| Rome wasn’t built in a single night |
| Main Image – Early Morning Fisherman’s Wharf Marina – River Stour – Zeke filter. |
| Suze picking blackberries this morning on Millwall. |
| Music Score – Epic – Morning Light Music |
| Bell Hotel |
| An enjoyable, relaxing walk this morning with Suze. With the weather so warm of late, and as l carry two relatively large camera lenses, l must wear a light coat in the mornings. In the spring and autumn seasons, this light coat is more than ample to provide me with a comfortable warmth, although come the winter l tend to wear a heavier coat, and yet having said that. Last winter, l wore lighter coats all through it because the season was surprisingly mild and not as wet as the previous winters. Anyway, enough of this banter – l have to wear the lighter coat or protective fleece because it has deep pockets, which are great for the Canon’s lenses. I usually carry two only, one is always on the camera, whilst the zoom lens is inside one of the pockets and is attached and changed when l need specific shots. However, even though it is a light fleeced coat with the weather we are currently experiencing, light fleece is as awkward as if l was wearing a ball of heavy wool. You run up a sweat pretty quickly. I suffer terribly with moderation issues, as l cannot easily regulate my temperatures. I think it is a known issue of autism as l have met a lot of older autists who tell me they experience the same problems. We can’t always tell when we are too hot or too cold until we are too hot and too cold by which time we are usually venting the air blue! It reads comical, l know. But it’s not funny. It’s a pain in the arse. I could combat it more easily when l was up earlier in the day, but that was also when it was lighter in the day, and the sunrises were at the 4-4.30 mark. Now those same risings are around after 5. This morning was 5.11. Even then, when l left the house at 5.19, it wasn’t light or dark; it was limboclock! But it was cool but warmer than yesterday morning, so my coat was comfortable, but l knew that within twenty minutes, that would change. Also, because of these limbo days, as the days are not early light days but not dark days, l have found that l have struggled with getting up at 4 am for the last two weeks. I still wake at that time, but l am waking in the dark. I have slept with my curtains open since April of this year when the days were starting to get lighter marginally. But not so now. I still leave my curtains open, no one can see it anyway and l like seeing the town at night. Limboclock and limbodays rule the waking up process now. So l awaken at around fifteen minutes before four, and it is dark. I don’t turn on my light but look out the window, then fall asleep again and wake up at half four, cursing that l had ‘dozed’ for fiveminutesbloodythirty! Suze says it is because l am tired, and YES, l am tired, but l have been tired for the last forty years! What’s the big deal? “All the composting,” she says. Yeah, l get that – but it’s not that. It’s because when l started this new regime of sleep patterning, it was getting lighter, but even now biologically, l can awaken at four in the morning. My brain says, “Mate, it isn’t morning. It’s dark, not time!” So since yesterday, l am now breaking in a sunlight lamp to encourage my mind to think that 4 am IS the start of a new day! This morning was better than yesterday, but we have to twiddle with the settings again – Suze set it up to brighten up to the full sun for half four, and my alarm went off at four …. right? So now l must set it up to brighten up from half three to be full sun at 4 am when the alarms go off. Of course, it is still naturally dark at half four, but it’s full sun artificially! I can’t go on a walk at that time – well, l could – but the cameras would be redundant until the day started to brighten up! I don’t use the flash – BUT BUT BUT – the original decision to get up at sillyoclock was so that come the dark seasons, l could work on my blog – run on the treadmill – then go out for a morning walk, then come back and start the day. Whilst ‘l’ knew that – l think my brain forgot or didn’t get the memo. No biggie, we are now retraining the ‘brain’ again! I suppose l need to help the brain out a bit and explain to my late-night consciousness that when l go to bed at half nine in the evening, it shouldn’t be still awake at eleven!! Oh well, Rome wasn’t built in a single night. |
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| Thanks for reading my banality. I hope you enjoy this morning’s photos. |
Earthly Comforts 
I love the wharf photo. It reminded me of the movie the perfect storm I saw yesterday. The hotel is pretty as a picture. If day 4:00 is a bit too early but then you’re working according to your schedule. Thanks for sharing your photos.
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You are most welcome Sadje. Ah Perfect Storm is that the film from 2000 with Wahlberg and Clooney?
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Yes, the same one. With very tragic ending
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Yes, especially if you weren’t a wild water swimmer.
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Yup! I’m not.
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Hahaha – me neither, l guess we would both be looking at the sea beds by now 🙂
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Yeah! Since longtime. 😛
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I admire your dedication, Rory, but cannot even imagine getting up at 4 am! In fact, I’m lucky to have gotten to bed by then. I never have been able to feel comfortable about living by clock-time. Seems restricting and to be unnatural for me somehow. Guess I’m too much of a free spirit at heart. 😊
How wonderful nature provided an early morning snack and Suze found it! What a delightful way to start the day!
Thank you for sharing your lovely photographs, musings and early morning walk with us all, Rory. It was quite refreshing! 😊
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Hey Betty, l used to feel the same way with regards to times, l was a late night owl for soooooo many years right from the time almost of being 14 to well this year l guess.
I don’t like the restrictions of time or even to a degree the so called social etiquette of time either. The so called ‘don’t call people at x time’ as that is not appropriate. In my twenties to thirties l had a hell of a time trying to regulate that. i never thought anything of ringing business people at 11 o’clock at night in the 80’s and 90’s because l was awake l wrongly assumed other people were too!
Quietening the autistic brain was a handful.
There are a lot of blackberries around this time of the year, Suze can still eat them, they are too acidic for my stomach now.
Many thanks – glad you enjoyed today’s stroll 🙂
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Hmm… don’t know what happened to my previous response to this, Rory. ?? It’ went to the ether-world, I guess. 😊
Yes, I do remember your previous challenges with keeping night shift hours and I do admire your ability to turn those habits around! I haven’t found the key for that yet, or maybe at my age just don’t feel the need strongly enough to make the effort. 😊 I am finding it easier to sleep in spurts now – a couple hours here, a few hour there. It requires so much less effort just to go to bed, go to sleep and then get up when you feel the need to change positions, rather than trying to shift positions ,or turn over, while laying down. 🙄
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You know Betty, l reckon you have some Aspie’ness in you 🙂
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Could be, Rory. Have never been tested and I’m not worried about it at this stage of the game. 😊
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Nothing to be worried about anyhoo 🙂
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Ben has the same problem with temperature regulation.
Sleep seems to be a common problem lately🤪
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