Fantastic Friday: Sunrise, Sunset

Welcome! I’m adding a new Friday feature to my blog: Fantastic Friday. Watching the news and even scrolling down the Facebook feed, it’s so easy to encounter negative stories, complaints, and attacks. I found myself wishing people would take the time to share more positive things. And then I remembered: change starts with me! So here it is, the first of my Fantastic Friday feature. Each Friday, I’ll be highlighting something happy, funny, cute, or something for which I am grateful. If you find a story to share, please shoot me an email, and maybe I’ll feature it.

Today, I’m featuring some pictures I was lucky enough to take last week. On February 7th, I was blessed to be able to watch the sun rise and set–right from my neighborhood. Although it’s easy to complain about the cold of winter, there is a benefit: the leafless trees make the sunrise visible to me. In the summertime, the sunrise is hidden behind leaves.

When I went to let the dogs out last week, I noticed a fire in the sky: the sunrise. I decided to stay and watch it.

While waiting for the sun, Yoda made sure the birds stayed away from the bird feeder.

I was reminded of the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” by Robert Frost. I often ask my students: if the sky looked pink and purple and red and gold all the time, would sunrises and sunsets mean anything to us? What do you think?

Nature’s painting. The perfect way to start the day.

And despite a hectic day, I was able to get home and let the dogs out in time to see that nature wasn’t finished with its majesty. I was a bit late with the camera, but I managed to catch the last rays of the sun:

On a day when I can witness two such “golden” moments, I cannot help but feel blessed.