Go Out Early

March 18, 2010.  Thursday.

Situation:   I have to work tonight, and I also should put a couple hours of work in in the afternoon, so, since Moi has not yet taken Mway out for her morning walk, I decide to do so – about 9:30 am.   This is certainly not the first time I’ve taken Mway out in the morning – when Moi has been away working, I’ve taken her for walks both in the morning and the late afternoon.  But usually if Moi is around, I don’t take her out in the morning.   Mway doesn’t seem upset by the change in routine; she’s standing ready and eager at the door as I prepare myself to go out.  I’ve checked the temperature outside, and it seems cool enough to wear my denim jacket this morning.

State of the Path:  There is dew on the grass, and I like the slant of the sun and the long shadows at this time of day.   There is much chattering, chirping, whistling, and singing of birds – but I don’t see any of these birds as I’m walking toward the chicken coop – the chickens are in their cage.   Above all the bird sounds, one sound stands out as louder than the rest – some bird is going “Wheeeeer! Wheeeer! Wheeeer! Wheeeer!”   That’s the best I can transcribe it, and of course I have no idea what kind of bird this is.  Finally when I’m walking along the old orchard I see one bird, probably a redwing blackbird.  And then while I’m walking through the maples I catch sight of the goldfinch I’ve been seeing in the back hedgerow – apparently this bird likes something about the hedgerow.   As I approach the creek, I hear coming from downstream somewhere some bird making a rattling sound.  I don’t see the bird, and of course I don’t know what it might be, and my hopes of maybe catching sight of it are dashed as first Mway rounds the corner and heads along the creek, and then I follow, and the bird falls silent shortly after.   At the midpoint of the path along the creek, I do see a black bird of some kind perched high in an oak on the other side of the creek, and it starts making a scolding sound as I walk by, “Chaa!  Chaa!  Chaa!  Chaa!”   When I finally walk past it, it stops its scolding, and makes more of a throaty rattle, but not quite like the rattling sound that I first heard coming down to the creek.

State of the Creek:   The creek is flowing along much like it has in the last couple days.  There is still water flowing in from bug land, and there is water in the feed channel to the skating pond, still too much for me to try to venture across it.  Up above the break in the ridge around bug land, I again get water in my boots.

The Fetch:   Up in the clearing, I expect Mway to make quite a few fetches on this, her first walk of the day.  So I start counting, as she enthusiastically starts chasing after the stick – but I get to count only up to three, before she starts dashing down the path through the briars on the way back to the back yard.  I really don’t know what’s up with her not doing many fetches with me lately – maybe in her middle age she’s simply decided she doesn’t have to fetch as much as she used to; maybe because I haven’t been feeding her right after her walks she no longer feels she has to do as much fetching with me.  Although I like the feel of throwing the stick, it really doesn’t matter to me.  Nevertheless, when we get back into the house, I make a point of personally filling her dish with dog food.