When I first changed our morning walk to 5:45, I admit I really didn’t care for it, especially during the winter months. I mean, who likes getting out of a nice warm bed, when it’s dark and cold?
But I’ve really learned to love these early morning walks, particularly now as sunrise begins to arrive earlier and I’m walking the dogs separately.
Sampson’s walk is the first walk and during this time, I still get to see the inky blue/black of the night sky sprinkled with stars, along with the beauty of the setting moon.
The moon setting on Sampson’s walk yesterday morning.
After Sampson’s walk I switch him out for Delilah. And that’s when I get to see the beauty of the sun rising.
A little beauty to start the day.
Sunday I was up earlier than usual and decided to walk the dogs. Because the weather has been so mild recently, I was treated to a little music on our walk.
I’m not really a ‘bird’ person, I mean I can identify certain birds…robins, blue jays, chickadees, humming birds and of course this guy.
Thank you for the sweet song buddy.
Typically birds fly away from us, but this guy hung in there long enough for me to snap a photo.
Finding the beauty in nature makes for a great start to my day.
Speaking of beautiful things…
I’d like to send a giant thank you out to our friend JoAnn at Sand Spring Chesapeakes. A couple of weeks ago she had a little contest to guess the number and sex of the puppies Miss Glory was going to have. I was one of two people who guessed right! (6 girls and 3 boys). The prize was supposed to be a set of her fabulous, hand-made paracord leash and collar. I told her what color I wanted and promptly forgot to measure Sampson for the collar.
Instead of harassing me and delaying the prize, sweet, sweet Jo-Ann sent me the leash and swapped out the collar for a bag of Beet Treats. (These treats meet all my requirements in a treat! JoAnn, you know me SO well.) When I nipped over to her blog yesterday, I discovered why the bag was opened and treats lose in the envelope. Yup, it was G-Man. I guess Delilah didn’t want to be outdone by the G-Man so while Sampson and I were out walking, she chewed up a bit of the card and envelope that came with the prezzies.
The leash is fantastic, I used it yesterday on Sampson’s afternoon walk. Doesn’t it match his harness beautifully? It’s light-weight, thin and a wee bit stretchy. Perfect for coiling it up in your pocket on a nice slow walk.
Me: What’s black and gold and red all over? Sampson: That doesn’t work here Mama.
I didn’t realize the camera was on the ‘Magic’ setting, but I like the way this photo turned out. Isn’t it beautiful? 😉
Where do you find your beauty?
I love the picture of the red cardinal! They are the most vibrant, beautiful birds! I feel that when I see one, or they happen to fly in front of me while driving, it’s a sign of good luck and it’s going to be a lovely day!
This post is chock full of natural beauty! Best of all – Sampson’s magical face.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
I enjoy the early morning walks. I have been bummed the last 2 mornings that it has been too cold to walk. Sigh!
I love to walk early in the morning, but I cannot drag myself out there in the winter until later when it’s warmer. I also love to listen to the birds sing, I always think of it as a true sign of spring.
Sampson looks so handsome. I think that effect worked out well!
Getting out in the cold and dark in the morning is the hard part, but once you are out it is so peaceful, and best of all…no other fools are out! We love our early morning long walks for that reason, and later in the day after a hard day at work, you can watch all the other slugs trying to drag themselves out for a long walk but you are done! You can take a short one, kick back, put the paws up and eat! If you can get in the habit, we find it is amazingly wonderful!
I never thought I would say it, as I used to freak out every single time, but at the moment I am really missing those walks BD and I used to take in the dark. I mean I spent the entire time on high alert and nearly died the time an owl spooked us but I do so miss walking with him. When were in fields in the middle of nowhere.
He made me feel safe and protected.
That was a nice surprise! You probably already explained, but why are you walking them so early? Do you switch them sometimes? (So Sampson can see the sunrise and Delilah the setting moon?)
Congrats on your prizes.
Sampson looks great with his new leash! Congratulations! I love the ones I have from JoAnn.
Aww Sampson u r so beautiful and labradorable 😊
Pretty cardinal, and love that leash color! You could not pay me enough to walk (or wake up) before the sun is out. I much prefer walking at night!
Great photos! I admire you getting up that early to walk dogs.
When I was still single and living on Long Island – in a quiet neighborhood – I loved taking Kissy for long walks any time of the day. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it on workday mornings; but when I got home from work, the first thing I did was change into jeans or shorts, stick my wallet and keys into a pocket, clip the leash on her collar, and out we would go. We loved those walks together. And when we moved down here, our road was busier than back home but nowhere near as bad as it was just six years later when Callie was a puppy. Now it’s even worse – to the point where I won’t even walk on it alone never mind with the girls. I do SOOOO miss my quiet Wantagh neighborhood!! (But not the $8K property/school taxes!)
By the way, I love the way the picture turned out! Sampson is such a handsome boy!! I need to get a leash like that for Ducky!
PS. My mom loved “her” birdies, so I pretty much inherited my love for all animals from her. Cardinals and blue jays are usually not afraid of people and other animals, even cats. I saw a blue jay dive-bomb a cat one day when I first moved down here…I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but I remember cheering the bird on for defending itself. The cat took off like a bat out of hell! With these girls – and Callie when she was alive and well – I have to shoo the birds away at times to protect them.
You are heroic for getting up and walking that early. I am so not a morning person, though the times when I have to be up super early, you’re so right: it’s beautiful.
That leash looks awesome. Super durable!
You are so welcome!!!! and you know it was the darn postal service wrecking that bag of treats, lol. I took the broken ones and put in a dish for gman and gave you a brand new bag. Can’t ship anything without it getting broken! I’m glad you like the leash, I too like them because they are thin and can put in your pocket. Thanks for the shout out and for winning!
Magic is everywhere…we just have to look closely though sometimes that’s hard to do when our minds are running like 60 and 9 miles down the road focused the things we ‘need’ to do during the day. Thank you for sharing early morning magic and Sampson’s adorably sweet face. P.S. Nice score on the leash-congrats-it’s pawsome looking! ღ
It is so hard to get out of bed in the mornings in the winter for sure!! It is so beautiful though and I do love getting out there before all the rush of the day. It is so fresh and full of possibilities!! So much easier in the summer though for sure!!
Beautiful images. I never really liked birds either but now that I’m older, I do notice them more and think some are beautiful. Does that mean I’m an old lady before my time? Geez, I hope not!