The Valley of the Low, Low Sun

This was the second morning this week that I stopped to take pictures along Spring Creek. The first time was Tuesday morning, when I posted a picture of one of my favorite benches in the snow at Spring Creek Park.

The temperatures have begun to warm up, and the snow is melting. With significant rains predicted for Friday, I wanted to try to get a few more wintry pictures before the snow disappears.

So Thursday morning found me back at Spring Creek, along the spillway that I blipped once before, for December 4's Blue Canyon shot.

One of the challenging things about morning shots at this location is the lay of the valley. The creek winds around through the hills and trees of Spring Creek's canyon, with this location apparently being one of the last spots where the morning sun reaches this valley.

In winter, with the sun's angle even lower in our sky, it seems to take even longer for the sun to arrive. So instead of full sunrise shots, what I usually get in the mornings at this location is just a hint of coming light. A sunrise that whispers in shades of delicate peach instead of shouting out a golden hallelujah. For these reasons, I think of this as the valley of the low, low sun.

And now, please permit me a musical digression . . .

The title of this blip is also, coincidentally, a lyric that is part of a song by Jakob Dylan, son of music icon Bob Dylan. The words of the song don't have any particular bearing to this scene, but I like the tune and general mood of the piece, and the title seems to fit.

So here's a link to enjoy the song as you look at this picture: Jakob Dylan, Valley of the Low Sun, on YouTube. The song is from Dylan's 2008 CD, Seeing Things, and every single song on the CD is good. Another particular favorite from it is the haunting Will It Grow.

Let me add that another favorite Jakob Dylan performance is his cover (with the Wallflowers) of the classic Bowie song, Heroes. The Wallflowers cover of Heroes from the soundtrack of the film Godzilla is available here. 

If you're a purist, and prefer the Bowie version, multiple versions of David Bowie performing the song Heroes can be found on YouTube, including this lovely acoustic version (it includes additional songs).

And of course pieces of the song Heroes also appear (along with many other love songs, including Lennon and McCartney's All You Need Is Love, Elton John and Bernie Taupin's Your Song, and U2's Pride) in the wonderful montage from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, Elephant Love Medley, by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.