Day 99/365 April 9 2026
Mind the gap. The open water between ice and shore is widening. More waterfowl are arriving. Some stopping over briefly to journey north. Some to stay the season. Colorful spring plumage is on display
The real first flowers of spring are on the birds #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 98/365 April 8 2026
Overcast dawn but above freezing. The expanse of open water along the shore remains open and growing. It moves like a river right to left as the wind makes current eating at ice edges
Ducks cruise through the water thrilled to have new transportation #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 97/365 April 7 2026
The sun tops the tree line and appears like a piece of fruit on the budding oak. The open water froze next to the ice, but still flows along shore. It is always interesting to witness the change in state of matter on a lake. Longer daylight helps now #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 96/365 April 6 2026
Home from the Sonoran Desert to discover the desert of ice has retreated making room for ducks and geese. More voices adding to the spring chorus. The recent snow remains where shadows are on the yard. It will slowly sink and green the parched earth #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 95/365 April 5 2026
Last SonoranDesert sunrise. Until next time. Clouds kept a lid on the orb but the amber light still glows through. The saguaro reach toward the heavens in seeming celebration. The desert is amazingly diverse. Beauty blooms among the thorns #Tucson #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 94/365 April 4 2026
Another desert sunrise. The waning moons setting opposite. In Norse mythology Sol and Mani are sister and brother twins chasing across the sky. In other traditions the sun is male and moon female. A matter of perspective I suppose. . #Tucson #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 93/365 April 3 2026
Desert sunrise. Opposite a waning full moon is setting. Somewhere between Artemis II is soaring, sending back views of our Earth that haven’t been witnessed by human eyes since 1972
Can’t wait to hear the stories. Satellites show. People tell #Tucson #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 92/365 April 2 2026
A look back at how far the sun has moved in one month. First picture is March 2 second picture is yesterday
Have you noticed your own personal Stonehenge watching the sunrise or sunset?
You begin to notice enough to set a calendar
79 days to Solstice #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 91/365 April 1 2026
A sunrise spectacle in three frames over twenty minutes. Change can seem slow or come sudden. Color moves over the clouds imperceptibly. Then it’s gone without notice. The sun rise between a notch in the tree line shedding light and casting shadow #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 90/365 March 31 2026
The spongey ice matches the cloud covered sky. Sunrise temperature shows the open water along the shore has refrozen. Seems like a step back toward winter. But new signs of spring appear each day. First flock of White Pelicans seen nearby yesterday #LakeMilton #sunrise2026
Day 89/365 March 30 2026
The morning sky glows a warm orange as the waxing moon sets opposite of the rising sun. The ice has darkened more, spongey and absorbing solar energy to effect a change in its state of matter. Soon moving from solid to liquid. Part of spring changes #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 88/365 March 29 2026
Members of the birdsong chorus grow each morning. Yodeling Sandhill Cranes, gobbling Wild Turkeys, honking Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans, Goldfinches, House Finches, Darkeyed juncos, Pileated Woodpeckers, Robins, Cardinals, Crows, Redwing Blackbirds #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 87/365 March 28 2026
Noting a personal Stonehenge. At the end of March the rising sun touches the point on the northern shore
A sure sign of a new season. Add to that the chorus of birdsong including Redwing Blackbirds and the first gobling Wild Turkey
Phenology moments #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 86/365 March 27 2026
Retreating clouds stacked at the horizon occlude the sunrise. Twenty minutes later Sol tops the cloud ridge that looks like a distant mountain range. A golden path unfurls across the ice. Cold air overnight has frozen the open water along the shore #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 85/365 March 26 2026
Overcast skies at sunrise drop rain on the darkening ice below. Now pock marked and spongey the ice has begun to recede from the shore. Technically still fishable but takes a giant step from shore to stand on honeycombed thickness
Waiting open water #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 84/365 March 25 2026
A wall of clouds occludes the sunrise. The light bends around and touches the clouds overhead. It gives the image of an imperial cruiser sailing over the ice, with a shadow above. Fitting. The first Star Wars movie opened 17836 days ago today. #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 83/365 March 24 2026
The retreating clouds painted orange a quarter hour before the sunrises behind them. The overture of birdsong has added new voices. The yodel of SandHill Cranes has joined the crow junco goldfinch house finch robin starling redwing blackbird choir #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 82/365 March 23 2026
A tranquil dawn as Sol appears at the horizon as a small light growing larger as she rises. Soon the frost will fade. The birdsong swells. A clear sun filled day will make the ice ache. It was booming this morning as below freezing temps fed it #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 81/365 March 22 2026
Cloudy skies at sunrise over cloudy ice on the lake. Still thick enough for intrepid anglers to venture out yesterday in the bright sunshine. The horizon this morning shows a hint of pink. A hopeful signs to see the sun again and feels its energy #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 80/365 March 21 2026
Jet contrails moving to and from the horizon indicating spring break travels. Flocks of geese join the journey with swans in pursuit. Their voices join the throng of birdsong making the morning overture. A bank of clouds delays the sighting of Sol #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 79/365 March 20 2026
The Vernal Equinox arrives. The sun will be back in this spot in September. Clouds on the horizon hamper the showing of the sun, but provide a canvas for the colors separated by the atmosphere
The ice is mottled, moving toward a new state of matter. #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 78/365 March 19 2026
The bank of fog crept closer and closer as sunrise approached. The ice was booming
Bass drum sounds
Like slow giant footsteps. Such morning moments are the genesis of myth. Carl Sandburg says “the fog comes on little cat feet”. Not here. Giants roam #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 77/365 March 18 2026
The sun was momentarily muted by thin fog at the horizon. A clear and calm beginning to the before the day before the equinox. The pendulum continues to swing the sun northward to the solstice. Then the swing back. It will be here again in September #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 76/365 March 17 2026
Flat clouds create a canvas for color to spread from the horizon just before sunrise. Moments later Sol appears in the space between horizon and cloud. Subzero morning but melting will still begin. The sun has power to degrade snow and make icicles #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 75/365 March 16 2026
A waning crescent moon rises well before the sun fading as it lifts into the light. A half hour later Sol and her chariot breech the horizon and lighten the sky further. Shades of blue change hue from dark to light. The hardened snow ready to bake #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 74/365 March 15 2026
The breath of Boreas blusters and blows bringing a mood of Niflheim to the shoreline. The snow globe has been shaken again. Wind whipped snow has sculpted a fresh winter landscape five days from the Vernal Equinox. Spring arrives slowly. But surely #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 73/365 March 14 2026
The clouds make a canvas for a brilliant light show moments before sunrise. The light even reaches the shore reflected on the ice. 62 years ago this day my mother went into labor. I was born at 9:50pm. Also happy Pi day to all who celebrate! Be well #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 72/365 March 13 2026
The breath of Boreas blows with bluster bringing a blast of waning winter for the weekend. Sol is muted behind the blue tinted clouds, thicker at the horizon. Spongy ice, covered with decaying snow mimics the color and texture of the sky. Hang on #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 71/365 March 12 2026
Helios first appears muted by thin clouds like a big red rubber ball. Spring birdsong is already filling the crisp air. New snow has significantly receded, showing the power of the sun in this season. Mixed clouds tinged pink hint weather is coming #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
Day 70/365 March 11 2026
A wall of clouds creates a caldera around the lake, delaying the appearance of Helios by half an hour. Clear skies above echo the birdsong that greets the day. Chill air from the fresh snow fills the lungs. The sun’s power will begin the melt anew #LakeMiltona #sunrise2026
