Sunrise, mountains and tea

For the last five months, my little teacup has sat in my room doing exactly what it was intended – reminding me of Vancouver and all the adventures, fun and wonderful friends I had there.

It’s been a while since my teacup had an adventure of its own. Its last (photographed) outing was in Rome in June. I hadn’t forgotten about it, but for various reasons there hasn’t been a new Teacup Tale for a while.

So it seemed fitting it should accompany me on something else I haven’t done for a while – enjoy a sunrise.

I’ve seen plenty, particularly in the last year thanks to early starts at work. Some of them have been spectacular. But I so rarely take the time to enjoy it. It’s usually more of a brief “awww look at the sky” before carrying on with whatever I was doing. We’re always so busy aren’t we?

A sunny day was forecast today. No rain. No gale winds. Just sun and a seasonally appropriate high of 3C. After catching some nice skies through the kitchen window while cooking breakfast at work, it’s been on my mind to make time to enjoy one without the glass interrupting my view. After reading the forecast yesterday I decided today was it. I spread my clothes out and packed my bag the night before to reduce any extra excuses in the morning. I set my alarm for just after 6am. Sunrise wasn’t until after 8am, but I wanted to see first light. Even as I looked at the clock at 11.43pm, I remained determined to rise in a little over six hours.

And I did. I actually woke up before my alarm (don’t you hate it when that happens). I filled my thermos with tea, grabbed my torch and headed out. I didn’t have a particular spot in mind – just somewhere high where I could see it rise over Coniston Water and look back on the mountains.

Sunrise usually seems to happen so quickly – except for when you’re sitting on a hill, exposed to the wind and feel like the predicted high of 3C would be as welcome as summer. When you sit and wait in the dark, the light takes a long time coming.

So I sat and watched the light crack over Grizedale Forest in front of me. Watched the dottering of street lights  evolve into the village below me. Watched the mountains brighten as the light hit them behind me. And I drank my tea from my little tea cup.