Heather of the Hills: Morning dew

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Morning dew

Those who know me know I'm not a morning person. Oh sure, I'm fine once I'm awake, and I'm usually pretty perky and talkative once I've gotten going.... but I don't like the getting out of bed part. Especially if it's still dark outside, or mostly so.

So it took a lot of discipline for me to drag myself out of bed by 6:30 on a Saturday morning just so I could go out and... take pictures? Yes, the weather the previous few mornings had been primo for lovely scenes of dew shining like ice as the sun rose through the various valleys in the neighborhood, and the forecast for Saturday morning called for a repeat - no clouds Friday night, and "patchy, dense fog" for Saturday morning. Granted, I didn't expect a lot of fog, as I hadn't seen any the previous mornings, but I knew the dew was a sure bet.

So yes, I got up early to take pictures of dew soaked flowers. It was quite chilly out there, so I had a couple of layers on when I headed out the door - seems a bit odd for a morning in the middle of August, wouldn't you say? Sounds more like September or October. But, I digress...

Chicory flowers waiting for the sun's rays before opening for the day

Joe Pye Weed

Bull Thistle (I think)

Don't have an ID on this, but I was intrigued by the coloring and texture

Before I even took any pictures, I knew that getting up early just to be out in the beauty of the morning was worth it. While I can share with you the things that I see, I can't readily share the things that I hear. Many sounds made themselves heard while I was on this walk:

Crows cawing loudly overhead
Deer chuffing in the field
Roosters crowing just down the road
Hummingbirds buzzing by
Neighborhood dogs barking, warning me to keep my distance
Catbird mewing in the trees
Dew dripping from leaf to leaf in the trees
.... just to name a few!