stage and the morning my retreat…. But we do what we must to go with the flow… TY! 🙂
I just subscribed to your blog in my RSS feed earlier in the week. I finally got around to reading some of your past posts this morning and automatically recognized your first photo. That is Scenic Hudson Park correct? I run there as part of my half marathon training in the evenings. Perhaps our paths will cross one day. Until then, I will be here in the blogosphere reading your wonderful blog!
Hi there,
I subscribed back too and thank you for your comment. Yep, ’tis that park and I go there quite a bit… I must say though that lately, I have been walking on the aqueduct again. Walking around in circles is only fun when with others and even then, it gets a bit boring. I’m never bored on the aqueduct and I get more mileage for my effort. Sure, I hope we connect sometime… 🙂
I haven’t been a morning person but on the occasion that I have seen the sun coming up it is beautiful. I also enjoy hearing the birds chirping. But at the same time I enjoy the quietness and stillness at night.