You’ve got mail.

The cats figured that 5:30 a.m. was a grand time to start the day. I fed the beasts, and then sat around trying to talk myself into going out to catch the sunrise – something I’ve been meaning to do all summer – instead of curling back into bed like a reasonable human being.

Not being a morning person has prevented me from greeting the sun at dawn, but today, since I was awake anyway, I managed to haul myself out the door. I had enough energy to change out of my pajamas, but brushing my hair was just too strenuous. At that hour, who would be awake to observe my hairstyle anyway?

There was the issue of finding a place to park to take in the view and hopefully make some photos. I’d had a few potential viewing spots in mind, but for one reason or another all candidates were a fail once I arrived – poor access, transmission towers in the background, too many mosquitoes, etc. – so I ended up just driving around aimlessly while the night began to leak out of the sky.

This didn’t really bother me, as it started as a lovely drive on semi-rural roads. But then I realized who would be awake to observe the bird’s nest on my head.

Lots of people.

Working people with early shifts, I supposed. These people drove very fast on single-lane roads at 6:15 in the morning. These people had no patience for a bleary-eyed lady in a black hoodie creeping along at 40 km/hr because she was looking for a nice place to stop and watch the sun send its beams through the morning mist. This particular lady had to pull over several times to allow these people to pass.

The good news: moments before the sun peeked over the horizon, I slowed to a stop across from this well-adorned little mailbox, and made a few shots.

There’s nothing like a sunrise or a sunset to force one’s appreciation for how quickly the earth is turning. It only takes moments for the light to change completely.

After spending a little while inhaling the view, I got back in the car and tried to head home at a reasonable pace so the commuters wouldn’t be annoyed with my driving.

Whether or not they were annoyed by my hairstyle is another issue altogether.