A June Morning

The robins start singing about 4:15 am. Sometimes a pair of barred owls cackles from the back woods about then too. If the morning temperature is above 50 F, the gray tree frogs respond in kind and start their loud trills. By 4:30 am the phoebe is singing and then the tufted titmouse joins in closer to 5:00 am. I listen to this morning choir as I lie in bed. During the long, lush, lovely days of June, I often get up with the birds.

If you've never experienced early June mornings, between 4:00 and 6:00 am, you are missing one of the most beautiful periods of the day and the year. Morning dew coats the webs of spiders. Songbirds declare their territories in between gathering caterpillars and other insects to feed their nestlings. You might catch a glimpse of a female fox heading out on a hunting trip. The air is cool.

This morning we drove down the road for a longer walk on a nearby conservation area. We watched swallows swoop low over the Cole Farm pond, on their first forays of the day. The wet grass dampened our shoes. On this sunny morning the dampness seeping into our socks felt refreshing.

The day begins slowly and naturally, as the sun warms a sleeping insect and a closed up flower bud. Our own bodies unwind and relax and prepare for the rest of the day as we absorb the rays of the rising sun on this early June morning.