Archive for ‘April, 2009’

Early to rise

Yesterday I write that my inner clock gets me up at 5 a.m. no matter what and this morning it was near 6:00. And it was light out. It was before official sunrise, but dawn had broken! In my defense, Karl threw up in the night and then asked to go out and we had a brief sortie down the driveway and back at 2:30 a.m. Usually, this kind of thing does not keep my inner clock from waking me, but this morning it did. And I would have slept later than 6, except for Bob. He needs his breakfast, you know, else he would waste away…

And that is probably the truth of my inner clock. If I don’t wake before Bob, Bob starts with a head nudge, then a paw tap, then a circumnavigation of my body. He weighs 19 pounds and manages to put all of his weight on one foot at a time as he walks all over me. If all of that doesn’t work he moves to my dresser which doubles as a nightstand and starts pushing stuff over the side.

When I heard him on the dresser this morning, I gave up and got up. My cell phone, the tv remote, a small weather/clock thing – none take kindly to the three foot drop to the hardwood floor.

Bob eats a bit of his morning allotment, goes outside, does what needs to be done and then comes in and goes back to bed.

Who runs this operation, anyway???

Early to bed

It is currently light past 9:00 p.m. Normally, we in the Summers household, are all abed and mostly asleep by 9:00 p.m. But the first weeks as we all get used to the extra daylight, some of us have trouble getting sleepy on schedule.

As the weather has been nicer, excepting a few moments these last several days, I have been outside in the evenings puttering about and not realizing how late it is getting. By the time, I round everyone up and we get settled it has been 10 and a couple of nights 11. This would not be a disaster if I could sleep a bit later in the morning, but my internal clock gets me up at 5 a.m. most mornings. It all added up and I think my last Friday’s meltdown was just Spring tiredness.

Karl has a similar problem. It is not dark, hence it is not time to go to bed. Therefore, the next best thing is to take a toy to where Bob and I are – the bed.

The bed is not off limits to Karl but it is only on the rarest of occasions that he is interested. He has his own bed at the foot of mine but mostly sleeps in the clothes closet – his own private den.

This time of year as he and I adjust to the extra light, he is not ready to settle down in the light evening. He will bring a toy or treat up on the bed. He is content to munch or chew on the toy. He just seems to want to be close to Bob and I. After a bit, he will jump up, go get a drink of water, come back and go in his closet for the night.

Eventually he and I both adjust to our normal 9:00 bedtime, even though it is still light.

Bob has no sympathy for our plight. If you close your eyes, maybe the dog really isn’t there. Bob is not fond of Karl’s visits on the bed and has no difficulty going to sleep in the broad daylight of late Spring and Summer…or ever!

Spring interruptus

Sunday started like this:

And the mountains looked like this:

Returning from the afternoon walk, I laughed in surprise to see…

Lupins! Small, just getting going, but I love them. They will eventually nearly cover the ground on part of our mountain loop path. And after a rain, they hold drops of water in their center and around their leaves looking like they are home to millions of diamonds. From last year: Raindrops on Lupins

And in the corner of the old garden, the first of the rhubarb made an appearance. Three weeks and a rhubarb coffee cake might be in the making!

But, Monday morning….

My day fell apart work-wise, actually internet service provider-wise and I missed getting any photos of the snow in full light. It snowed off and on until mid-afternoon, but the temperature never hit freezing so the accumulation stayed at the one inch mark and by late afternoon was mostly gone, dripping off the roof like it was raining. It was sunny and pleasant for an hour or so and then the wind picked up, clouds increased and by our evening walk the next front in our “late winter storm” was upon us.

This morning:

Winter until Friday…Spring interruptus.

Late April

Don’t be fooled by the green grass. The wind was blowing off the mountains, through the snow squall and making late April feel like mid-February this afternoon.

But, now with a fire in the woodstove and soup for dinner warming up on the kitchen stove, I will enjoy a cozy evening at home with the boys.