The morning nap

There are many things great and enviable about being a dog. While I often think it would be great to be a dog, that sentiment needs to be qualified. Being a good in a good situation would be great, but many live less than enviable lives. Of course, the same can be said for humans and dogs could well have the exact same thoughts about us. 

Today I got to experience something that my dogs do every day and I quite enjoyed it – the morning nap. 

Bailey woke us up at 3:30 a.m. this morning wanting to go outside. She's currently spending nights in a crate in the kitchen next to Ford. She will urinate in her crate if we ignore this, so one of us usually gets  up and lets her out and last night it was me. I don't always hear it so Clay's gets up and does it, which makes me feel slightly guilty, but Clay can always get back to sleep. With me, it's far from a sure thing. The earlier in the night that it happens, the greater my chances. Anything after 3:00 a.m. is probably less than a 50/50 chance, and last night was one where I never got back to sleep.

I laid awake in bed until 5:30 a.m. when Bailey started up again, wanting to get up and play. I got up, most of the other dogs came down and went outside but quickly went back to bed. Bailey and Ford started playing in the kitchen while I unloaded the dishwasher, watched television, and ate breakfast. When the sun finally came up I fed everyone, got them all back in, and then took Bailey and Ford out to Daneland where they will spend the day with Norman, hopefully getting tired enough to sleep through the night.

It was only 7:00 a.m., and I had a couple cups of coffee in me, but I decided to do what the dogs do, which is go back to bed for morning nap time. I've never been a napper, but I was feeling sleep deprived and didn't want to feel that way all day. Della settled down on a dog bed, Elvis got up in his spot, Maya jumped up on the bed and snuggled next to me, and I got back to sleep for another hour or so. It felt good and I can see why dogs do it. The brief morning nap and a pot of coffee will get me through the day.

Candace, patrolling the yard

You can see on her rear legs that she's blowing her coat.

Elvis, walking through the "Great Lake."

With the recent rains, all my ponds have formed one Great Lake.

Candace again.

Paisley, and a little bit of Elvis

Bird feeding operation: Part 1

Part 2

and Part 3, just for crows.