Sunday, January 12, 2014

Early morning in January

It’s early Sunday morning as I write this, and I am enjoying my second cup of coffee. Current temperature here in Maryland is a balmy 39 degrees and after I woke, I sat outside, wrapped in a blanket, while I drank my first cup of coffee. The dampness is making it feel kind of raw, but it was pleasant just being on my porch and listening to the sounds of the morning here on our hill.

I could hear flocks of migrating birds above, a lone car on the highway, a pileated woodpecker coming from one of the big trees at the edge of the property, and all sorts of different birds calling to each other. They all sound happy because the deep freeze has passed.

 

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George had been let out much earlier by my son, who was the first up today. The dog seemed to want to play frisbee but he wouldn’t bring it to me (and I am not going to get up from under my warm blanket to go fetch it).

His antics sliding back and forth on the frisbee were making me laugh out loud. So I went inside to get the camera and record some of them, and am posting it further down.

 

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This is the quilt that some of the parents at our school made for me after my husband died. I love it. It makes me feel happy.

 

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I tried to capture one of the flocks of migrating birds zooming by. I love the sound of their many tiny flapping wings. It sounds like things are as they should be. I don’t know how else to explain it.

 

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A lone shore bird soars high above me.

And now, here’s the video I’ve been waiting to upload at Vimeo. George’s silly antics have me cracking up and I tried to suppress my laughter while I was filming him. And this wasn’t even one of his funniest trips on the frisbee slider.

 

January morning from Kate Young on Vimeo.

 

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I love this dog.

 

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Today I plan to get a lot of things done. I was away at a friend’s house Friday evening and all of yesterday and last night watched a video from Netflix that I thought was going to be a sweet and touching movie. The Lightkeepers was billed as a period piece and a love story. It stars Richard Dreyfuss, who isn’t my favorite actor by a long stretch, but Blythe Danner, who I just love, and Meryl Streep’s daughter, Mamie Gummer. Unfortunately, it was predictable and kind of cheesy, mostly due to Dreyfuss’ overacting in his role. I don’t recommend it, although the scenery was lovely and it introduced me to Tom Wisdom, an English actor I’d never heard of before. He was perfect, as were Danner and Gummer. I should mention Bruce Dern, who played the n’er do well, but I won’t.

I am almost ashamed to say that I still haven’t taken down my Christmas decorations. This is number one on my list of priorities today. So I’d better get crackin’.

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Enjoy your Sunday, my friends. And thanks so much for stopping by ~

123 Signature[5]

42 comments:

Kerri Farley said...

I'm so glad that you have George and that he makes you smile!! He makes me smile too :)

Anonymous said...

I have a few decorations on our entry table that need to go the basement as well. Loved the video. George is simply soooo sweet, isn't he? Thanks for sharing, Kate and enjoy your day. xox

Brynwood Needleworks said...

'mornin', Kate. I can just imagine you out on the porch under your quilt. I can see why it makes you happy...from what I can see of it, it's lovely, and was made to comfort you. That's what I love about quilts.

George always makes me smile, too. I can see why you love him so. I do think he preferred sliding to fetching his Frisbee in your video. I can only imagine how much fun he'd have with a plastic sled on a snowy hillside!

Hope you have a productive day, my friend. You're always in my thoughts. I admire strong women, you know. xoxo
Donna

Devon said...

George is so sweet and playful.. what a great dog!
I always take my Christmas decorations down on Jan 1... Can't wait to clear out the clutter and clean it all up. This year was the first time I didn't want to do this...I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to the holidays yet!

Rambling said...

Great to see George In Action!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

The Frisbee Slide.. a new skill!

Beautiful sky capture in that migration photo.. wow.

Enjoy the day, Kate. You're off to a good start :-)

Low Tide High Style said...

George is so sweet and funny, he reminds me so much of Kylee! Enjoy your day and I hope you have a wonderful week!

xo Kat

Carolynn Anctil said...

I love George, too. :o) My dog loves to take her ball and bury it in the snow. They're funny to watch when they make up games to amuse themselves.

