A night owl or a morning lark? For some years now, I have been trying to make myself into a “morning person.”
For nearly all my life, I have been what is called a “night person” – one of those persons who stays up all hours doing things like watching TV, reading, working on projects, surfing the net and generally, just not getting to bed before midnight.
A few years ago, I discovered how beautiful it could be early in the morning and I now delight in being up at an early hour. And I find that I am getting to bed earlier, so that I can get up.
Let me tell you about a recent morning.
Getting Up At Dawn
Maybe it was a sudden gust of wind or a deer nibbling in one of Nancy’s bird feeders, but something woke me up. For some reason, I climbed out of bed at an early hour this past week and took in the full impact of my surroundings.
Is there anything on earth better than the cool Wyoming air early in the morning?
My shadow loomed out far before me as I wandered around the yard. My other shadows (our four ducks) were hot on my heels as I checked things out. Nancy’s bird feeders were busy with chattering birds and some had been toppled by squirrels or raccoons. We had also seen an otter roaming the creek but the big news was a badger crossing our year. Later I heard it was probably just passing through. My daughter Shelli says native lore claims that seeing a badger is a sign of good health. I hope so! But I digress.
After pouring myself a hot cup of coffee, we (me and the ducks) headed off on a walk. We had moved back to the edge of Lander about 27 years ago after living out in the Squaw Creek area for 23 years. We live near City Park close to the Popo Agie River. We took off to check out the flow.
The water level was coming back up. The recent rains had either provided slightly more runoff or some of the irrigation may have been shut off upstream, I wasn’t sure. But after being about the lowest I had ever seen it, the river was now running with a little more authority again.
Watching the river is a great pastime. The ebbs and flows change constantly throughout the year.
Here in late-August, its noise was just a whisper compared to the roar it had been making back in June. There is a large rock on the other side of the river on the late Sam Browall’s property that I have been using as a depth gauge. That rock has been under water just once since we lived here, back in June of 2010.
The colors are so vivid at this time of day. These are “Wyoming Painted Mornings” as the golden light of the sun illuminates the mountainsides with alpenglow. You could make out the Bears Ears rock formation that towers over Dickinson Park up there in the mountains. You couldn’t help noticing how white a few distant mountains still were from way last winter.
And yet, it feels like we are at the beginning of the autumn season, a time some people dread as they see it as a time of dying and conclusion. I see it just the opposite. It is a time of glory to celebrate the completion of another growing season and a time to reflect on the comings and goings of nature’s wonderful gifts to us.
It was 48 degrees on this morning. My relatives in Dallas, Texas, are already cooking at this time of day and this time of year.
Sounds Of Morning
A rooster crowed over on Hillcrest Drive. A few members of Lander’s town deer herd were stirring, too. Some dogs over by City Park were barking.
My ducks and I spotted just the head of a buck with his antlers above the waves of blowing grass near the river. With the noise of the river and the breeze, he didn’t hear or see us approach . When he did, he jumped up and bounded over a fence and was gone. Was he the latest incarnation of Uncle Buck, the huge patriarch of the Lander herd? It was hard to tell for sure, but that rack looked familiar.
As he headed off through the trees we headed back toward the house.
As we did, I looked back at my long shadow stretching out behind me and took in all the glorious colors of the fall morning.
I called this my very own Wyoming Painted Morning.
Bill Sniffin can be reached at: Bill@CowboyStateDaily.com
