As is so often the case these days, I swam into the sunrise this morning.

Sometimes as I’m setting off in the dark, I wonder why we keep planning these early swims and then I remember that we aren’t necessarily changing our patterns, but rather, it’s the sun that’s changing hers: rising a little later every day as we head into the shortest days of winter. Though, we also are choosing to meet earlier more often than we used to because the sunrise is always worth getting up and out for and it’s much more accessible these days. In June when the sun rises before 6 am, it’s not nearly as appealing a prospect.  

When Sheila and I met up at the Albany Bulb at 6:30 were surprised by how bright it already was compared to our 6:30 swim on Saturday, despite the fact that the sun rose a full three minutes later today than it did on Saturday. I suppose it was the heavy clouds in the sky that day obscuring the light. Watching dawn unfurl differently from day to day is just one of so many ways getting out for my swims is wildly variable. Going to the same place and doing the same thing most every morning is as different each time as if I’d traveled a great distance. 

Today’s water was cold (wavering between 49 and 50), rippling with energy and filled with light. The birds were out in force, and the shy seal made an early appearance.