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    Musing: Night and Day

    What a glorious morning! Watched the sunrise peeking over the trees as I leisurely sipped a cup of coffee, the dogs darting about the yard taking care of business. Ate my usual bowl of oatmeal, hooked leashes onto canines, and struck out for our early walk.

    The dogs’ tails wagged enthusiastically. Their noses sniffed the cool air excitedly, hunting for the scent of deer or bear. Their perked ears rotated like radar to home in on the sound of squirrels scampering among the leaves.

    Oh, sure, we’re still picking our way around trees downed by Hurricane Helene, but we were able to safely saunter down the trail.

    Compare that to yesterday. We stumbled through the dark like drunken sailors returning from shore leave, tripping over fallen branches and running into invisible spider webs. Unseen creatures crashed through the brush as our flashlights searched the murkiness to identify our stalkers. And, of course, the dogs picked the deepest shadows to leave the deposits that we needed to gingerly retrieve.

    Yes, the difference between the two mornings was night and day. Literally. We celebrate the end of Daylight Saving Time and the return of light for our first walk of the day.

    Now, now. I can hear the discontented grumbling. “Must be nice to enjoy the morning light while some of us have to commute home in the dark, too late to enjoy any outdoor activities.”

    Fair point. I hear you, but you have to understand. I work from home. My commute is nothing but a perilous journey between my study and the kitchen. Rush hour comprises dodging dogs and the thundering of paws as they race for breakfast. A traffic jam occurs when one of them has picked an inopportune place to nap, requiring a reroute of my trip without the need to consult a GPS.

    And, I’ll freely admit, I’ve reached a point in my life that I revel in the old Benjamin Franklin saying, “Early to bed, early to rise.” By 9 pm, I’m stretched across my bed reading a good book, with at least one dog ensconced in the bed beside me, softly snoring. It’s not unusual to find me reading again by 3 or 4 in the morning, my surroundings looking and sounding much the same with the canine snores still rumbling.

    But once everyone stirs, the start of the day holds such promise. A fresh day to write. To meet unfamiliar people. To find unprecedented adventures. Mornings are a beginning, the birth of novel opportunities. What could be better than celebrating such infancy than a little light coming from the heavens?

    Besides, the shifting of the clock from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time brings one thing we all can agree on—one extra hour of sleep or laziness in bed. Because the hands of the clock fall back one hour, we gain that glorious, comfortable, warm extra time under the blankets.

    Except my celebration has one tiny flaw. Dogs can’t tell time. The paw pokes and face licks began an hour early by human time, though at the correct canine time. Why aren’t we up? Why aren’t we already in the backyard? Why aren’t we getting ready to walk?

    Yes, some of us, via a wet nose to the face, are reminded that in the grand cosmic scheme of things, time is relative, breakfast is absolute, and dogs are the true masters of our daily schedules.

    At least I can see where I’m stepping to avoid a cosmic surprise.

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    7 Comments

    1. mary michaud on November 3, 2024 at 12:44 pm

      love it, we own the day when we walk in the early hours!

    2. kruzingwithk9s on November 3, 2024 at 1:59 pm

      In the dark is the only safe time from our rude neighbors. Bring on the dark.

    3. Marion on November 3, 2024 at 7:10 pm

      Here in Australia we are one month into Daylight Saving. Some States do not observe D.S. So time is hard to estimate. I enjoy it.

    4. Elizabeth Mittler on November 3, 2024 at 10:57 pm

      When one is a night owl, it does not matter, until darkness falls a four p.m.in our Canadian home.
      truly retired for twenty-five years, it is disconcerting to awakwn from an afternoon nap, to darkness. Also truly thankful for a family who let me keep my own odd hours when I write, paint, or read as long as my eyes hold out.

    5. Fay. Bach on November 4, 2024 at 2:04 pm

      Great ( as usual) musing! Your description of the carnage bought on by Helene is so true! And you bought up the time change! It doesn’t matter to me , personally
      whether it stays the same or changes, since I am
      retired- but it used to!! Now, it’s just a pain for my dear husband to change all the clocks!🤭

    6. Susan on November 7, 2024 at 2:19 am

      Yes, my dog noticed when I was feeding him later! I tried to cushion it by feeding him later over a few days…first 45 minutes later, then 30, then 15, then on the new time. It seems to have worked.

      I had another dog who was very bothered by the time change. She was a very schedule oriented dog, much more so than my current canine manager. I swore she had a clock in her head!

      On a related note, any chance that you’ll consider adding to the Herd again? Or are 3 dogs enough for retirement? My current canine manager will be my last dog (yes, I say so now, but..) He’s an 8 year old Chihuahua, and Chis can live to be 20 which I didn’t know when I adopted him. I’m pretty sure I’ll outlive him, but I’m not sure if I’d outlive future dogs.

      Although I’ve considered getting a companion for him if I can find a small dog of a similar age.

      • D.K. Wall on November 9, 2024 at 3:13 pm

        We don’t plan to add to the Herd right now. With Frankie being 15 years old, we don’t think it would be fair to him to have a youngster running around.

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