sunrise:  6:03

Appleton, WI

I played a little game of chase the sun this morning for the second day in a row.  In a small city like this one, it was even harder to get to a place where I could actually get a view of the sun itself.  This nice little city park had a great statue of dancing children to put in front of the pre-dawn sky.

Travel weary yesterday, I was feeling negative about my surroundings in general.  This morning, however, I found a lot to like.  I love the feeling of a college campus in general - all of the grand trappings of academia, history, tributes to the great minds and the foresight of the founders of long ago.  The architecture and landscaping reflect an appreciation for beauty, symmetry, and elevation of the mind.  Anything that will inspire young people to accomplish great things, or to make the most of themselves and their own lives and the world, is worth cultivating.

This fellow, placed along a walkway, looked none too happy to be up at this early hour:

I also always love a place where I can connect with the natural environment - and I found that too.  I made my way to a river walk, down a steep bank along the Fox River

and saw two rabbits, a mallard, a turkey buzzard, geese, many fat red-winged blackbirds who sang beautifully, a pair of dancing robins, two doves on a wire, and weirdly, a number of seagulls.

Here is the place where I will come to see the sun rise next time.  I caught it just a few minutes too late for the more subtle glows of dawn.

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I am feeling enormously grateful to my exercise class instructor.  Over 700 miles of driving in the last 3 days, and my back is great!