@montesolberg
A Good Morning
I was up very early this morning, around 3:40. I’m not sure why exactly but I was too hot when I woke up and that was enough I guess. I can stay asleep if the room is, say 17 degrees, but if it hits 17.5 that’s it and I’m awake.
Anyway, it worked out well because I had things I needed to do like drink coffee, surf the internet and read about the Missouri Coteau (never mind, I’ll explain in subsequent posts).
I finally went outside to irrigate my trees at around 6:15 and then went hiking down our service road, up on to the secondary highway and started walking west.
I decided to take the highway because even though the morning was cool enough to warrant a jacket, the mosquitoes would be murder in the grass. It turned out to be a good choice.
After leaving our little rural suburb I passed the Par 3 golf course bordered at one point by lilacs and russian olive trees. There were no clouds this morning. Just that beautiful blue vault that for some reason makes me fiercely proud, as though I personally own it. But then again In a sense I suppose I do.
A half a mile from the house I saw a red fox crossing the road. We’ve seen her many times. This time she was leaving a neighbour’s yard and crossing into a low area by a canal.
When I reached where she crossed I saw her looking at me through the white prairie clover and the willows. I nodded at her. She nodded back. Two great hunters paying homage.
Okay neither of us nodded and I’m not a great hunter but it’s still fun to imagine. Further on what looked like a Swainson’s Hawk sat on a power pole looking ominous and screaming periodically for no obvious reason. A quarter mile on a Black-crowned Night-Heron stood slumped over in a slough waiting for some poor critter to swim within its ken. It slouched in a way that brought to mind Peter Falk playing Columbo.
After the hot, unpleasant scirocco-type wind the day before it was a cool and calm morning. The odd truck roared by. Probably oil patch workers off to check wells. But for that moment at least it was largely peaceful with most of the noise coming from nature itself. A great start to the day.