Last sunrise of August...

I woke up this morning feeling a bit disoriented and realised the room was orange.  I was confused for a second then the penny dropped...sunrise!  I was out of bed like a two-bob rocket and into the living room to grab my camera.

Fortunately the massive patio door in the living room faces due East so I slid it wide open, fully expecting a blast of cold air but it was lovely, not cold at all.  Lola was asleep on the rug and opened one eye as I positioned myself in the best spot and together we watched the sunrise.  

I didn't take that many shots as my desire to photograph the sunrise gave way to my desire to experience it so I only took about 10 shots before the sun was above the horizon line and about the same again once it appeared.

I have to say those minutes sitting there in absolute stillness and silence, the scent of the sea in my nostrils and the morning air fresh on my arms and legs, watching that golden glow develop into the birth of a new day are amongst the best I've experienced ever.  For those few minutes I completely forgot all about the ugliness and evil going on in the world today and surrendered completely to the utter bliss of the moment.  

If only every day could begin that way.

After this wonderful start to the day I went back to bed and slept soundly for another three hours!  :-))

Lola had a long run on the beach before lunch and was exhausted when she returned.  She actually fell asleep sitting bolt upright when I was tickling her ears and woke up when she listed to the side and almost toppled over!  It was hilarious.

Over lunch we had an exchange of messages with our friends Alan and Gail who coincidentally are heading to Northumberland for a short break from Wednesday to Saturday.  They don't have access to their accommodation till 10pm on Wednesday so are going to pop in and see us on their way (they are staying further south than us) and have dinner with us.  Great timing :-)

This afternoon David headed to the golf range for a wee while and I began work on a painting commission.  I also sketched out an idea for a Chookie Birdie painting for friends Natalie and Jim.  We are going to theirs for dinner on Saturday night where we will see Jim's outdoor kitchen that he built in the garden during lockdown, for the first time.  Gail took secret photos of it and sent them to me so I can make my drawing as accurate as possible.  It looks amazing.  All under cover with units, worktops, sink, built in BBQ and brick built pizza oven.  All finished off with lovely new table and chairs, and just outside it he's created a putting green!  The golfers will love that.   I'm looking forward to seeing it.  Going for pizza with Ele, Kenny, Alan and Gail, so it should be a good night.  Something to look forward to at the end of our holiday.

Lola was playing with Paige the black lab next door again, and her owner told David of a local beach at Bamburgh that's not as well known as the main beach so it's great for dog walking.  After dinner we set out to investigate and found it easily from her directions so David will head there in the morning.

There had been a lovely sunset but it was quickly getting dark so David and Lola didn't linger too long on the beach.  Long enough though for me to get a shot of them (in extras) 

Home for a G&T and photo editing and in a blink it's gone midnight again and I've not had the chance to look at any journals.  Oh well, tomorrow's another day :-))