I've taken all my Christmas decorations down except the pretty white string of lights around my window - they've been there all year - and the 3 ft. tree we have in our window that also just has lights on it. I'm calling them my Winter Decorations and they're gonna stay there until spring because the glow they give our living room is so pretty and it makes me happy.

It's been hovering around freezing here the last few days and I miss sitting outside listening to the country sounds. I like your idea of wrapping myself in a blanket. I may just do that. xoxo

Carolynn
A Glowing Ember

JC said...

What a nice morning you and George had.

Hilary said...

Oh George! He is such a love. His frisbee surfing reminds me of how my Skitty plays sometimes.

donna baker said...

Oh, what a beautiful mornin', coming from an Okie. I too am not fond of Richard Dreyfus, but when I watch What About Bob, he's hysterical. I love that movie.

Rosieq said...

Good Morning, Country Girl. I just met you this morning, I'm home from church nursing a cold. I stopped at Byrnwoods and thought you looked interesting, I found I liked you...anyone who keeps their Christmas decorations up this late is a wonderful soul!

Loved your pics...not quite warm enough in the central Midwest for a wrapped up cup of coffee on the deck. I cannot wait!

Gail said...

Enjoy your day.

George is so handsome and sweet.

Mersad said...

George is a burst of positive energy and love. Take care!

Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography

Gone Country said...

Dear sweet George!

Love the quilt and that you got to spend some time wrapped up in it while enjoying some of your favorite things!

Have a lovely day!

jinxxxygirl said...

I have a VERY short list of movies that i enjoy with Richard Dreyfuss. And they are older movies. Don't care for his more recent acting attempts. I think he fit perfectly in Jaws. Love that movie to this day. And Mr. Holland's Opus. That movie will put a tear in my eye every time.

Thank goodness my Christmas decorations are down. Thats a chore and a half. I wish i could remember that while putting it out. Maybe i'd put out half as much. Hugs! deb

Candace said...

Animals certainly make life worth living...

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

My Christmas tree is still standing. Fully decorated. And lit nightly.

I'm just not motivated.

Maybe this week. Or maybe not.

Country Gal said...

A picture perfect post . Loved George and the frizz bee vid soo cute we just so love our dogs don't we ? That blanket is wonderful so pretty and colourful . Thanks for sharing . Have a good week my friend !

Debbie From Illinois said...

Kate hope you were able to get everything done that you wanted to today. I finally got all the holiday decorations packed up! It is a great feeling.

George cracks me up. He was just looking for the perfect place on that Frisbee to pick it up.

My son just packed his car and headed back to college and our Sheltie will now go into a deep depression. Not really, but he does wonder where his second favorite human disappears to. I am his favorite!!!

Have a great week!

JaneK said...

Just got my decorations down today woohoo! Maybe tonight or tomorrow I will get cards addressed and mailed!
2014 is not off to a very good start....

Lili said...

I had to laugh at George imagining what he would do with a much larger frisbee...you know he would be riding in it like a flying saucer! I could relate to how you felt about the flock of birds flying overhead. That was a great way to put it. I enjoyed seeing your quilt and love that you went outside to drink your coffee all wrapped up in it. Hope your day was as productive as you hoped it would be. Hugs to you Kate.

Sabrina Steyling said...

For the record, we haven't taken down (all) of our Christmas decorations yet either. The tree is still up, with ornaments...

Beautiful photos! Hope your Sunday was productive...

Blondie's Journal said...

I admire you for sitting outside in the far from balmy weather, I'm sure the quilt did a marvelous job for your warmth and soul, but my, I was probably buried under ten blankets in my cozy bed at the very same time! :)

I love the pictures of your land, the flocks of birds in the sky. I am hearing impaired so I have to spot them to enjoy. I can crank the hearing aids up, but then they sound like they can be coming anywhere from the lake or my kitchen, amplification comes from every direction. It's blessing to hear them at all, how funny they are honking, as if to say, "Hurry up already! Places to go!"

Love the video. Love that George!

