Friday, August 17, 2012

Summer morning ritual


It's a rainy day here so I grabbed a fall jacket when I went outside for our summer morning ritual.

We filled up the bird feeders then took them out of the garage and hung them from the trees in our front yard. The yellow finches are such brightly beautiful wee piggies – they go through a half a feeder's worth of seed in just one day. Dave dumped a margarine dish full of mixed seeds in the main feeder, then tossed in a handful of peanuts for eager blue jays and chipmunks to fight over. The hummingbird feeder was already outside, where feisty hummers were squabbling over whose turn it was.



With our "chores" done, we retired to the gazebo to spend five quiet minutes together before rushing into the day. I kicked off my flip-flops and put my feet up into the cushy comfort of a favourite chair, then sipped my coffee and chatted with Dave about weekend plans, the birds and nothing in particular. I love this time of day. No human activity to speak of, with sane people still in their beds, but the whistling calls of birds and saucy chatter of red squirrels is circus-like in its noisy fervour.

All too soon, Dave got up from his chair, picked up his lunch pail and kissed me. "Have a good day," he said. "Play nice with the other kiddies." He kissed me again, for good measure, and headed for the car.

I waved as he drove away and thought, insanely, that if this was a movie and I was the glamourous star, that he would go so far down the road, realize he couldn't leave me, even for a day, and come back to the gazebo, to our magic morning ritual, and to me.

I sipped my cooling coffee and did an internal head shake, thinking what a maroon.

Then, incredibly, I saw the Jeep reappear, backing up until Dave parked it at the side of the road and got out.

I thought, He came back! Just like in the movies!

I said, "What's going on?" And waited for him to say something romantic like, I need one more kiss from your tender lips before I go.

What he actually said was, "There are fresh moose prints in the mud at the side of the road. I want to see where they go."

So away he went on foot, nose to the ground like some giant ungainly man-beagle.

I finished my coffee while sunlight peeked out from behind a dark cloud, transforming the raindrops dripping from our spruce trees into gleaming pearls.

Already the chill is in the air. Soon it will be autumn and, before we know it there will be snow on the ground and these gentle mornings will be sweet memories.





32 comments:

  1. Sigh....I was just saying yesterday that we have had an extra long summer this year due to the early start of the heat but now that we are on the downswing I want more....you can just never get enough summer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't wait for fall and winter. This heat and humidity has been really awful!! So did he find the moose?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No! Not the actual moose but he did track down where it had been – it had run through our front yard, right beside the house, and then gallivanted down the road and over the bridge. How could we miss a moose in our yard? Sigh.

      Delete
  3. I enjoy our morning quiet time, though we don't go out into the garden like you. That would make it way too hard to get to work! Plus our garden sort of sucks.

    There's nothing more romantic than moose prints, baby!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, isn't, "There are fresh moose prints in the mud at the side of the road." really the most romantic thing you've ever heard on a summer morning?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, that was such a sweet start to the day. I mean, how could you resist a man-beagle! Lovely image, Cathy. May the rest of your day be as happy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOL Moose tracks! That's so awesome!
    Send me some chipmunks? Please...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, chippers are the most adorable things. One of ours got hit by a car the other day – we recognized his stubby tail. Very sad. We've been contemplating taking a live trap one our camping trips and transporting them here... (KIDDING!!!)

      Delete
  7. *Sigh* a girl can still have her dreams, can't she? You must be such a romantic underneath all that "not playing nice with the other kiddies", are you Cathy? LOL Rain here today on the Bruce Peninsula .... cloudy, cool, a good day to get lots of indoors work done, which isn't getting done. Enjoy your weekend ... Summer should be 10 months out of the Year in my books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I'm a Grumpy Romantic!
      Yes, summer should be longer.... but you know what? I think we make the most of it because it is so short.

      Delete
  8. Birds, romance, and moose tracks. Life as it should be.

    I've already written about the changes coming in our part of the world. It is that time of year (more or less). The thing I miss is the bright red — the reds of the maples and the oaks in the autumn. The one thing about Ontario that I really miss.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you know Moose Tracks is a popular flavour of ice cream made here in Ontario by the Kawartha Dairy company? I think there are chunks of chocolate and other yummy stuff in it - haven't had it myself but Im pretty sure there's no moose poo or mud in it.

      Delete
  9. Moose tracts trump all. I like to see garden ornaments and wonder how people came by them and why.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! I should do a post like that some time and so should you, Mizz Joanne!

      Delete
  10. You're still better than moose tracks.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a WONDERFUL start to the day. And the birds at your feeder sounded truly exotic, and then a MOOSE. The romance as well pushed me over the top. Can you hear me hyperventilating?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, EC, the birds at my feeder are SO not exotic!!! You have PARROTS!!!! LOL!!!
      But you probably don't have moose or bears...
      And yes, it IS a wonderful start to the day. Sometimes I jump out of bed because I look forward to it so much.

      Delete
  12. What a nice way to start your morning! And now I have a smile on my face, as you managed to make me laugh yet again with the line "There are fresh moose prints in the mud at the side of the road. I want to see where they go."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heheheheh - you would laugh at how much we talk about stuff like that. We have probably spent hours discussing the habits of bears, moose and fish. Just yesterday we were down at the dock for an hour talking about sunfish.

      Delete
  13. Aah! We all should develop our little rituals and moments of magic. It's what makes everyday life worthwhile. Mornings for me tend to be a headlong rush to start the day, my quiet times are in the evening. You capture the beauty of your magic moment most eloquently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thank you so much. *smiling here*
      Yes, it doesn't matter when we find them, as long as we find some quiet time and fully enjoy it.

      Delete
  14. If that had been my husband you'd have bet he'd have said something super romantic like "I got half way down the road and realized I really needed to take a poop."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Oh, trust me, Juli, we've had that conversation too!

      Delete
  15. Nice way to start the day. I should pay more heed to my garden before the frost nips it. Speaking of...brrr! After weeks of swelter, I wake this morning (back home after > week away) and am writing this in socks, sweatshirt, and cuddle blanket.

    I love the cusp between summer and fall. Peace...

    ReplyDelete
  16. "The cusp between summer and fall..." how I love that phrase. Yes, it's a really lovely time, full of grace.
    So glad you're back! Hope you had a nice time.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Such a lovely post. Thanks for sharing your morning with us!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I really enjoyed this one Cathy! Can so see the scene you just described!!! Dave is too funny! I love having my morning coffee with Don on our deck! Wish every day could start like that!

    ReplyDelete

How's it going, eh? It's SO good to hear from you. Tell me every darn thing...