dogs, duck, and the heart of summer

sunrise:  5:30am

I realize that I have not featured my furry friends for quite a while, so I've included some snapshots of their participation this morning.  There are two reasons why they have been even more scarce than my posts:   1.  Their vocal contributions are not welcome in the neighborhood  2.  Their exuberance is less welcome by me when I know I'm going straight back to bed after my sunrise walk.

Now that the sunrise is back to 5:30, and it will actually begin my day, I am cautiously re-introducing them to the early morning walk.

You see Guster being particularly hound-like above.  Ever since J started mowing the back fields, the dogs have been wild over various newly uncovered scents.  This shot below shows a typical display of where their attention is generally directed.  Kate is my champion!

I caught this duck in flight, coming from over our pond.  I love the rising sun on her wing.   J saw eight babies, quite grown, on the pond the other day.  I think more survived this year than ever before because of all the cattails.

It is the heart of summer, and today is a heavenly cool morning following a long stretch of humid weather, which I do not like much.  

sumac under a gibbous moon

This is a wonderful day.  On your mark, get set, go!