Sending much love,

XO,
Jane

Cloudia said...

You lovely posts, and of course, George, always make me feel like life is do-able, celebrate-able, in a simple powerful way! Thanks



ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >

wayne15575 said...

thanks for sharing the little video with George. The only thing better then watching George goof off was your pleasant voice calling him. Thanks again Kate. Have a great week.

Linda said...

I love George!

Daryl said...

that is one cute video ... did you use the D7000? i must try the video ... and i am in love with your birds overhead .. i took a shot of birds over the river but they were too far away for my kit lens to really capture .. so i cropped the photo .. ha .. still not close enough .. oh well ... la dee dah

The JR said...

I love seeing my furkids play so this was really cute watching George.

All I could think about was him on one of the big feed bucket lids the neighbor gave me. Sliding wildly down a hill...........

it's me said...

Sitting on the porch wrapped in a quilt is a wonderful way to welcome the morning--I used to do it more often until I began to get old and achy. The colorful quilt adds so much more than just warmth.

Dogs are so good at making us be in the moment---George is the best.

Jan's camera said...

Hi Kate,
I love your new header. Winter is so pretty. Thanks for the video of George. So cute. I am still finding Xmas decorations that need to be put away. Why is it so difficult to put the decorations away? Have a good week.

Karen said...

Gosh - I love Richard Dreyfuss - in just about everything. He was excellent as a college professor and single father in a TV show that was just wonderful, 'The Education of Max Bickford' with Marcia Gay Harden - I loved this show! It didn't get a lot of press - and sadly it was cancelled. Love Blythe Danner and Mamie Gummer - they never fail to deliver.

LOVE your new header!

Kay said...

Wow, your snow sure went completely away FAST.....George is so darn cute in the frisbee video. A beautiful sunny day here on the coast, as will be until Thursday.....we had a lot of winter from the 7th to yesterday......all at once...no snow of course, just wind and rain and huge cracks of lightning and thunder as loud as could be..

Unknown said...

The Frisbee should come with the label of Dog Entertainment Center! That's a great way to use up some of George's energy.

Nancy

Jeanne Walker said...

Hey, Kate! You made me smile talking about your balmy 39 degrees yesterday morning! It's Monday afternoon here in Cypress with a really balmy 69* breeze! Nice to have the old flip flops on today! That George...messing around with the frisbee trying to tempt you to 'come out and play'! Gotta love that dog. Hope your mission was accomplished in taking down the decorations. For me, it's kind of depressing. I like the holidays! Have an awesome week! xo

beth said...

oh that just made me laugh out loud. i thought at one point he was just going to slide the frisbee over to you :)

dogs….truly miracles aren't they ???
xoox

Lee Owenby said...

This is a lovely post. Makes me want to be there. Love the George video.

sharon said...

I haven't taken down my Christmas decorations either. We went on an "extended" Christmas vacation taking my daughter to college in Idaho so we haven't taken anything down. Maybe tonight. Love George!! He made me smile today and I needed that, been fighting this dang headache for 5 days now. Thanks for your post, it was a good one.

Stephen Andrew said...

:) sounds like a lovely morning.

Teri said...

I took Chistmas down on Sunday as well. I still have snowmen and garland out though. I can't bear to take them down in gloomy January, so I leave them up. Makes me smile. Love your early morning musing.

Unknown said...

George is a HOOT! I used to have a border named Ivan (as in the terrible) who did the same thing with his Frisbee.....control freaks!.....smiles...

Bluebird49 said...

Oh George--you smart dog, you!
He has really found a way to entertain himself--- and all of us, too. A dog that can skate and slide--and, flip that frisbee into his mouth just perfectly. We had snow this morning, but it didn't stick--and I missed it 'cause I did not even look out the window! This old arthritic hip woke me early, and had me me sitting on the heating pad, and then ice pack, (with two ibuprofen thrown down for good measure most of the morning.) This old "getting old" is not for the faint of heart. :)I think watching George, and just hanging around Country Girl's blog is keeping me younger, in general, though! Blessings, Kate!