tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56452054508890309852024-02-18T19:05:08.506-08:00the sunrise bloggerrcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-72703789934912099522016-02-15T07:16:00.004-08:002016-02-15T07:16:40.011-08:00seven below zeroFebruary 15th, 2016.<br />
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It's been just under a year since my last post. Who knows if anyone's paying attention - but here is another sunrise for you.<br />
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My thermometer read -7 degrees Fahrenheit this morning as I headed out with my three doggie friends. As you can see from a couple of the photos, their paws were freezing up in the low temperatures.<br />
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After graduating last summer with an MFA in creative writing, I had a college teaching job fall in my lap - three days before classes began. I liked it enough to say yes to a second semester - one class, three days a week. This semester it's an 8am class, which means I've seen a lot of sunrises, and pre-dawns for that matter.<br />
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Since it is the day after Valentine's Day, I will share a little poem that I sent to my family.<br />
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<i class="_4-k1 img sp_mj684eAJ277 sx_d4d2c5" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/v2/yq/r/M20iFuEtIm1.png"); background-position: 0px -7812px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 18px 8082px; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">❤</u></i>💕<br />💕<i class="_4-k1 img sp_mj684eAJ277 sx_d4d2c5" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/v2/yq/r/M20iFuEtIm1.png"); background-position: 0px -7812px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 18px 8082px; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">❤</u></i></div>
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I send this joyful valentine<br />To toast my very favorite nine.<br />Did some great act of wise design<br />Provide me such a crew divine?<br />A dazzling family core is mine!</div>
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Each one of us, our own bold line,<br />yet through the fates, we intertwine;<br />we're strong alone, but we combine<br />into a lush abundant vine<br />no pestilence can undermine.</div>
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My heart and thanks are ever thine -<br />May you sing more than repine.<br />May your fortunes ever shine.<br />May your problems turn out fine<br />and every threat become benign.</div>
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<i class="_4-k1 img sp_mj684eAJ277 sx_d4d2c5" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/v2/yq/r/M20iFuEtIm1.png"); background-position: 0px -7812px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 18px 8082px; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">❤</u></i>💕<br />💕<i class="_4-k1 img sp_mj684eAJ277 sx_d4d2c5" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/v2/yq/r/M20iFuEtIm1.png"); background-position: 0px -7812px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 18px 8082px; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"><u style="left: -999999px; position: absolute;">❤</u></i></div>
rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-85396426357512618932015-04-20T06:27:00.002-07:002015-04-20T06:27:43.649-07:00spring at lastsunrise: 5:41am<br />
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It's been an arduous winter, even for those of us who love winter here in Maine. A few persistent patches of snow are clinging to the north side of trees, but spring has asserted itself pretty definitively now.<br />
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Although I've been outside at dawn once or twice in the last several months, I have been slacking off on blog entries. Today, however, birdsong and early light tantalized me so insistently that I had to go outside and be in it. Cedar waxwings, cardinals, song sparrows, crows, chickadees, robins, and the ubiquitous red-winged blackbirds produced the theme music to the scenes I'll share with you below. Plus, I stood rapt by the haunting, echoey tunes of a hermit thrush back by the wooded hill behind our fields, though I couldn't find the singer himself.<br />
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I had my first spotting of our resident mallard pair this morning, just beyond this chair in the runoff stream that flows out of the pond.</div>
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Kate - the all-season retriever<br />
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Guster enjoying a vigorous roll on the grass, after 6 months of snow cover.</div>
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Sunlight tips the treetops before I can see the sun itself...</div>
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Here it comes!</div>
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-69271874773437825012014-09-15T15:02:00.008-07:002014-09-15T15:02:55.101-07:00first frost<br />
sunrise: 6:14<br />
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I had an early departure for southern Maine this morning, and it just so happened that my dog walk coincided perfectly with the sunrise. I could feel the frost in the air even before I went out, so I doubled up the fleece.<br />
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Frost, fog, and the low-lying light of September made for a lovely combination.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-706029824116720062014-05-27T05:30:00.002-07:002014-05-27T05:30:22.646-07:00spring aboundingsunrise: 4:56<br />
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I won't keep you with a lot of talk. Spring comes late to Maine, relative to much of the country, but it seems to be lingering longer than it did a dozen years ago when we first arrived. <br />
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Imagine the songs of red-winged blackbirds, chickadees, robins, mourning doves, bobolinks, warblers, sparrows, cardinals, blue-jays, crows, catbirds, and a slew of others as you look at the abundance of flowering new life out there in the back field.<br />
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apple blossom time</div>
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lily of the valley</div>
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lilacs</div>
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don't know what these white carpet flowers are called...</div>
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wild strawberry blossom</div>
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this particular apple blossom reminded me of an orchid</div>
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red and green maple</div>
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another tree decked out in that fresh spring green...poplar? ash? </div>
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sunrising, way to the north end of the field</div>
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fern</div>
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I love these tall grasses, soon to be higher than my head</div>
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bluets - my favorite!</div>
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-81141237442538793572014-02-25T18:26:00.000-08:002014-02-25T18:26:41.028-08:00sunrise in Israel<br />
It took something wonderful like an Israel sunrise to nudge me out of my long posting hiatus. Perhaps this means some more dawn blogging to come -- if not from me, from you! Let's see the sun around the world --<br />
