First Light Penn State: A Turtle's View of Dawn

It is January and full-on winter has arrived! A storm brought several inches of new snow and blustery conditions on Tuesday. But by Wednesday morning, the system had moved through, and the wintry precipitation gave way to clearing skies.

A few heavy snow squalls with potential whiteout conditions were in Wednesday's forecast, so morning found me once again riding the bus to campus. The temperature was around 10 degrees F, or -12 C, so it was quite chilly out. I arrived just as the light did, and took a very brisk walk around, taking many photos of first light on campus.

This is the armillary sphere that sits on the Old Main lawn, just a few feet from the steps. You can read a bit more about it in a prior Blip which features a close-up picture of the turtle itself. From where I stood, I could also turn around and look behind me to see Old Main all lit up, its every window shining with the golden reflected light.

The view of sunrise from this place is particularly nice, looking from campus into downtown State College. And it's only a few-minute walk from this spot to the Corner Room for a hot, tasty breakfast (why is it that cold weather makes me ferociously hungry?), but alas I didn't have time for that on this day. Perhaps next time.

It seemed to me that the turtle had a very important job to do, but also a very lovely place in which to do  it. It pleased me to think of the loyal turtle keeping watch over town and campus while holding up the celestial spheres under the glorious first light of dawn.

I am a lover of the light, and I see the arrival of daylight as an event to be witnessed if possible, and celebrated each and every day. The song to accompany this sunrise scene is by the 80s rock super-group ASIA. I saw them perform this past fall (original guitarist Steve Howe has retired and been replaced by very able newcomer Sam Coulson) and they still put on a fantastic show. Here they are singing the praises of one of my very favorite things: ASIA, with Daylight.

Daylight, I want to see daylight
Want to see daylight that shines all around
Daylight, I want to see clear blue light
Want to see daylight that shines all around