Thursday Travels: Cape Breton sunrise

South Harbor sunset. Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. (7 June 2012)

In the last edition of Thursday Travels, M and I had just arrived at the cabin we rented on South Harbor, not far from the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia.  We got there just in time for sunset although we didn’t see the sun itself.  Just a band of light on the horizon.

Inside the cabin

The cabin we rented is lovely.  It has two bedrooms and a good sized kitchen and bath as well as a cozy living area and a screened porch looking out over the harbor.  One of the owners of the cabin, Jean, stopped by to welcome us, show us around, and tell us a little about the area.  She recommended some sights to see, and also mentioned that we would be able to watch the sunrise from our bed if we happened to be awake between 4:00 and 4:30 am.  I made a point of being awake and this is what I saw:

Who can stay in bed after seeing that?  Not me, that’s for sure.  I was up and outside in record time, in awe of the beauty of the sunrise and the setting.

I think it was one of the longest sunrises I’ve ever witnessed.  Certainly one of the most beautiful.

What breaks in daybreak?  Is it the night?  Is it the sun, cracked in two by the horizon like an egg, spilling out light?

~ Margaret Atwood

Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.

~ John Ruskin, The Two Paths

It was while I was standing there on a small patch of grass looking out over the harbor at this glorious sunrise that I began to yearn for the habit of rising early again.  (If interested, you can read about how I used to get up very early in this post which also explains what “MaidinSun” means.)

That segues nicely into my small change for the month of January:  Early rising.  It hasn’t worked out as originally planned (which was to get up at 5:00 am every morning).  Instead, I decided to listen to my body.  I am up before sunrise, and that, I have discovered, was the whole point of the practice.  I wanted to be awake for the early morning colors in the sky.  I plan to continue this practice.  It’s a good way to ease into waking earlier and earlier as the days continue to grow longer.  Pure genius of my body to think of it.

Our sunrises here in the Bogs may not be as spectacular as those on South Harbor, but they have their awesome, breathtaking moments of hue and light.

Veil after veil of thin dusky gauze is lifted, and by degrees the forms and colors of things are restored to them, and we watch the dawn remaking the world in its antique pattern.

~ Oscar Wilde

February’s small change will be relatively easy now that I’m up before dawn.  I want to reestablish a morning writing practice.

One of my sunrise companions on South Harbor

That’s it for this edition of Thursday Travels.  Thank you for joining me once again as I travel back to the Canadian Maritimes.  Our time in Nova Scotia was, for me, the highlight of the trip.  I look forward to sharing more with you as it gives me a chance to have another look at some of the beautiful scenery that the Cape Breton Highlands have to offer.

Snow on the kitchen window at sunrise

Here in the Bogs, for those inquiring minds that want to know, it is snowin’ and blowin’.  The gusty winds are causing the snowflakes to do a wild and energetic winter dance.  I don’t think the birds have much appreciation for it.  The poor things are being blown all over the place as they try to make their way to the feeders.  It’s a good day to stay indoors by the fireplace, sipping hot chocolate or hot tea, listening to the wind as it sings, and watching as the snow whirls and twirls outside the windows.

Dancing snowflakes

Stay warm or stay cool, and have a delightful day, evening, night… wherever and whenever you are on the spectrum of time.  🙂

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