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Our contributor today went on her first trip to Israel under the auspices of the Birthright program. She was kind enough to send her photos of dawn from two different days during her group's tour of the country. Here are her notes:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"The first three were taken atop Masada, an ancient fortress at the top of a mountain that also borders the Dead Sea. We woke up at 4am </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">to hike up to the top in time for sunrise, and it really paid off. If you look closely at the horizon, just between the mountains and the ground, you may notice a shimmering stripe between them - that's the Dead Sea."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"The second shot was taken from a Bedouin encampment where we stayed for one night in the middle of the Negev desert, in the south of Israel. You can get a sense of the flatness and texture of the land there, and I also love this shot because you can still see the moon, just beside the morning sun."</span><br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-56425109511925536892013-09-27T04:02:00.004-07:002013-09-27T04:02:56.658-07:00a little check-in with dawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
sunrise: 6:29</div>
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I was writing up on the third floor this morning when I saw that fuchsia tinge in the east. It was fading by the time I got outside, but that is the nature of dawn's finest moments. You have to seize beauty when it appears.<br />
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Forgive my long silence. Life is full; my writing life is full. I'm even awake fairly regularly at dawn, but generally admire the rising light of day through the windows. Still, feeling yourself enveloped by the air of a September pre-dawn is not like anything else. I should get out there in body more often.<br />
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Please remember, if you happen upon this post, that one of the reasons I keep it open is with the hope that others may submit photos and/or mental reflections of the sunrise from anywhere in the world. I will post them here.<br />
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Have a lovely fall.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-46694959487317787982013-07-08T08:36:00.000-07:002013-07-08T08:36:08.223-07:00maine island daysJuly 7th sunrise, Sutton Island, Maine.<br />
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4:55am, or so<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[I wrote this post yesterday morning, after a week on our favorite island with all the kids plus S.O.'s - the first ever gathering of all 9 of us]</span><br />
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Back on Sutton Island in Maine, where time hovers in
suspension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We leave today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say goodbye to a large number of
those whom I hold most dear, so I am restless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always get unsettled when they leave me, when they go off
into their cars and planes and lives – all those things fraught with unknown
perils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least, that’s what it sometimes feels like when they are out of my hands, out of my sight. </div>
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The sunrise is always there, more often ignored than not
these days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The month of June slipped away without a sunrise excursion. </span>But today I allowed it
to call me out.</div>
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I’ve been in a kind of holding pattern, waiting not for a
landing but a launching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
suppose I’m waiting to be called out in a bigger way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less than a week remains before I start my first residency for an
MFA program in writing, and I’ve been writing virtually not at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I didn’t feel the need to be
shoved forward by some external force, but that seems to be my lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Maybe with that impetus I can write about this
island, the thoughts that flit by, the personalities inhabiting my life’s
space, cookouts on the rocks interrupted by a drenching rain, hummingbirds at the feeder,
barnacle scrapes, wading to a tidal island, catching up with a slew of
20-somethings over breakfast on a hot summer morning, many dogs draped over stones and decks in a state of island bliss, lots of coffee from a
French press, margaritas shaken up in a washed out spaghetti sauce jar…stuff
like that.</div>
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dawn glow through a screen door...</div>
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-47709585932845295812013-05-29T03:59:00.001-07:002013-05-29T04:00:17.191-07:00May meander, 4:45amsunrise - 4:55am<br />
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Since my bedroom window faces north, the sun's morning light becomes more and more prominent on my pillow as it moves into its summertime position. I've been too comfortable to venture out into the early dawn risings of May, but most mornings I vicariously experience that wonderful time of early light and first bird song through glass. I take in the sensory experience of the world waking up, then I happily close my eyes again.<br />
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It should have been no surprise, that rush of witnessed grandeur that filled me out there at 4:45 this morning, but there it was, like nothing else. Seeing it out the window and standing in the outdoor air are nothing like each other. Perhaps I'll start getting out there more often...but it's hard to say. The sun won't be up later than 5am until after July 10th. <br />
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Our Pakistani daughter leaves for home three weeks from today, after her year in Maine with us. She is off on an all day whitewater rafting trip today with the high school seniors, which was what got me up so early. A couple of days ago, almost 21-year-old T and I went with her to Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire. Q had never been on a roller coaster - now she has been on several, plus a couple of water rides with big splashes. Q loved the water rides. We'll see how she feels about the real thing after today's adventure.<br />
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I attended the funeral of a friend of mine yesterday. Cancer. That stupid disease pops up everywhere, and I've had way too much of it too close to home lately. That may be another reason why I've been disinclined to write. Still, the family of my deceased friend articulated their feelings for their father with such sweet sorrow and inspired remembrance that I was left feeling uplifted and hopeful. I suppose that's what a good funeral ought to do.<br />
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Here is a photo meander through today's sunrise, including some avian friends. I startled a pair of ducks and caught them taking off, and was serenaded by the ubiquitous blackbirds. <br />
