Third week of June- SUNRISE SOUNDS

SUNRISE SOUNDSCAPES
I have returned to San Francisco from New York this week, bringing a nasty summer cold with me. While I haven't much energy in the morning for adventurous excursions, I have documented the soundscape of each morning as I observe the sunrise. I am a slacker this week. Sorry. Despite my lethargy, I did make a surprising discovery- the earliest time for the sunrise does NOT coincide with the solstice. The sun rises a minute later and holds there -all week long. Here we go toward winter...

6/16 AM Someday, a Tree
Cold outside and cold inside. I also have a cold. It’s summer in San Francisco. Besides the temperature, the biggest difference between mornings here and mornings in NY is how much quieter it is here. I walked around with those cymbal bells on strings, and you can actually hear them and hear them move from place to place. It’s such a different feeling wondering if people might actually hear the sounds of these bells as they wake up. This is the last morning of the earliest sunrises. Tomorrow, the sun will rise one minute later than today. Hallelujah! Am I the only person who is glad about this?

6/17 AM
While I am recovering from my air-conditioned induced cold, I am just ringing the bells around my house. Here’s an audio recording from the first morning that the sun begins to rise later. Although the sun is continuing to set later in the day, the sunrise has reversed its direction and now begins the inevitable march towards darkness.

6/18 AM
We rang inside the house this morning. The cell phone alarm I had set for the sunrise went off while we were ringing the bells. It made me realize how routine the whole thing has become. But I am so tired in the morning and still feeling sick so I have no energy for anything more adventuresome yet. Maybe next week…

6/19 AM
The still camera is on the fritz. I like recording sound only when I am at home so I will concentrate on that for a while. This morning I left the microphone just inside the doorway and ventured out into the back, passing over the threshold as I rang the bells. I like this sound only routine in the morning.

6/20 AM
While sun is still rising a minute later than it’s earliest moment for the year, we will continue to slowly inch into longer nights when the sun rises yet another minute later on the 23rd. This morning’s audio recording is from the back yard.

6/22 AM Morning After (the solstice)
Even though the sunrise and sunset times are shifting a minute here and there, the amount of daylight each day is 14 hours and 57 minutes. We will continue to have this much sunlight for the next few days. Today is same as yesterday. This morning I wanted to do a quiet, gentle ringing after yesterday evening’s exuberant one.