“For my panacea…..let me have a draught of undiluted morning air. Morning air! If men will not drink of this at the fountainhead of the day, why, then, we must even bottle up some and sell it in the shops, for the benefit of those who have lost their subscription ticket to morning time in this world.” (Henry David Thoreau)
Morning air!!! My favorite time of the day, bar none, is that moment between darkness and dawn. The sky begins a subtle brightening. The air is clear and clean and coats my lungs with purity. Suddenly, as in a Disney cartoon, the birds begin to sing as if on cue.
That really happens.
Once, during my predawn walk I spied a dead stone crab high on the beach. As big as a dinner plate, the crab was beautiful and thick with black tipped claws and sandy colored body. I admired him, then walked on to take photos. It was rather dark still, so I decided to sit on the sand for a different angle. About 10 feet in front of the crab I sat and shot for a bit. After shooting I rose and walked to the water, dipping my toes in the foam. Walking back for home I noticed the crab missing. Missing! Was he not dead? A shiver went up my spine. If not dead….where?! I found where he’d been and discovered the footprints of multiple gulls. While I was shooting, the sound of waves and wind in my ears, the gulls were feasting 10 feet behind me….and I never heard it.
Debi Bradford Photography 
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