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There are also some backyard shots from about a week ago when the trees were still in high bloom. My back field is an exquisite refuge and delight. Its flower display this spring has been especially exuberant, and I couldn't resist including some shots of my very favorite bluets.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-55512734940824214452013-04-13T04:52:00.002-07:002013-04-13T04:53:44.847-07:00april december?<br />
sunrise: 5:54<br />
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I had the strangest feeling as I came downstairs this morning. The house was illuminated only by the muted twilight glow of predawn, but there was something distinct and familiar about it. Outside the glass of the front door there was fresh snow reflecting light into the quiet house in that way that only snow can, and suddenly a rush of Christmas morning flutters ran through me. It's a lovely feeling, only I'm not generally prepared for it on April 13th.<br />
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Clearly I live in the right climate for me. Everyone is chomping at the bit, waiting for spring, but I can't help feeling some elation over this fresh coating of white, short-lived though it will be.<br />
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Our mallard pair carries on unruffled. The dogs' morning joy remains the same. The blackbirds are still singing, although perhaps with diminished gusto. They all take what the world offers and they go with it. I like that approach.<br />
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Spring beauty still abounds. Maybe it's even enhanced with a unique quality this morning, covered with this unseasonal frozen moisture. Even an old collection of yard junk and a brush pile can hold a kind of picturesque stateliness.<br />
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.............<br />
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Anyway - enough effusing. I have work to do. A little seismic shift in my approach to daily life is in order as I prepare for a two year course of study (see March 21 post). I seem to have difficulty sitting down to write for scheduled hours on end, so I have moments of panic when I consider that I am supposed to write for a minimum of 25 hours a week after the program begins - plus readings, and of course my regular life.<br />
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I'm trying to practice. No luck so far.<br />
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Still. It's a lovely morning!<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-7024469657707545912013-03-27T10:02:00.002-07:002013-03-27T10:02:31.560-07:00March moonrise<br />
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Now and then, we do best to bend the rules a bit.<br />
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It is clear to me, 27 months after completing my year of sunrise, that my inclination to post will far exceed my inclination to get up in time to see the dawn face to face, in the open air. I haven't given up sunrise excursions, but even more, I haven't lost the enchantment of skywatching in general. <br />
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I had made a rule for myself - no blog post unless it included new sunrise photos. But I will bend that rule, now and then, in order to share something I just had to show you.<br />
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March has always stood out to me as a month of inspiration. In Maine, it is the ugliest month. Today is the ugliest day - frozen drizzle, thick cloud cover, penetrating, damp chill, brown deadness over much of the earth. And yet - anticipation is there, in the air, if you reach out to feel it with your heart and breathe it into your being.<br />
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Last night, just as twilight was fading, I headed outside with the dogs and saw the (nearly) full moon rising. I cannot help but be stirred by that kind of suspended beauty.<br />
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rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-52719103876517102792013-03-21T05:43:00.001-07:002013-03-21T05:43:27.484-07:00winter slump, spring awakeningsunrise: 6:36<br />
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />This is what our Maine world looks like at the advent of spring.<br />
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It's funny though...the snow can't hide the fact that spring is in the air. The light is broader, brighter. Birdsong is growing in strength and enthusiasm. I watched a pair of downy woodpeckers locked in a twirling coupling yesterday (talk about a quickie!). There is a general softening of the atmosphere, snow notwithstanding.<br />
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It's a good thing too. I have slogged through a month in a serious slump (sounds a bit like a Dr. Seuss predicament). Why is it that I sometimes lose all inspiration to do anything - cook, create, write, innovate, initiate, move, exercise, accomplish, get out of bed...? And then that judging voice kicks in with disdain, reminding me that I have no excuse to be melancholy or idle.<br />
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Maybe what's missing is that thing people call a muse, but it's really something everyone has, not just artists. It's that spark that ignites our enthusiasm, the twinkle in our eye, the angel on our shoulder, the glowing ember in our soul, pixie dust. But sometimes it is muffled, snuffed out, or just gone on vacation.<br />
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As usual, my canine companions are always helpful in pulling me out of the mire, given the opportunity. They are heavily featured in today's post, enjoying the snow with their usual abandon.<br />
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There is NEWS! First, I thought I'd link my little pool of readers to some of what I've been up to in print. I am well over 100 columns for the Bangor Daily News now, and it has been very gratifying work, even though it's occasionally a chore to get the job done. Here is my <a href="http://bangordailynews.com/author/robin-clifford-wood/">web page </a>for the (paper: http<a href="http://bangordailynews.com/author/robin-clifford-wood/)">://bangordailynews.com/author/robin-clifford-wood/)</a><br />
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Second - Our year with Aqsa, our teenaged "daughter" from Pakistan, has gone through multiple evolutions. Like everything truly worthwhile, it's not always easy, but the vastly predominant overall picture is pretty great. It will be an unforgettable year. Here's a <a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2013/03/05/living/more-tales-of-a-pakistani-teenager-in-maine/">column update</a> about that: <a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2013/03/05/living/more-tales-of-a-pakistani-teenager-in-maine/">http://bangordailynews.com/2013/03/05/living/more-tales-of-a-pakistani-teenager-in-maine/</a><br />
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Third - part of the improving picture at home is the growing friendship between Aqsa and our youngest daughter, who rejoined the household in November for a rather undefined period of transition. T's future is now appearing with greater clarity, since she has decided to accept the offer of admission from Tulane. It's strange to ponder next fall now, when we will be readjusting back to the empty nest again!<br />
