Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Early Bird Gets the Sunrise



Over the past few weeks, the days in Scotland have gotten noticeably shorter. Right now, we’re having about 12 hours of sunlight and that’s being shortened by minutes every day. Now, to those of you stateside, 12 hours of daylight doesn’t seem like a very short day, but we arctic-circlers get quite used to the sun coming up long before we wake up and going down long after we’ve gone to bed. 

During the long summer days of June-August, there were several stretches of days when I never saw it get dark outside. It’s a bit disorienting now to notice that the sun has gone down 3 hours before bedtime. And by the time December 21st rolls around, it will be pitch black by 4 pm. 

Jonathan and I agree that the darkness of winter is way worse than the coldness, and we’re a bit apprehensive about the short intervals of daylight, especially with baby boy being born right on the cusp of it. But one of the perks of the days getting shorter is that I’m usually awake for the sunrise. 

After a summer of waking up after the sun is up, once October hits, it’s like I’m totally rediscovering how beautiful the Scottish sky is when the sun comes out and fills it with orange light. This week, I’ve had to push my walks with Bailey back to about 7:30 to make sure it’s light enough to keep an eye on her during our off leash romps, and we’ve been rewarded with some spectacular sunrises. 



I thought yesterday’s was pretty amazing, but today’s put it to shame. 

Either way, I’m trying to enjoy these morning walks with Bailey while I can. At first, I was bummed when I had to swap jogging for walking, but now I’ve come to enjoy the slower pace and relaxation  that can be found in a quiet forest first thing in the morning. Once baby boy comes, I know these little excursions will be quite rare. 

Jonathan is pretty supportive and insists he’ll come home occasionally at lunch and stay home on weekend mornings to let Bailey and I have our one-on-one girl time while he bonds with baby. I sure hope this works out, because it really has been my favorite part of living in Scotland, and I’m pretty sure it’s Bailey-girl’s favorite thing as well. 

7 comments:

  1. Walking in the forest with my pups was my favorite thing in Scotland with the skies being the second! It is truly amazing this country only God could have created. Love you and see you soon. Can't wait to see you and meet baby perry. Awesome photos again.

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  2. Gorgeous sunrise! You may surprised how well bailey fits in to a morning walk/jog routine with baby :)

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  3. Beautiful photos! I know how you feel about cherishing these last few days just you and Bailey. Bringing baby home can be quite the tough transition for pups. After a few months though, I'll bet you and baby and Bailey will become quite the trio for walks/runs. There will be plenty more beautiful mornings to be had :)

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  4. A sunrise forest walk with your pup has to be one of the best things in the world! I'm loving the crisp mornings and beautiful sunrises as well!

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  5. I second Jill. Kye loves to walk so much. Ranger wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't there now. You will still have your walks everyday....just with another special someone in tow!

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  6. the sunrises this week have been incredible!!

    I always hate the darkness of winter here. By February you don't even want to know me. I don't even know myself! Which is why it is just so important to get out in the sunshine when we get it. In winter I have to push myself, but I'm always happy when I'm outside.

    today was gorgeous!

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  7. oh and I so agree with walking with the baby! Sebastian LOVES our daily walks and actually really needs them. You're going to love walking your little boy. Just strap him in and off you go!

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