The forest is a different place in the early hours of the day. No, that's not a real shock, but it's something that stood out in my mind this morning.

I wanted no part in waking up this morning. It wasn't a mental decision so much as a physical one. My body just didn't want to move. But then in comes that furry face. It starts with "the look". The dog owners out there will know what I mean. It's that all-expressive look they get that conveys several messages at once. In this case I guess a mix of "HI!" "Good morning." "Are you getting up now?" "will you play with me?" "Are we going for our walk now?" and the ever-present, "What are the chances I can convince you Kari neglected to feed me this morning?". Of course she DID feed her, but any good dog will try to scam an extra bowl of food whenever they can. :)

Lastly, comes the licking of the face. Anybody else would draw only vile sounds and curses from me, but I can't get mad at Beyla. She's too damn cute. It must be a dog thing. I'd never tolerate such behavior from a human, not even Kari. LOL! Ok, maybe from Kari. But nobody else!

And so begins another day. Up, clean, coffee in hand, and off we go. I've no need to guide her now, she knows exactly where we're going. And today's a big day in the dog world. LOTS of new things to smell. Yesterday must have been a busy day in the world of dogs. I just wish I knew what it all meant. But alas, those are the secrets known only to dogs. Perhaps it's best that way.

While my esteemed colleague goes about her daily rounds I slip into my soon-to-be-habitual mode of listening to and looking at the woods around us. As I said, it struck me today in particular how different everything is at this hour. I'm not a morning person. No doubt this will draw nothing but laughter and sarcastic commentary from those that know me due to the sheer magnitude of this understatement!

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the woods being different. Being Mr. Sunshine anytime before noon, I'm used to being out in the woods during the afternoon and early evening. And though I've been in the woods in the morning on a few very rare occassions I never really noticed how alive it seems compared to the rest of the day. The first thing to strike me was the light, the way the suns streams through the trees. Apart from the obvious difference of it coming from the East not West as I'm used to, I couldn't help but feel like it's brighter, more vibrant somehow. The sunlight at 6:45am has an entriely different quality to it than in late afternoon when it's at the same height on the other horizon. I can't for the life of me imagine why, but it's nonetheless true in my eyes.

The second thing is the noticable presence of animals. It's as if the entire world is just waking up and getting ready for the day. Without straining I was picking up at least 8 different birds within earshot along with the scurrying of unseen wildlife on the ground. Then of course there's the perturbed "CRAWK!" of a Heron who just took flight, obviously quite put out by this intrusion on his morning deliberations.

And the best part of it is that it's all ours. It's just Beyla and I out there. Not another soul in sight, not even another person to be heard. It's just me, my dog and a cup of coffee. And the world is all ours.