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Fourth - I'm going back to school too! I have been accepted into Stonecoast's low-residency MFA program in creative writing in southern Maine. My attachment to Maine and Maine's creative people has expanded enormously over the last few years, and I am so excited to be continuing my explorations into the literary world right here in my home state. One of my great hopes is that the discipline, instruction, networking, and support of the program will give me the nudge I need to finish Rachel Field's story and start in on a few other book projects that have been circling langorously in my brain for years, searching for a place to land.<br />
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My first 10 day residency starts in July, but I'll have work to do between now and then, and I plan to keep up the column, at least every other week. <br />
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So - time to spring forward! Crack open the dull shell of hibernation and embrace the muse! Snow or no snow, it's time for a little rebirth.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-45603196747871181652013-03-02T07:41:00.000-08:002013-03-02T07:41:34.067-08:00Maine, Florida winter scenes<br />
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On both February 25th and 26th, 2013, I went out walking to photograph the world at dawn. The differences between the two mornings were many, beginning with 45 degrees in temperature and 1,800 miles in distance.</div>
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Here are some photos in contrast between central Maine and Key Largo, Florida, along with my musings of the moment.</div>
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<b>Feb. 25th</b></div>
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A lot of people make the journey from winter's grip to southern climes regularly, but I haven't experienced it often enough to do it without a little sense of wonder. </div>
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I love winter. I love that fresh cold bite on my cheeks and the energizing impetus to stride briskly in order to generate warmth. the dogs manifest a similar exuberance to mine, though my middle-aged body can't perform with quite the same acrobatic energy as theirs.</div>
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Still, the prospect of taking a break from freezing temperatures and a lukewarm sun is tantalizing. W're off to spend three nights with my parents in Key Largo - the farthest south I've ever been in Florida.</div>
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This lovely snow will still be here when I get back...</div>
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<b>Feb 26th</b></div>
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Twenty-four hours later, here I am walking in shorts and a tank top at 7am. My winter-dried skin is basking in the replenishing moisture of humidity. I've see a pelican, an egret, and a couple of perky little redheaded woodpeckers - and of course a lot of flowers and palm trees.</div>
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There is no doubt that this weather elicits greater relaxation, less guarded self-protection from the elements, greater receptivity to the bathing breezes. It is lovely to reintroduce my skin to the open air. </div>
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Either way, it's a beautiful world.</div>
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-59724517182185819092013-01-08T06:29:00.001-08:002013-01-08T06:29:27.332-08:00pink and white morning, plus two moresunrise 7:12<br />
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Happy New Year to all sunrise watchers.<br />
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I awoke this morning during that period of pre-dawn light which I have come to love. There is enough light to see everything around you, but not quite enough for color. I love to get up and clamber my way through the lengthy ritual of winter layering in the reduced sensory atmosphere of monochromatic illumination.<br />
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It was a lovely, pink and white winter dawn. We have enjoyed a couple of weeks of consistent cold and one or two new installments of snow dusting, so the skiing and snowshoeing remains perfect in the back fields. <br />
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Another thing I love about this season is the visible signs of passage on snow. Not only do I see the signs of bird hopping and deer and rodent trails, I can also see the signs of human travel. My two sisters and a brother-in-law made a spontaneous trip to spend New Year's with us, and our ski tracks are still out there to remind me of that wonderful visit.<br />
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The holidays were wonderful, family packed, and busy, but I'm ready to get back to business. I have a couple of resolutions to tackle, and I'm ready to get started. <br />
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But I felt a little twinge of longing to visit this blog. I actually saw two December mornings with the intention of posting, but life got in the way. So I leave you with a plethora of back yard photos this morning - from today, December 30th after the first snow, and December 22nd, just before the snow. <br />
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May you all enjoy a sense of new beginnings, no matter where you are in the world or in your life -<br />
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December 30th --- (perhaps a bit beyond dawn, but the morning light on that glorious day was irresistible)<br />
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Clara with a dog cousin...<br />
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Dec. 22nd - last day of ice perfection before the snow blanket arrived. We had a 3 hour, 5 on 5 hockey game that day, with our Pakistani exchange student in the goal. Another first, for sure.<br />
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Guster was leashed to keep his bark away from sleeping guests. Clara discovered what fun it is to play with Guster on a rope ---<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-82496669757794175632012-12-16T05:45:00.000-08:002012-12-16T05:45:12.330-08:00coping with darkness within and withoutsunrise: 7:07<br />
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Good news. The earliest sunsets, the earliest darknesses of the year have already passed. From now until June, the sun will stay with us a tiny bit later every evening.<br />
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The latest sunrise is still couple of weeks away, but in just a few days, the net daylight receipts will begin to rise.<br />
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More than in any prior pre-winter stretch of days, I've found myself seeing the slant of the sun. There are so many things that I have seen through new eyes this year, due to the presence of this teenage exchange student from Pakistan whose life experience has been so removed from what we know, before she came here.<br />
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It's not just cultural and climatological differences, it's also just a generally sheltered life. There are a lot of things that Q just never wondered about before. This is a very intelligent girl, with a pretty good education (mostly in English) in one of Pakistan's better schools, from what we can glean. But then there are these gaps in her knowledge where her reasoning is replaced by childish naivete, or what I might call magical thinking. J and I delicately encourage her to think, treading carefully around faith and belief. It is an interesting twist on the usual emergence of adult perspective through that revelatory life stage called adolescence.<br />
