Morning is my favourite time of the day. Sunrise is even better. There's something about the clarity of a fresh new day that offers a release, and a chance for a different beginning, no matter how tough the day or night before has been. This month the mornings have been particularly beautiful, with cold, crisp breezes and bright blue skies that herald the true start of spring. The sunrises have blazed majestically at times, with deep hues of ochre and burnt orange smeared across the sky. Other times, the pale pastel pinks and peaches have softened the early morning lines.

Nothing makes a sunrise more beautiful than a Lincolnshire skyline, and the silhouettes of trees have featured heavily in these early morning vistas across the rolling Wolds. I've been capturing images most days: sometimes with my phone stuck far out my back bedroom window, sometimes braving the elements in the garden, clasping the camera with my dressing gown on still and the dog circling my feet, wondering what's going out.

Somehow a sunrise seems even more sublime at this time of year, as the fingers of branches stretch far across the sky, itching to break out and unfurl. The melodic sound of birdsong accompanies these moments of solitude and punctuates the otherwise deadly silence. The world is still. Life is about to awaken, and so is the day. I can take my time, because I know that most others are still curled up in bed, curtains closed and trying to ignore their alarms. A cup of lemon and ginger tea, a hot bath and a moment to breathe are all I need, for there will be no other time for these during the hectic day ahead.

Do you get up early to see the sunrise? What do you like to do on early mornings?

I've never been one to shy away from early mornings. As teenagers, my sister and I would be ready to leave the house for school by 7.45am at the latest and sometimes we would rise early with my dad on a Sunday to bake bread and enjoy an early breakfast bun straight from the oven. As I've grown older and wiser, these habits have not only continued but have developed into a set routine. On a weekday, my alarm sounds at 5.50am after half an hour of my new lumie clock awakening my senses, tricking me into thinking the sun is already peeping over the horizon, and I haul myself out of bed just after 6am. Weekends can vary, but I'm usually up by 7.30am and often rise earlier. I like routine. I like the feeling of getting out of bed and realising that I'm the only one in the house on the move, but my routines are slackening.

With a puppy whining for attention and an old house without a working shower (only baths for us!) it can be very difficult to find any time at all for myself. Roll the clock back seven or eight months and I'd have time to write a blog post or two and still leave the house for work at 7.15am, but I feel like I'm losing grip of this previous, quiet time. So I've decided to reclaim my mornings; starting tomorrow I'm going to inch back the alarm until 5.20am is once again bearable. Here's why:

1. I like silence. Some people can't stand it, they need noise to feel relaxed, at ease, but for me the absence of sound is when I can truly allow my mind to rest. Before the sun rises sound is at a minimum: no whirring of the boiler; no cars rushing on the roads; no TV or radio blaring out; just the stillness of the morning.
2. Making exercise a priority is something I have put off for far too long. The problem is that once I get back from work and make dinner, any motivation to get moving again is long gone. So to solve this, I'm going to try to get moving in a morning instead.
3. I want to enjoy eating breakfast again. A rushed slice of toast as I fling open the car door, or a half eaten cereal bar once I get to work does not an exciting start to the day make. Having time to make porridge or even pancakes on those days where I need a lift is definitely something I want to focus on.

Do you have a morning routine? Do you find it easier to get things done in the quiet of the early mornings?

Hello and welcome to the final guest post of the week! Today the lovely Beeta from Fill My Little World has shared her thoughts on mornings. Beeta's blog has lots of lists (you know how I love lists), travel and food posts and I love her Sunday round-ups as they never fail to put a smile on my face - head over and show it some love.

I have always been more productive early in the day and still wake with the birds a lot of the time, but what about you? Take a read and share your thoughts. Happy weekend!

Morning - a time of day that has escaped my attention for most of my life.

Getting up early was practically unheard of during my teenage years. Staying up late, of course, required minimal effort. That was the morning I enjoyed. Quiet, eerily still - whirring of the laptop, an unhealthy blue glare, footsteps of a parent going to bed.

Thoughts masked during daylight, the early hours unlock and engage parts of the mind and strands of rationale otherwise unexplored. Real mornings are chaotic, short, wasted. Is this cereal breakfast or lunch? Missed phone calls, missed cups of tea with family, disappointed Mum again - she was itching to start the day. Stole her morning too.

Moving forward - mornings should equal routine. Productivity, like today. Forced or encouraged to interrupt my comforting dreams by a responsibility out of duty or love, conducted with intentions to crawl back into bed again, but spurred on by cool water, open eyes, sugar, a to-do list that craves attention.

Alertness may be a long way off. Daily repetition will be stumped by health. But, both ends of the AM bring beauty - a silent push for getting jobs done as the birds tweet and the sun speaks, rivalled and equalled by the creative sparks the stars deliver.

It's just a pity, sometimes, that sleep is a necessity.