The clock going forward last weekend means that I am again getting up for work in the dark.
This reminds me of the times during the last couple of months when the project that I was working on seemed never-ending, and to try and ever-end it I was going into work at seven.
There is no bus that would get me in that early so I would have to leave my house at 5.30 for the longer walk to the station to catch the six o’clock train. This sounds like torture but in fact there were times when it was a lovely walk, with stars and the moon still in the sky.
There was nobody else around, a human silence in which to appreciate birdsong.
The walk would take me around the side of Greystones Golf Course and the beauty and variety of the sounds coming from the trees there can be breathtaking.
I don’t know much about ornithology so I can’t tell which birds I was listening to. I presume one of them was the lark, since otherwise the phrase “up with the lark” is meaningless.
As for the rest of the dawn chorus, they could be anything. Sparrows. Puffins. Tits.
At times the project caused exhaustion, stress, disillusionment and depression. But the morning walk used to help me deal with all of this.
The world around you, if you open your senses and take it all in, is a constant source of wonder.
Worth Doing Badly 
You’re right – the beauty around is always there.
Just takes some time out to notice it…
Living in the countryside as a teenager was quite like this too. I miss it, though it had some major social disadvantages then.
Lovely, and very true.
I’m with you on the early morning thing – they are magical.
I will take a step to the right, and view
your wonderful morning world anew.
A very encouraging post, Thank you,
Nice to see you waxing lyrical 🙂