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In any case, as I explained the darker days of winter to Q, and how the sun was lower ALL day (it doesn't just follow the same sky path more quickly), I began to notice it myself. On these longest days, the sun gives us that exquisite low-angled light for much longer stretches of time as it lingers low along the horizon. Not so exquisite when it's in your face on the highway, but dazzling if you're just looking at the world.<br />
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I want to share one more thought before I sign off today. <br />
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We shed some tears yesterday over the devasted families of Conncticut, who have just seen such nightmarish, heart-crushing violence done to their little ones and others.<br />
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There is such anguish and suffering in the world, and it can seem especially unthinkable when it manifests itself at this supposedly delightful, celebratory time of year. There is a reason why ancient peoples established so many celebrations of light during this darkest time in our calendar year. At the best of times, humans suffer and struggle. In darkness and isolation we suffer more. This time of year is more of a reaching and striving time than a basking in the glow time. It's hard work to live these lives; it's not easy for anyone.<br />
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It is the mistaken idea that everyone else is bursting with joy that often drives people to a breaking point. We are <i>supposed</i> to be joyful, life is <i>supposed</i> to be filled with love and gratitude, so if we're not, our lives must be broken. Not so. We are all struggling together. <br />
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This shouldn't be a downer - it is a shared reality. Perhaps with that acknowledgement, we can more readily open the doors of our hearts to the joy, beauty, love, and great gifts of the world. Invite all those wonderful things into the house, knowing that they arrive with baggage. Set those bags in a corner for now, over there with everyone's else's bags. We'll deal with those all in good time. For now, sit down, have a drink, take my hand.<br />
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Find a smile for this day. Offer it to someone you love. Offer it to a stranger. Offer it to the great wide sky over your head. And don't forget one for the mirror.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-53106057996342970232012-11-26T04:59:00.000-08:002012-11-26T04:59:16.735-08:00holidays with family - the work and rewardssunrise: 6:47<br />
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I delivered the last of our traveling children to the airport at 5am this morning. Thanksgiving comes and goes so fast, especially when so many of your favorite people in the world come and go along with the holiday weekend.<br />
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The reassembly of a loving family for the holidays is like throwing a bunch of colorful ingredients into a food processor and turning it on high, with the top off. It is very exciting and might be quite beautiful if you don't mind cleaning up the mess afterward. <br />
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We had a few messes over the last few days, but the overwhelming takeaway is that everyone works very hard together over the cleanup. <br />
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As long as we continue to hold this great depth of dedication and love that will not falter, as long as we keep working hard to listen with real attention and think hard about the changes in each other and in ourselves, then I think every gathering will leave us feeling as warm and beloved and fortunate (albeit weary) as we all do after this one.<br />
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Family takes a lot of work, but it's worth the trouble. Nothing else offers the same rewards.rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-54209321966734866722012-11-06T09:08:00.001-08:002012-11-06T09:08:47.903-08:00election day, big and not so bigsunrise: 6:21<br />
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prolific photos from my new, high res camera...<br />
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Election day has loomed so large for so long that most of the people I know are looking forward to it mostly so that it will be over. (case in point made by <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/13ad69b818dc87e9">this little girl on youtube</a>) I recognize that the right to vote is an enormous privilege, and I really DO care who is ruling and representing my country, my state, my town...on the other hand, there are other things that predominate my attention.<br />
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I care that we decided to invite our temporary Pakistani exchange student to become a permanent member of our family for the year. She came to the polls with J and me this morning. She was the highlight of my <a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/01/living/at-home-with-a-pakistani-teenager/">last week's column in the Bangor Daily News</a>. She helps us discuss and understand how most Pakistanis feel about the awful things we read in the news about events in Pakistan. It feels pretty important.<br />
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I care that my youngest daughter is back in local waters after 7 months away, crewing on a small (90 foot) passenger boat above the Arctic Circle, and that she's coming home soon, and that her dearest new friend and shipmate is recuperating in our home after breaking her neck in a terrible shipyard accident.<br />
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I care about an exquisite, frosted November morning in my back yard, where I always seem to find peace no matter what else is happening in this unpredictable life we lead. <br />
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Election day is a big deal. But the immediacy of living can sometimes make it seem like a passing point of interest.<br />
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(Go Obama!)<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-33373956910194935212012-10-19T08:19:00.000-07:002012-10-19T08:19:06.596-07:00St. John's, Newfoundland <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Very belated posting of a sunrise photo from last August. 20-year-old T was a deck hand on <a href="http://www.wanderbirdcruises.com/">The Wanderbird</a> for the last six months, an 90 foot Dutch fishing trawler re-fitted to become a unique ecotourism ship for one to three week excursions. She travelled north all summer, above the arctic circle, and finally returned to local waters last week. Three crew, two captains, and 8 to 12 passengers at any given time. <br />
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It was about as far off the grid as one can get in this high tech age - no phone or internet was available 95 percent of the trip. <br />
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Soon, our dear youngest daughter will be returning home to figure out what comes next. Hard to know what the transition will be like after such an experience, but I do know that she will never regret this half a year. rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-24424110054650770442012-09-27T11:27:00.002-07:002012-09-27T11:27:17.694-07:00Senegalese sunrisesunrise: 6:59 <br />
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Toubab Diallo, Senegal<br />
