The Start of a Beautiful Day

It was a day that began with some of the most beautiful, direct sunlight I have seen in a very long time. I happened to be on campus both first thing in the morning and again around lunchtime. The main photo is one of my first views of campus just before dawn.

The sun was coming but not here yet. The pre-dawn light was blue, as it always is in winter. All the lamps were still lit. These are precious moments to me: watching the sun arrive and give our beautiful campus its first golden kiss is one of my great delights. I do it as often as possible.

I don't know how many of you know about the odd Pennsylvania custom of allowing a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil to decide whether spring will arrive early or late. You may have seen the movie about our famous holiday, Groundhog Day, which is one of my favorites.

Anyhow, the news on this particular Groundhog Day morning was that Phil somehow did NOT see his shadow, and so the forecast was for an early spring. Little did we know that he meant it should arrive ON THIS DAY! The sunshine continued through most of the day, and temperatures warmed up and became quite delightful in the afternoon. (Look, Ma! No coat!)

It turns out I wasn't the only one enjoying the day's pleasures. Everyone, everywhere, seemed to be grinning! I happened upon a squirrel eating an ice cream cone (see extra photos). It sat on a branch above me, happily snarfing down the cone, and at one point stuck its whole furry face right down inside. Go for the gusto! At least, that's what I always say.

It's amazing to me how the first light of day has such power. It has the ability to transform everyday ordinary things into works of great beauty. I stood on this morning, as every Penn Stater should be able to do, and communed with the Nittany Lion at its famous shrine.

As I did so, I looked down across campus into downtown and saw a construction site lit up with the gold of the rising sun. It was suddenly, in that moment, simply extraordinarily beautiful. And I wished with all my heart to be inside what looked to me like the shining cathedrals of the sun (see extra photos).

I took hundreds and hundreds of photos on this day, and the light in all of them was good. These three represent the start of what ended up being a marvelous, beautiful, happy-to-be-alive kind of amazing day. I am pleased to be able to share these glimpses of such a day with you.  :-)

The song: U2, Beautiful Day.