sunrise Archives • Page 2 of 2 • Into the Light Adventures

Fluffy Parachutes of Silk, the milkweed plant contain thousands of seeds, each attached to a silky thread. In late autumn as the plant is beginning to desiccate, these pods split open and release the seeds, each attached to a fluffy parachute.

I planted Milkweed in my garden 2 years ago and this year they finally produced seed pods. It is that time of year where the pods split open and the silks will shine with a soft tremulous light in the morning light.

But milkweed is best known for being a host plant to monarch butterflies—the only plant, in fact, that feeds monarch caterpillars and on which monarch butterflies lay their eggs.

Consuming milkweed has a particular benefit for the caterpillar: The plant contains a toxin poisonous to most vertebrates, but not to monarchs; eating it makes the monarch caterpillar poisonous to potential predators.

I was taking photographs of a sunrise the other day and I glanced over at these milkweed plants just shinning in the morning light.

Fluffy Parachutes of Silk

by Sandra J

Hear the Soft Spoken Words

By Sandra | October 21, 2020

Hear the Soft Spoken Words Through the Light of the Morning Sun

Reflections of Times Past. Where my mind is free from the distractions of the world.

Have a Wonderful Day

by Sandra J

Light Rays of the Rising Sun

By Sandra | October 12, 2020

Light Rays of the Rising Sun, yesterday morning I went down to the river, a little earlier than usual. But, because daylight savings time has not set in yet, the beginning of sunrise starts about 5:30 am. So I got to the river about 5 am just before golden hour starts.

This is Lock and Dam 14 on the Mississippi River, I have not been down here since spring, about 6 months ago I think.

You can see behind the tree the sky is just starting to brighten a little bit. At this time of the morning the river is quiet, I hear a train somewhere off in the distance. This is what they call the Golden Hour of a sunrise, when the sun is around 6 degrees below the horizon.

Most people like to photograph the golden hour, as do I, but the next two hours are the prettiest to me. Blue hour and Civil Hour. Blue “hour” is an even shorter time than golden hour. Shorter because blue hour describes the sun from 4*-6* below the horizon. The sun travels a shorter distance during this time, so naturally it takes up less time.

Civil twilight describes the time that the sun is at 0*-6* below the horizon that includes the last bit of the golden hour and all of the blue hour. The sky is changing colors quickly at this point and there is enough light to move around without having really any trouble. The sun has passed the horizon line, but there is still plenty of good light for photos if you are willing to stick around.

And then this happened, I have seen when the sun is casting rays of light, but usually it is casting the light downwards on a cloudy morning, because it is usually later in the morning. Well, the clouds came in and all of a sudden the sun rays lite up the sky, passing rays of light up over my head. It was just beautiful.

This photo here was taken about 8 am, what a colorful morning this was for sure. So if you are ever out for a sunrise, make sure to stick around for blue hour if you can. This is the best show on earth for me. Have a great day.

Light Rays of the Rising Sun

by Sandra J

Sunrise at the River

By Sandra | October 9, 2020

Sunrise at the River, the weather is so nice here this week. I have been busy getting out of the house early to see what I can find down by the river in the early morning light. So I got there as the sun was coming up and I was watching the birds in front of me.

I turned to look behind me and the sun was casting an orange glow everywhere as it was coming up over the horizon, making for a wonderful silhouette of the trees.

This low light is what cast such a warm golden color across the water. As many of you may know, that is why it is my favorite time of day for photography. This blue herons wings just grazed the water in this shot.

It is still a very low light out here, which is causing some noise in the photo, that gives it a bit of a grainy look. But I still enjoyed the reflection of this tall Blue heron wading in the river.

And the gulls are back also, they have been gone for a while and this morning they were flocking in from the east as the sun was rising.

Sunrise at the River

Have a great weekend everyone. 🙂

by Sandra J

The Year in Review

By Sandra | September 28, 2020

The Year in Review, a collection of photos from the same location showing the changes of a sunrise. I love to travel and I go to many different locations as much as possible. But, on occasion I find a spot where my spirit is at peace. A place that I can return to and have that bit of familiarity and yet the scene is different every time.

This this is one of those spots that I go to quite often as you can see by the different sunrises. The tree line is always the same and has been for many years, only the colors change depending on the seasons. I like that.

My entire life I was searching for that place of solitude, that place where I can hear the soft voice in my mind. That place where there are no distractions from the outside world.

But I had a revelation a couple of years ago, come to find out I was looking in all the wrong places. All along I had to discover who I was, I had to quit running away from everything and run towards where my spirit and heart have been my entire life. The gift of life that is given to us from the very beginning.

That is when my eyes were opened, that is how I see creation. I don’t have to run anymore, I found what I was looking for, it has always been right in front of me.