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I spent last week in Senegal, a country on the westernmost edge of Africa. My 23-year-old daughter and I were visiting her best friend from high school who has lived and worked in the capital city of Dakar for the last 15 months. Along with best friend's mom, we made the trip to see her second home. It was the first time any of the 3 of us had set foot on the African continent.<br />
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Below is a transcription of a sunrise journal entry from our first morning in Africa - in Toubab Diallo, a small beach-side village one hour south of Dakar. I was still experiencing a disorienting culture shock in a land of intense heat and humidity, with sights and smells and languages and customs that had my head spinning. By the end of the week, I had grown enchanted by the place and people of Senegal.<br />
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"I couldn't find my watch last night, but I needn't have worried about knowing when dawn was approaching. Here, like, perhaps, every place on Earth, when dawn is about 40 minutes away and that dark night turns toward a deep blue hue, the birds wake up and start to make a great noise.<br />
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Another thing that helped me feel at home in this very foreign-feeling land was looking from our balcony over the beach this morning and seeing four dogs romping around the sand with wagging tails.<br />
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A flock of large birds (I'd have guessed Canadian geese if I weren't in Africa) flew overhead in V-formation. A fisherman carried his boat motor over one shoulder, down to the beach where a couple of dozen long, narrow wooden boats were all lined up ("pirogues"). <br />
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Women carrying what looked like laundry baskets on their heads made their way up a hillside walk. It was strange to see many women and girls carrying things on their heads that way yesterday. Somehow I thought it might just be some antiquated practice that no longer existed except in the imagination of American film-makers.<br />
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I'm trying to balance my caution (about parasites and mosquitos, about people who might want to pick my pocket, overcharge me, or steal my camera) with my open embracing of this whole place. It will take some time. Things are unfamiliar. We get warnings about holding tight to our purses if we get stopped in traffic, conditions appear less than immaculate, and you don't get the sense that there's much in the way of safety inspectors policing roads, restaurants, hotels, and shops.<br />
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I was friendly with a woman on the beach yesterday who was selling jewelry and trinkets from her handmade baskets, and learned that I need to exercise greater restraint. She proceeded to barrage us with patter to buy her things for a long time, even moving her whole operation onto the sand right at our feet where we were sitting in the shade. I want to be friendly and to meet people, but I guess I have to learn to be more selective.<br />
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The sun has risen. The sky and sea have changed their grays to blues. The birds are slowing the pace of their frenzied huntings, or callings. The air is gently soft on a moisture-laden breeze, but it portends the heat of day ahead of us.<br />
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My first night under mosquito netting is now behind me."<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-16160168838048697602012-09-10T17:05:00.000-07:002012-09-10T17:05:14.296-07:00peaceful in fog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
sunrise: 6:09</div>
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-21596967709923480242012-08-30T08:22:00.000-07:002012-08-30T08:22:16.388-07:00Mecca meets Mainesunrise: 5:56<br />
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Although I am a believer in active planning to carve out the life we choose, I am also willing, from time to time, to leave my door open to serendipity.<br />
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Three weeks ago J and I got an email from the coordinators of our local AFS organization, an international student exchange program. They needed a temporary host family for a 15 year old girl from Pakistan who still had not been placed with a host family for the 2012-13 school year. After a brief discussion, we decided to take the leap. We said yes.<br />
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Since there is a Q in her name, I will call her "Q." Q arrived at the Bangor airport on August 17th. Previous to her three-day orientation in Washington, DC, she had never been out of Pakistan, never left her family before. Every cultural exchange student faces difficult adjustments when they come for their year in the US, but we have never hosted a student from a culture quite as different as this one.<br />
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Q is Muslim, may not eat meat (unless it is "Halal" meat, which is not much available in Bangor, Maine), must always have her legs and shoulders covered, and is supposed to pray five times a day (though she admits, in a universally familiar teen way, that she does not always meet every prayer requirement). The weekend that she arrived happened to fall during Eid, the big annual celebration at the end of Ramadan. Though she wears western clothes most of the time while here, she wore her traditional clothing and head scarf all that weekend. She cooked us delicious spiced rice and and sweet dessert and privately said her dawn prayers in her room. She comes from a culture where men and women are quite strictly segregated in many areas of life, physical contact with men is heavily restricted, and dogs are generally seen as unclean, frightening guard animals that bite.<br />
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That covers only a few of the cultural hurdles that Q has had to negotiate during her introductory weeks in the US. This is an exceptionally courageous young woman.<br />
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Q arrived here with a clear and powerful sense of purpose. She is one of scores of students from predominantly Muslim countries who are here under a government-sponsored scholarship program called <a href="http://yesprograms.org/about">"Youth Exchange and Study" (YES)</a> that began in 2002. While she is here, she will be required to take part in various community service projects, give presentations about her culture and her country, and learn about US culture and customs. When I asked about her decision to come, she said that many people in her country have ideas about what Americans are like, "and they are so wrong." With enormous support from her parents, whose leap of faith may be the greatest of all in sending their young daughter off to a faraway country for a year, she wants to dispel the myths amongst her countrymen.<br />
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Those myths go equally in the opposite direction. Within her first few days in town, an adult asked Q about terrorism in Pakistan. She said, "There are good people and bad people everywhere, but most of the people in Pakistan are good." <br />
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If only we had a global recognition of this reality - a reality that is true for every country on the planet!<br />
