The Typical Day...

 …is not really very typical as each day offers new adventure, new sights, new sounds, new feelings.

The weather has turned from comfortable to hot and humid. It was expected, but not necessarily welcomed.  My comfort zone is quite limited, 70 degrees +/- one degree.  I can tolerate the eighties.  Temperatures in the 90’s are most disagreeable.

The increased temperature has prompted me to take my daily walk earlier in the day.  I wake up, no alarm necessary, at about 4:30 AM to leave at 5:30.  This pre-walk hour gives my body a bit of time to fully wake up, become operational, while I down a small bowl of Cheerios and tend to my usual computer routine of checking emails and such.

When 5:30 rolls around, I realize that it is still dark outside.  I wait 10 more minutes and the sky lightens enough for me to take off.  The dogs always meet me at the back door with excited waving tails.  Heaven forbid that I should leave them behind.  The cats get fed first, in the barn, so they can eat in peace without Snowball’s help. Off we go.

The birds started to sing about 5:20, so my walk is well accompanied with bird song. Just the way I like it.  I recognize some of the melodies, but most I do not. I just enjoy the magic of the notes.  My favorite songster, the reclusive wood thrush, belts out songs sounding more like a flute or piccolo than a bird.    

The lighting is still very shadowy, so bird identification is challenging.  Taking photos at this time is almost impossible.  The images are more akin to silhouettes than to colorful renderings.  They are interesting but not a bit detailed.

I surprise a deer who is grazing just beyond the chickens who are up and starting their egg-laying duties.  The doe rushes off into the nearby woods snorting all the way.  More deer are seen grazing downhill.  A couple of young bucks with their prominent velvet-covered antlers mingle among the herd.

The sun is starting to rise higher in the sky.  There is no colorful sunrise today. There is also no heron at the pond.  But, I did notice a snout of a snapping turtle break the surface of the pond’s still surface.  UGH!  Though I have never personally encountered a snapping turtle bite, I am sure it hurts much more than the nibbles I frequently receive from our resident blue gills.

On my return, I spy two pileated woodpeckers in the bare branch of an oak tree.  During the past few days, that snag had been occupied by a small, unidentified hawk.  As I get closer, the woodpeckers fly off.  Within seconds, I see a small hawk flying in my direction, steady and stiff.  The hawk takes his place back on the tip of that snag.  He does not seem to mind my closeness. One day, I will ID that hawk.

Back at the house, I immediately go to the deck and perform what is my customary routine, the one thing that does remain a constant.  I remove my dew-drenched hiking shoes and socks and place them so that they can dry in the sun and be ready for me tomorrow.

Tomorrow…what should I expect? I do not know exactly, but I do know whatever presented will be wonderful!