5:50 a.m.
Dark Sky read out: 40° F. 82% cloud cover.
40° F? Come again? I close app, and re-open.
40° F? This is after two days of high’s in the 50’s. This being Feb 12. Not even mid-Feb.
I sit on the stoop, and lace up my boots.
“Something ineffable has tilted toward spring. There’s a promise of warmth beneath the cold, a releasing of winter’s grip on the land. You can feel it.” (Katrina Kenison)
Sun rises, temperature warms rapidly.
The park begins to fill.
There’s the habituals. Adult Son walking with his elderly Mother, 2 loops daily. Runner, electric blue tights, with his over-the-ear headphones. Middle aged woman, short, clipped, choppy steps, a runner in all conditions. Man, 50s-60s, always there ahead of me, shoes scuffing on asphalt with each step, his hand gripping a foot long flashlight.
There’s the dog walkers. Two cocker spaniels. A peppy Dalmatian-mix pup. An adult Great Dane, black, jet black, proud and unneutered, his owner carrying a white towel wiping his long, stringy drools. And, me, hand griping a camera strap, Leash-less, Dog-less.
I’m in the home stretch of this morning’s walk. A few minutes after sunrise. Two girls, posing for selfies. Sun warming the earth, our faces, our skin drawn upward to its warmth. It’s Spring. It’s close.
“But hope never materializes anywhere without fear having stowed away inside it.” (Kathryn Schulz)
I flip open the Dark Sky app to check on tomorrow’s forecast.
29° F, feels like 24° F. Cloud cover 99%.
Forecast…Snow.
Tilt?
Tilting in the wrong direction.
Photos: DK @ Daybreak. 5:58 a.m. & 6:56. Feb 12, 2022. 40° F. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT. More photos from this morning here.
Live & Learn 
I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that “leash-less” and “dog-less” are correctable. Easily so.
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Hmmmmmmm
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Love your walking meditations/musings. It’s like we’re there with you. 🙂
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Thank you Sharon!
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I love your crew of regulars and perhaps you are mentioned in their daily blogs. I wonder how they would describe you? it would be so fun to know –
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Laughing. I’d be scared to hear!
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Wow!! … “Photos: DK @ Daybreak. 5:58 a.m. & 6:56. Feb 12, 2022. 40° F. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT.”
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Awesome
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Thanks Michael.
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Snow???? Are you kidding me? We want spring. Sunshine, the warm kind! Beautiful photos, btw.
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Exactly! Thank you Anneli!
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Stunning photos, one calm and one ablaze in depth of glory…great to hear more about your early mornings…the weather here is also ever changing…odd we’ve noticed a neighbor’s red Quince is blooming – it is really early for that to bloom…never seen it bloom this early and before a Forsythia…the Forsythia should bloom by the end of this month…fragrance is in the air with the blooming Daphne’s in the neighborhood, right on time! I can’t wait for the Dogwood’s to come out…I think it was two years ago when you posted a stunning, in full bloom, Dogwood in your area. /// 230 miles away on Thursday it was 83 <<<unbelievable…on our rugged coast…How much snow are you expecting?
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Neighbor’s red Quince is blooming. I can see this!
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darn, the cold last night killed some of my daffodils…we didn’t even bother to take all the protective coverings off of other plantings…
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Awwwww…..
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I’m going to cut those flowering and enjoy them in the house…dear hubby is going to prop them up today 🙂
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Good plan!
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I’m always happy for the breather days, but weeks of them this early hereabouts would totally mess up wintering summer-bloomers, as well as hatch some bugly things and maybe even wake bears unto birdfeeders, no? And just think of the motorcycles! I can wait!! ☺️
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Beautifully stated. Yes!
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(ps: I love that you let those birds sign your exquisite photo paint-ing. 🙂)
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Smiling. Yes. And what beautiful calligraphy it is! 😀
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So relatable, it’s the lingering if leaving a door open for cats to sunbathe on the balcony, when a short time ago that would have been unthinkable. The suspicion of a bud on the tree in front, the memory of almond blossoms, always the first to show.
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Beautiful Claire. Yes.
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We like the first picture, but find the second one kitschy, like pictures on cheap daily calendars. The morning atmosphere is well captured in the first picture.
Keep well
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Thank you Klaus!
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I didn’t know people took selfies so early in the morning…
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I didn’t either!
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Thanks for the smile. Love the sentiment.
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Thanks Val!
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Great contrast again, fascinating your photographs. Thank you, as always I love reading you too. Love, nia
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Awww, thank you Nia. Really appreciate the kind words.
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