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It's hard to conceive of the inner resources that Q must be calling upon to face this year-long challenge, not least of which is simply missing her family. There have certainly been tears, but they are always coupled with strength, with a gentle apology, with excitement for new experiences, and with determination to cope. In one week she went from abject terror of our three dogs to tentative pats on their heads and offers to feed them dinner. She dives into social situations with a bright face of anticipation and readiness to both listen to others and share her experiences. <br />
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But this cross-cultural world is filled with tough maneuvers. After a couple of weeks of mind-boggling assimilation on her part, Q hit a wall of woe in the last day or two. She couldn't stop the tears one evening, and her solution moved me deeply. She needed to reconnect to her own culture; she needed to say her prayers.<br />
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Last night, Q asked me to remind her which way is east is from our house. She wrote a schedule of the <a href="http://islam.about.com/cs/prayer/a/prayer_times.htm">five prayer times</a> (interesting and lovely explanation at <a href="http://islam.about.com/cs/prayer/a/prayer_times.htm">this link</a>) for our particular geographical location (based on the sun). The first prayer comes before dawn, so she set her clock for 4am.<br />
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Prayers are brief, but their importance is to connect believers throughout the day to God and to the deeper meaning in our lives. <br />
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Is that so far from what we all seek to do? Not for me. In fact, Q's decision to get back on track with her connection to the deeper meaning in life inspired me to do the same. In a very real way my sunrise walks, which are so easy to cast aside when I am in my comfortable bed, serve as a kind of spiritual practice for me. I need to remember to take the time to be still, to center myself, to take a deep breath and reflect upon the deeper meaning in life. <br />
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It can never be anything but a positive exercise to reconnect ourselves to God, or nature, or the spirit of life, or our own deepest essence -- whatever feels most deeply real and important to each of us. It makes us more complete.<br />
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J and I opened our doors to serendipity by saying yes to hosting a YES student from Pakistan. Serendipity brought us an amazing gift that, perhaps, has only just begun to reward us with revelations.<br />
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After Q turned east this morning to say her pre-dawn prayers, I walked outside and turned east to greet the sun, the new day, the quiet time of reflection before the bustle of the day begins. We have so much more in common than we realize.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-64901498281799768572012-08-07T03:44:00.000-07:002012-08-07T03:44:34.236-07:00dogs, duck, and the heart of summersunrise: 5:30am<br />
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I realize that I have not featured my furry friends for quite a while, so I've included some snapshots of their participation this morning. There are two reasons why they have been even more scarce than my posts: 1. Their vocal contributions are not welcome in the neighborhood 2. Their exuberance is less welcome by me when I know I'm going straight back to bed after my sunrise walk.<br />
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Now that the sunrise is back to 5:30, and it will actually begin my day, I am cautiously re-introducing them to the early morning walk.<br />
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You see Guster being particularly hound-like above. Ever since J started mowing the back fields, the dogs have been wild over various newly uncovered scents. This shot below shows a typical display of where their attention is generally directed. Kate is my champion!<br />
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I caught this duck in flight, coming from over our pond. I love the rising sun on her wing. J saw eight babies, quite grown, on the pond the other day. I think more survived this year than ever before because of all the cattails.<br />
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It is the heart of summer, and today is a heavenly cool morning following a long stretch of humid weather, which I do not like much. </div>
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sumac under a gibbous moon</div>
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This is a wonderful day. On your mark, get set, go!</div>rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-82286900017332384162012-08-04T03:35:00.000-07:002012-08-04T03:36:42.173-07:00There are things I want to remembersunrise: 5:25<br />
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I noticed that there were multiple versions of beauty in the round this morning, from the orbs in the sky to the fruits of the Earth.</div>
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There are things I want to remember, moments of transcendance or elation that I want to hold in my heart and mind.<br />
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Yesterday evening I was out walking the dogs, whose nudging had finally pestered me away from the computer for their evening stroll. I was preoccupied by the thoughts in my head, the talk I've been working on for next week about my sunrise year. <br />
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As I rounded the northeast corner of the back field at the bottom of the hill, the beauty of my surroundings finally reached my brain. A host of dragonflies was crossing and circling and hovering over the meadow, silhouetted against a sunset sky. Their aeronautical acrobatics made for a dazzling air show, and the setting was exquisite.<br />
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I desperately wished for my camera, or my phone, some way to capture the scene. We are so determined these days to package and transmit every notable (and every dull) incident in our lives even in the moment of their occurrence, and I am not immune to the inclination. But the result, I think, can be that we disable our memory. <br />
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Snapping a photo or tweeting a thought can offer a great shared experience, but it enables the distracted brain. The event has been recorded; our work is done. We can go back to that preoccupied musing over the talk we're giving next week and clear the impression from our mind.<br />
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I had no instrument of recording, but I was stirred by this moment of dragonflies, suspended between a field of goldenrod and the pink and azure sky canvas of a summer sunset. I stopped walking. I stood and watched for a while, and tried to give it time to sink in.<br />
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There are things I want to remember.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-36579025483775496132012-07-18T03:17:00.000-07:002012-08-07T03:45:50.989-07:00sunrise rainbowsunrise: 5:07<br />
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Just when I started thinking that I had seen most of what the sunrise has to offer, something new came my way.<br />
