On a Dark Winter Morning

A dog nose in my face woke me rather effectively. I climbed out of my warm bed, stepped carefully over Berna, and headed to the kitchen to let the dogs out. I did a short Qigong practice while waiting for them, and then we all returned past Berna to the warm bed. I glanced at the clock - 6:30. Too early to get up in the dark, and too late to go back to sleep. I laid in bed thinking about the day ahead for a while, and decided to read a chapter before getting up.

A nose nudged my fingers. Berna, being 30" at the withers, reached my fingers easily from the floor. She settled for petting for awhile, but it was evident she wanted her turn outside. Another glance at the clock - 7:05. Why was it still so dark? Oh, yeah, it started raining last night. Low cloud cover in place.

While standing in the cold kitchen waiting for Berna, the kettle beckoned me and the coffee whispered my name. OK, a warm cup of coffee seemed like a reasonable comfort on a cold, damp morning, and a good excuse to go back to bed and read another chapter. A piece of toast would be a good accompaniment. Berna and the coffee and toast were done at about the same time, and we again traipsed back into the bedroom.

The roosters had been welcoming morning for a while when a mass of honks filled the air. A look out the window revealed the 3 lower geese climbing the hill, announcing their progress loudly to the upper geese pair. You have to love geese and their musical announcements of everyone's activities.

I settled back into the pillows with my book, coffee in hand and toast nearby. The large numbers on the bedside clock glowed ominously. What - 9:00? How did it get that late? It was 7:30 just a few minutes ago! Where did the morning go? Just one more chapter, and I'll get up...