Kentucky Morning Series - Farm Country Sunrise

Not far from my house sits a typical Kentucky farm on rolling country. A old gray barn sits midway on the rim of a pond. Behind the barn a pasture rolls gently toward a line of trees that ride against the morning sky. Fog often drifts across the low lying area of the pond and as the summer progresses, the sun eventully rises behind that line of trees.

The air is usually calm at daybreak allowing the barn to cast a reflection on the surface of the pond. The silence will allow the sounds of the country to fill the morning with its song. Birds aplenty, grazing cattle bellowing a greating, and even a rooster sounding off it morning wakeup call.

One morning a few years ago I happened upon this scene just as the sun was peaking over the edge of the tree line. A hurried series of shots captured the moment. This location has become one of my favorite locations as it portrays the way a Kentucky morning should be remembered.

A few months ago after a prolonged period of rain, a sinkhole opened in the bottom of the pond and all of the water drained away underground. Sinkholes are common in this area, but to have one drain a pond is not. I am releaved I captured this location when I did. Without the pond, it's just not the same.

Kentucky Morning Series - Wrong Turn

I took a wrong turn that morning, but it was a turn that ultimately proved itself as a fortunate mistake. When I backed out of my driveway a light fog drifted across the pasture across the road. The air was cooler at this time of day so I hoped fog would fill the lower parts of the Shanty Hollow lake area. Twenty minutes later as I approached the ‘Y’ in the road that would ultimately take me toward Shanty Hollow, the fog became quite thick and instead of angling to the left, I drove straight somehow missing the turn.

About a half mile later I realized my mistake, but decided to continue on down this less traveled road when I came across a medium sized pond that was covered with a light blanket of fog. The sun was still several minutes from rising so I turned around and pulled off on a side road and walked around to the side of the pond. The air was perfectly still and what ambient light there was began to glow with a solid aura that filled the sky and area with its color.

 

 

Over the next twenty minutes, this aura changed in texture and color from deep lavender to pale blue then back to a soft sunrise orange. The colors were perfectly captured on the surface of the pond. 

This wrong turn proved itself a fortunate mistake that offered an amazing moment of light that stood apart as one of the most unique I’ve ever experienced. Once again a moment displayed itself with the flavor and melody that so typifies what a Kentucky Morning can offer.