It is amazing how much of this is done in darkness permeated by only LED lights of the couple of clocks in the kitchen and the very limited minimal light from outside. If I need to I'll open the refrigerator door to get enough light to find something in the room, but that's about it. I have always had good night vision, and this make the transition less jarring.
Out in the driveway and up our street the only light is the one streetlight a down a few houses away so occasionally I do need to click on the cell phone to shoot out a slight beam as a guide and cut the shadows that are in front of me. I assume that the noises I make scares away any animals in the vicinity and I use to be more concerned than I am now.
What always strikes me is the quiet and the total darkness of the sky (at least this week). Even when the moon is out (unless it is full) it may provide some light but doesn't block the darkness and the stars above. A few lights are on in the houses as I pass, the early risers in the neighborhood.
Leaving my street and down the big hill, the canopy of trees makes it darker, so that I move to the middle. The streetlights are dim and don't seem to pierce the darkness of the street. My red flashers attached to my hips reflect off the edges of the road. There is so little traffic that running in the road is preferable with its level surface and lack of obstacles. Rounding the corner at the bottom I start the long upward grade.
Each morning I pass a guy standing in his driveway waiting for a ride to work. I am in the light of the dim street light and he in the shadows under the trees. I sometimes see the glow of his cigarette a short distance before and as I pass we exchange warm greetings of the morning. I would never recognize him in the daylight nor do I expect he would recognize me, but here we are two souls in the dark early morning. Occasionally a car will come a the light is so blinding that I have to drop to a walk to return to the side walk, then back in the road as they pass but mostly it is just me.
At the top of this half mile hill I am walking for a stretch as I approach the highway. Rarely having to wait before dashing across and I am again in the dimly lit darkness on the road into town. A few more houses with light on and those are usually bathrooms and the occasional blue gray glow of a television inside. Occasionally the newspaper deliverer is on his his route, weaving from side to side and cutting in and out of side streets. Annoying because, while I am sure he sees me, his movements are unpredictable and in the dark that does not bring comfort.
Coming up the final grade into town and crossing the brick pavers, it is so absent of tourists. The stores are dark, the offices still and the antique reproduction street lights give off more than enough light. What will be teeming with life in an hour or so is pretty dead and as I round the block past the town hall and library, under more trees I approach my half way point. At 6AM the chimes on the white church on the hill chime and there is someone starting to open the small market. I see them making coffee and bringing in the stacks of newspapers and if they are out side I always say hi. The door to the bagel shop is open and smell of dough waft in the air.
Down "restaurant row" the table and chairs on the decks sit idle and empty, though one of the is always lit up brightly and i can sometimes see the morning cleaning crew repairing the wear of the night before.
Then heading back, the uphill grade gets reversed and it is a quicker return. The light is starting to change over the trees and the ridge lines. Still not much activity and life but there soon will be. The man waiting for his ride is always gone when I return as I pass his spot and make the turn up the final steep hill, hoping and pushing to make it as close to the top before walking to my street and a cool-down walk home.
It is still dark and quiet, occassionally a neighbor is out walking the dog or walking the hill. They are starting as I am finishing.
I come back inside and keep the lights off, stretching and cooling down it keep the calm of the early day.
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