The Necessity of Sleep

Alright. I'll admit it. I've missed some sunrises this week. Now that the days are getting longer and longer and the sun is rising earlier and earlier, I've started losing more and more sleep in order to keep posting these day by day sunrise blogs. I've reached a point where the sleep I'm losing is beginning to interfere with my mental and physical wellness. It might surprise some of you to hear that playing a brass instrument is not only mentally demanding, but also highly physical. To perform effectively and avoid injury, (to which trumpet players here seem especially prone), the body must be kept limber and hydrated and muscles must be allowed to fully recuperate in between days of heavy playing.

Most of the body's rest and repair happens during an ideal eight hours of nightly sleep, and there are consequences when that time is shortened or disrupted. My spirit is fueled each time I'm able to witness a beautiful sunrise, but though a regularly rejuvenated spirit is important too wellness too, when the rest of me is struggling with the consequences of sleep deprivation--lack of energy, difficulty focusing, moodiness, etc.--even a spectacular sunrise can fall flat.

So--I've decided that rather than a daily sunrise, I'll return to my habit of posting occasional sunrises (whenever I'm lucky enough to be up and about when they occur) along with whatever other moments of loveliness I encounter throughout the day. Now that spring is approaching, there are sure to be lots of other things I can share with you!

Getting up every day to watch the sun brighten the world turned out to be the best thing I could have done to get me through the worst winter months. I've never enjoyed winter, and before moving to Evanston dreaded having to stand up to the notoriously blustery Chicago cold. I worried I'd be in danger of losing my mind and asked everyone I could about how to survive the harshness of the season. Thinking back over the last couple months, I now feel I've triumphed--I actually enjoyed myself this winter--I don't even think I would've minded too much if the below-zero temps had stuck around another few weeks--just think of all the crazy ice formations I'd continue to run into!

No, winter is not yet over, but signs of an impending spring are increasing every day. The lake is almost entirely free of floating ice chunks, and rain is more common in the forecast than snow. Brilliant red cardinals have begun belting out mating calls from the tops of medium-sized trees (it's funny--I never see them in enormous oaks or willows, but always perched atop the very highest branches of varieties that top out at 15-20 feet), and mid-day sunlight has taken on a decidedly golden caste--as opposed to the cold silvery hue it exhibits in the dead of winter.

As a sort of "sunrise" today, I want to share a poem my dad sent me in a recent email. It's from a song by 60's folk singer Melanie Safka:

Why sleep when the day has been called out by the sun

From the night 'cause the light's gonna shine on everyone?

Why sleep when the sleep only closes up our eyes?

Why sleep when we can watch the sun arise?

We were meant to see the beginning of the day,

I believe it was planned to lift us this way.

Take you an apple and take you a song

And watch a baby day be born...

Thanks Dad

T.G.I.F....

...but still too much to do.

Pretty morning though:)

Excuses, Excuses

Sorry I haven't posted in a while

I have two words for you: GRAD SCHOOL!

How Romantic

Today's sunrise was warm and drippy...

For the last couple of days temperatures have soared into the 40s melting the still-enormous piles of snow left over from the blizzard and turning everything into a slushy, sludgy, mucky mess. My walk to school was spent hopping over or tiptoeing through giant puddles ubiquitously pooled all over the sidewalks.

While practicing before class, I noticed that a quartet of swans had landed in a protected ice-rimmed pool near the lake shore. I caught this picture of the group after the clouds broke later in the day. Two pairs of committed avian lovers languidly paddling the afternoon away...how appropriate for Valentine's day.

Love to all...

Just a Sunrise

Unexpected Wonder

Today I got to school about 5 minutes before the sun was to peek above an uncharacteristically cloud-free horizon and ran up the hill East of Regenstein to get a better view of what was undoubtedly going to be a spectacular rise. I was shocked to see that about a dozen people had beat me to the lake shore: a band of rowdy coeds, a pair of lovers cuddled together on a bench, and a quiet loner standing further back among the trees. Though my first reaction was disappointment that I'd be unable to enjoy the break of day in peaceful solitude, I quickly remembered that I'd often thought it a shame that so few people took the time to watch something as unforgettable as the sunrise over Lake Michigan. For a brief moment, the ridiculously cocky side of me thought..."Maybe all these people found my blog and decided to see for themselves what I've been raving about all winter." Well, ok...probably not.

As I neared the top of the rise, the group of coeds started leaving. "What?" I thought "Why in the world would they be taking off when the best is about to start?" Obliviously puffing their smokes, they continued walking and I figured they'd probably just been up partying all night and had only ended up at the lake shore on some random lark.

Oh well. Their loss.

As the sun crept slowly above the water, I heard a drunken shout coming from the direction of the music building: "Oh my GOD! It's BEAUUUUTIFULLL!" I turned and saw the party group stopped dead in their tracks and leaning back over the railing of a footbridge gawking in amazement at the sunrise they almost missed...

In less than a minute they had stumbled back to the viewpoint led by a girl only half dressed in an easter bunny costume hanging loosely off her bare shoulders. One of the guys began relieving himself on a rock and another said "Dude, there's someone taking pictures behind you"...guilty snickering all around. "I can't believe you can just look at it," a girl said, and someone replied "I think it's ok, just as long as it's by the horizon." I was surprised when I recognized a guy from my music and memory class among them...and hoped he hadn't recognized me back.

At this point the lover's bench had been vacated (maybe the public urination spoiled their mood) and the quiet loner had come out of the trees to stand along the shore with the rest of the crowd--though still keeping a marked distance from the party group's chemical-fueled silliness. It was an unlikely assemblage to be sure, but I couldn't help but feel gratitude for the naturally shared sense of wonder that had startled us all out of our various realities and drawn our eyes in unison to witness the simple glory of the beginning of day.

Getting Warmer

Steaming Ice

There have been a few occasions when I've seen the lake behaving like a sauna--the outside air so cold that the turbulent water below billows with clouds of steam. This morning a similar effect occurred, but this time it was the ice that was steaming!

I think this morning's low of minus 7 (wind chill minus 15) is the coldest baseline temp I've ever experienced. There was one morning a couple weeks ago where the base was minus 2 and the wind chill minus 25, but I'm betting the occasional big gust of wind pushed today's low well below the reported minus 15. During my walk to school I spent a lot of time with my gloved hands cupped around my face to prevent every inhale from freezing the insides of my nostrils.

Well, I'm now on my way to excerpt class. We're playing through Stravinsky's Fireworks...should be fun!