Morning is best

Have I mentioned that I love walking in the woods in the morning? If I have, pardon me for repeating myself, but it's true. I hear birds singing and fluttering in the saw palmettos. The noise of early morning traffic is muffled by the trees, like distant surf. I especially love it when it's foggy out. The dog gets spooked and hangs back instead of tugging ahead on her leash. Multiple layers of trees and grasses, in greens and browns and blacks loom out at me and then, as they recede into the mist, become gray ghosts. When you look up, the sky is bright blue with pink clouds all across it, like cotton candy.

Lucky me

I'm cultivating gratefulness lately. Can't remember where I heard it. Maybe it was a podcast. I listen to them a lot when I'm out walking the dog. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, This American Life, Science Friday, Too Much Information, Poetry Off the Shelf, Meditation Oasis. Hardly ever music. If I do listen to music, it's usually belly dancing music. Or it's music in my head. In which case, I always wish that I'd brought my iPod, or if I did bring it, that the batteries weren't dead.

Anyway, today I was in a hurry to walk the dog between dropping Sam off at the college and getting Nick to his dentist appointment and avoiding the men with chainsaws out in Tilly Fowler park, when I rounded the corner and suddenly saw this guy. I was so happy to see him. I couldn't stop to admire him properly so I snapped a picture with my phone (no camera! When will I ever learn?) before moving on to the dog's favorite pooping spot (before you ask, everywhere is her favorite pooping spot). He cheered me up, though. And I am definitely writing him down in my list of things to be grateful for tonight before I go to sleep.

He's green, which is perfect for St. Patrick's Day coming up, and he's perfect. Apologies for the low res image. Next time I'll remember the camera.