On the advice of a neighbor, I finally decided it was time to experience dawn along Piney Woods Church Road. I knew it would not offer prospects as spectacular as sunset, because the eastern side of the road is almost entirely wooded. Still, I had high hopes for a grove of pines to be illuminated briefly (though this never happened). So I dutifully made my way there (across a neighbor’s horse pasture, this being the fastest route) before 8 am, a few minutes past sunrise. For an hour, I wandered the Hutcheson Ferry end of the road, photographing the rural landscape in the morning light. I noticed a few things about that golden hour as the sun rose slowly in the sky: first, that there was a stillness to the air; second, that it was rather cold; and third, that I live near the world’s busiest airport, as evidenced by a series of airplanes crossing the sky. All three of these realizations are contained, to some extent, within the photograph below. After nearly an hour of waiting and watching (toes and fingers growing numb), I saw my neighbor at the head of his driveway. He wandered over, mug of steaming coffee in hand, to politely inquire if I was aware that it was currently eight degrees Fahrenheit, according to his outdoor thermometer. Suddenly I felt much, much colder. My next sunrise may be a few months away yet.