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The timing is good. I spent some time yesterday preparing to give a talk about my year of sunrise outings, scheduled for August. The experience was so huge in my mind that it has been difficult for me to find my way into the story of that year of getting up to meet the day. I suppose that year encompasses many stories and discoveries for me, and that is the problem. The life transitions, the writing, the sky watching, the brushes with wild animals and the antics of my dogs, the incredible beauty of the world in both miniature and grand scale, my new relationship with the outdoors and growing acquaintance with a very unique time of the astronomical day. It's all so intricately interwoven, it's hard to untangle one coherent tale to make it an interesting 30 minute talk.<br />
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I think the heart of this talk will be the idea of finding your own inspiration to express what is inside of you. Everyone has something to say, wisdom to share, a story to tell. It can come out in many ways, but for me, writing is what works. And no doubt, being outdoors as the rising glow of day spreads across the sky opens me up. Especially when I turn around toward the west and see a glorious double rainbow spanning its arch over my home.<br />
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I don't like to think of myself as a superstitious person, but sometimes it's hard not to feel as though the world is telling you something.<br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-32071215604045596052012-07-08T11:31:00.000-07:002012-07-08T11:31:29.051-07:00night sky: the lights from our neighbors across the waysunrise: 4:57 (July 7th)<br />
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During a recent night on Sutton Island I was awakened by the brightness of the moon at 3:30am. I was drawn to go outdoors and look, in spite of the hour, and could already see the a faint glow beginning on the eastern horizon. <br />
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Ever since the year I spent rising before the sun, the early glow of morning light has filled me with flutters of anticipation. Most of the time I happily roll back over and back to sleep, but sometimes I give in to the urge and go out to meet the dawn. This particular night, I was so far in advance of the dawn that it was still, for all intents and purposes, the night sky that I was observing. But like many versions of our celestial covering, the night sky presents a beautiful scene – especially this one. <br />
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There were the lights of Seal Harbor across the western way, that strip of ocean between Sutton Island and Mt. Desert Island. Then there was that spectacular moon, casting shadows on the piney ground, its light reaching us from across a great span of space.<br />
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But that span is nothing to the distance between us and those two brilliantly bright planets, stacked one over the other to the east, casting a path of light across the sea. And finally, inconceivably distant starlight reaches across light years of space to draw our eyes upward.<br />
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All of those light sources come from neighbors of sorts, if you allow for a liberal interpretation of the word. For how many years have human beings pondered the distant lights from our neighbors – in the universe, in our sky, in our own world? Since humans began, I suppose.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">There will always be something mesmerizing about gazing out at distant lights in the dark night sky.</span><br />
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<br />rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5645205450889030985.post-25624160347788783442012-07-03T08:24:00.000-07:002012-07-03T10:13:34.857-07:00life's full circle is around us every daysunrise: 4:54 am<br />
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I am reflecting these days on the divergent experiences offered through contact with the natural world.<br />
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Our bird expertise is growing bit by bit, partially thanks to a very entertaining app on J's smartphone called "iBird." Part of our motivation is to figure out who is making such a racket outside our windows every morning. We've identified all kinds of backyard birds by song and plumage. J also finally spotted baby ducks on our pond. He caught them briefly just before mama duck led them into the thickest reeds for protection.<br />
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In other outdoor news, the other day J and I each came home from separate excursions with turtle in hand. Mine was a big old painted turtle, very effectively protecting himself from me and the dogs. <br />
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J's was the tiniest snapping turtle I've ever seen. His belly covering was only partially formed - it was hard in the center, but all around his tiny, prehistoric legs the skin was still soft and supple. It reminded me of the fontanelle on the head of a human baby. <br />
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While watching the turtles, we also witnessed the tenacious efforts of a red squirrel, determined to get to our bird feeder. He was fearless - about 8 feet away from us and the dogs, but seemed to know somehow that he had a manageable escape route. <br />
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That same day, J had seen a beaver, several blue herons, an adult eagle and several immature eagles while canoeing on the Souadabscook River. <br />
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The natural world is charmingly filled with promise: new life, perpetual regeneration, protectiveness, perseverance, survival, and beauty.<br />
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We spent an afternoon hip deep in the muck of our pond recently, to do some clearing of cattails. We both came out with leeches attached, which pretty much ruined the experience for me. J kept at it, however, and wandered into the mother lode of leeches. Most (but not all) were miniscule, but determined to find open wounds and feed off of him. We removed about 40. Seriously.<br />
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Not far from where I found the painted turtle, my little hound Guster caught and shook a baby groundhog right in front of me, before I could stop him. I shrieked at him to stop, but I was too late. The little critter was still moving, but devastated; I will spare you the details. I had to end his suffering as fast as I could. It was a task way out of my comfort zone, but the clarity of what was right outweighed my squeamishness. Very sad. Guster, on the other hand, was elated with triumphant pride.<br />
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The natural world is full of parasites, violence, suffering, and death.<br />
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Amongst my family and friends this last month, there has been a new pregnancy, a couple of new babies, and a new job. There was also a tragic suicide. <br />
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The whole package is all around us every day - caring and killing, exuberance and despair, bloodsucking and enriching, sunup and sundown, birth and death. Somehow, we have to carry on in the full acceptance of everything. Perhaps we can learn something by observing how life's spectrum plays out all around us every day with such equanimity.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>rcwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13011768089116395284noreply@blogger.com0