Sunrise 2: Ault Park (in the mist)

This morning was interesting.  After almost missing the sunrise yesterday, I made sure to be up at the overlook 10 minutes early.  In contrast to the clear skies  yesterday morning, however, the sky this morning was overcast and gray.  Last night we must have had a light shower; the roads were wet and slick, the sky was dark and gray, and the ambient light seemed to be lagging behind by about 25 minutes.  I honestly couldn’t tell when the sun came up.  I took the opportunity to relax and drink my coffee, and think about the direction I want this project to go.  Without the distraction of a beautiful sunrise, planning the day is much less stressful!  Lunken airport had some light traffic, including a small commuter jet that took off in a hurry right after the supposed sunrise time.

One of the things I’m figuring out is coming up with a list of locations that I’d like to consistently take a picture from.  The point of this will be to document the seasonal change of the park.  I’ve decided that this spot fits nicely because it captures the Heekin Overlook and the valley below as well as several pieces of local fauna.  The trees that don’t blossom and aren’t conifers haven’t started putting on their green show yet, so this spot should change over time.  (Why do flowering trees blossom so early and always before full leafy non-flowering trees? Hmm.) I also have to remember that everything I see today I take for granted.  During the summer you can’t see through the trees at all, and the overlook seems snug and crowded, in contrast to the panoramic view we get to experience today.  More pictures after the jump.

Another interesting thing that I noticed immediately is that Armleder park is flooded again.  Armleder park is a prarie-turned-park, and it is relatively new (Google Maps still showed it as being under construction until recently).  I imagine they’re still working out exactly how to drain the park that sits smack dab in what used to be the riverbed of the ancient pre-glacial ohio river.  In the above picture, on the right side, you can clearly see the island / shelter that marks the “Dog Park”.  Last time I visited the park it was technically closed, and I swear that in the 20 minutes I was sitting outside the gate fiddling with my bike, I saw 30 cars pull up with excited dogs hanging out the window, panting in anticipation of hanging out in the dog park.  Broke my heart to see the cars turn around and go home! haha.

I realized after I finished my coffee that there was in fact a silver lining to the overcast morning.  I was able to take pictures today that yesterday weren’t possible because I cast a long shadow across the lawn.  Most importantly, it let me explore the daffodil garden and take pictures without having to adjust where my camera is in space.  It is pretty incredible really, and something that I didn’t really consider until today.  Here are a few shots that I was able to take of the flower beds.  I swear I didn’t notice these things last week, a good chunk of them had to have popped up in the last few days (maybe even last night?)

yesterday:

today:

There are several kinds of brand new flowers (are they all daffodils? I have no idea) in the lawn garden.  I was overwhelmed, honestly.  Hundreds and Hundreds of them.  I’ve only ever seen the yellow/yellow and yellow/orange, so the white/orange and white/grapefruit were a pleasant surprise.

Not sure what kind of flowers these are, but they’re beautiful.  These are definitely fresh, they haven’t been damaged by any of the recent frost.

As I was leaving the park, something jumped out and startled me.  My shadow! I turned around and caught a beautiful display in the mid atmosphere.  I’d say that this morning turned out better than expected 🙂

Well, thats it.  It is still early in the project so I have this urge to try and take as many pictures as possible. I need to remember that there are 38 more of these suckers to go.

Stats from this morning:
Sunrise: 7:12pm EST
Visibility: 8mi
Temperature: 55F / 13C, mild warm breeze
Sky: Overcast, gray, misty
Sunrise: Covered up by clouds. Absent? Calm.
Bird Chatter: Medium.  I notice they seem to be louder after a rain.  Not sure if this is correct or not.
People: One lonely runner out at sunrise.  And of course the park crew.  Man those guys are awesome.