Free Again and Loving It

And so it goes...The melt continues, and we are glad to be free of ice for a day or three, but heavy clouds obscure the rising sun except for a moment now and then, and the damp goes right to the bone. Before the (invisible) sun rose this morning, I was able to see the waning moon briefly, and it was a perfect way to start the day.

Out and about with my canine companion (Beau) on morning walks, the village musics are the plop, plop, plop of downspouts conveying their little rivers out to the street. When they arrive there, the wee currents tumble along in the gutters, make lovely, splashy puddles at corners and gurgle down drains, laughing all the way.

I wear waterproof (and windproof) clobber, and Beau wears his fetching blue tartan mac. After our ramble, I wash his fingers and toes, dry them and apply ointment (bag balm) to soothe the effects of an outing that includes cobbles and paved surfaces like roads and sidewalks, also scratchy pine needles, pebbles and twigs in the street on our way to the park. While we are there, we greet the Beech Mother and give her a pat.

When we are home after our morning potter, on goes the kettle for tea. While it burbles, I warm the teapot, put out a favorite mug and stuff two blueberry waffles in the toaster.  Goddess help me if I don't hand out bits of buttered waffle to Beau as quickly as he would like them. After sharing the waffles, chores and an hour or so of quiet reading.

I have just ordered Lia Leendertz's almanac as a treat for myself and am looking forward to it, but it won't be here for a few weeks. While I wait for it to arrive, I am dipping into the KOBO version. There is nothing like the original hardcover version with its lovely design, illustrations and seasonal musings, but the electronic version will bridge the channel between ordering and receiving nicely.