Rise and Shine!

I am the seventh generation of Bradys who live within a five mile radius of the land that encompasses Toad Valley.  That’s a lot of generations.  In the early 1900’s, my great grandparents, Dan and Martha (Kit) Brady traveled to Wyoming to homestead a farm with the hope of owning a lot of land some day.  My grandpa, Dale Webster Brady, was born in Wyoming along with the first five Brady children.  When Dan and Kit lost a child, they realized that they were in over their heads.  It was simply too difficult to raise 5 small children and farm without the help of family.  They climbed in their covered wagon and headed back home to Iowa.  Specifically Carbondale, Iowa.

I’ve often wondered why.  Why couldn’t they have moved farther west?  Why not look for land where the weather doesn’t make winters with no electricity and five children nearly impossible?  All 12 of the Brady children have gone on to meet their Maker, so I can’t ask them.

On a morning such as this, I don’t need to ask.  I understand.  The beautiful sunsets at this time of the year are breathtaking.  Every color in the rainbow can be seen in the sky for a short amount of time.  Pinks, purples, oranges and reds cover the morning sunrise and greet the cold with a little bit of sunshine.  I picture them in their wagon with their small children on a cold morning greeting them like I do my own.  Wake up!  Wake up!  Look at the sunrise!  It’s absolutely beautiful this morning.

My children always groan and wish for additional time in their warm beds.  Not today.  There’s only 30 minutes that its beauty is visible and then it is gone as quickly as it arrived.

How about you?  Are you a fan of Iowa’s winter sunrises?