Early Sunrise in the New Year

I was wide awake early this morning and had the distinct pleasure of witnessing a beautiful country sunrise.

 I was intrigued as I watched the scene unfold from dark predawn into a symphony of colors as the sun reached for the edge of the horizon.  The sun lit up the bottoms of the clouds with magenta highlights.

  I quickly hiked to the top of the big hill near my home to capture the moment that the colors reached their peak.

After this moment the darkness began to leave the land and the details of my surroundings began to get clearer.

 The amazing colors that filled the sky only a moment before has quickly began to fade into pastel shades as the sun breached the horizon.

As I walked back to my home I just took in the surrounding valley with the snow covered peaks to the south and the plateau stretching out to the west.  The clouds rolled across the sky ushering in the winter storm that was coming my way.  They hid the high peaks from view and shrouded the top of the plateau in a swirling fog.  I was happy that I got to experience this tiny token of warmth in the midst of a typical cloudy, stormy winter.