Autumn Mornings

Early this morning my dog let me know that we had company. She's an outside dog, and she wasn't barking, but she is very vocal even without barking. And she was obviously agitated. So I dragged my bottom out of bed and went to look.

A herd of javelina were milling around under the pinon pine tree in the front yard. If you've ever seen javelina just being javelina, you know how amusing they are. They have very poor vision, I am told, but a keen sense of smell. And they have 'don't give a damn' attitude. They didn't care one little bit that I was standing there in my fuzzy robe watching them. They didn't care that my dog was in the back yard having quiet fits.

People have started using their wood stoves and fireplaces again in the mornings, so there's a smell of wood smoke in the air. The sun was not up yet, but the sky was a pretty pink.

I love the cool of autumn. Even though it's such an effort to make myself get out of bed, I love being awake early. The bull elk are done bugling around here, but you can still hear the cow elk calling to each other. Watching the sky pink up while I sip coffee is a treat.

Since I was up early, and since my work buddies are all coming over for dinner tonight, I made a buttermilk pie. The smell in my kitchen this early morning was pure heaven: coffee brewing, pie baking, and the bit of cool smoky air that came in as I stood with the door open watching the javelina.

Of course, then my usual day started. Shower and dress....try to pry a sleepy-headed teenager out of bed. Hurry out the door, feeling like I'm running late even when I'm on time. But for a little while this morning, I had the time to really enjoy an autumn morning.