Sunday Mornings Coming Down

“There’s a sunrise awaiting everyone who wishes to see beyond what their windows allow them to see.” ― Maria S Haneef

Those of you who follow my Facebook author page know that I invite everyone along on my “Sunday morning coming down” walks each week. Wherever I am, which is usually right here at home, I go out with the dogs or if I’m not at home all by myself, and greet the morning. Marley and Frankie do add a little interest to my walks. Frankie is in the picture ready to welcome the sun. Actually he’s probably looking for deer to wish he could chase, but we can stretch his poetic side. He’s on leash because he has a tendency not to listen to me and runs off to the neighbors’ houses instead of staying with me. Marley doesn’t do that so he gets to go leashless. But each Sunday we go out and I write a post on my Facebook page about whatever we happen to see on each particular Sunday morning. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like much but some of you sweet readers still enjoy “going along” with me on a virtual walk. We do usually see the sunrise. The dogs sniff the grass and I listen to the birds and whatever else comes through the morning air.

A friend a week or so ago said I should be saving all these posts. That made me remember that once upon a time, I did save some of them. I was surprised to see that I had started doing these posts in 2012. I  must have shared hundreds of Sunday mornings over the years, but I hadn’t saved but a dozen or so of the posts. But come on along with me and we’ll walk  back through some Sunday mornings coming down together.

First here’s the only one I could find near the same time of the year as now. The  weather wasn’t so nice for a walk then. My sweet Oscar was my walking buddy then. I do miss that good dog.

February 22, 2015

Sunday morning coming down. At least for the moment no snow/rain/sleet is coming down like yesterday. But the world is still white all across the ground and gray all across the sky. The snow that was over a foot of fluff is now compacted down with a noisy crust on top. Oscar who had adjusted to the fluff is even less happy with the stiff snow layer. Our feet crunching through the snow is the only noise in the silent morning except for a cardinal singing his song, perhaps calling in his friends to the feeder. The bird tree is busy with birds flying in and out, squabbling with one another, then grabbing a seed and flying away. Right now I see cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, doves. juncos, a titmouse, and a ladder-back woodpecker. Then there’s the new bird on the block, a rufous-sided towhee. And so another snow covered morning begins, but keep in mind that the flowers of spring are sleeping happily under their blanket of snow as they wait for their time to come. Soon.

Here’s one of the oldest ones I had saved. Obviously in the beginning I may have not walked out but just watched the morning come down from my office windows. I also didn’t talk on and on. But back then, if I remember correctly, Facebook had a limit of how many words you could have in a post. So I probably had to edit and edit to stay within the limited space.

Aug. 26, 2012

Sunday morning coming down. Another quiet morning with bright sunshine filtering through the trees to shine in my window to start the day. Down past the fence, the cows are grazing around the tough purple ironweeds, their tails constantly swishing to keep away the pesky flies. Here in the yard a female hummingbird is working through the petunias and knock-out roses for her energy drink. She needs it the way she flits here and there. The water in the birdbath sparkles in the sun but has no takers. Wait – a bluejay is in the tree and thinking about a dip.

By 2015, I was walking out with Oscar. He did love walking before the bone cancer in his leg slowed him down and eventually stole him too soon from me. We must have had more winter weather in 2015 than we have this year.

Jan 11, 2015

A chilly wind greets us when Oscar and I go out for our morning stroll. But it’s far from the frigid minus zero wind chills of the last week. Normal January cold this day. The half moon plays peek-a-boo between the high clouds and one lone star shines still. In the east, the rose colored rim of sky promises the sun is coming. The ground is hard underfoot, no worry about mud with the temperature below freezing for the entire last week. Ice covers the big pond but a spring running into the smaller one keeps a drinking hole open for the cows. Birds fly in and out to the feeders. One male cardinal is being bossy today and chasing the others away, but while his back is turned a black-capped chickadee sneaks in for a seed. Then a bluejay comes to hog the feeding perch, flipping through the seeds for his favorite ones and knocking the rejects out of the feeder. That makes the doves on the ground happy. As I write this, the first rays of sun light up the valley below the house, and so, this day that the Lord has made begins.

I do love seeing the sun come up and sometimes I capture the perfect picture like this one. I can’t say that the picture was taken on this September morning but it might have been. Oscar was nothing like Frankie. He preferred being the only dog where Frankie loves company.

September 13, 2015

Sunday morning coming down. The sun is pushing its rays through the trees as we go out this a.m. The cool air, so different from last weekend’s heat, chills my cheeks but Oscar gives his tail wagging approval. Raindrops from a shower in the night cling to the angel trumpet beside the deck. An explosion of pink blooms decorates the big green plant. On out in the hay field a light fog lifts to meet the sun. A crow caws in the distance and two gray birds flit between trees in what looks like a game of tag. Oscar is enjoying having no dog visitors this weekend, but then the two Pyrenees race over from the neighbor’s house to spoil his peaceful walk. With his fur ruffed up on his back, he stands stiff-legged to endure their greetings. Both girls but Oscar looks in no mood to welcome them to his hay field. After a few sniffs and spins, they give up on Oscar playing, come to me for a pat, then race back to their house. I can almost see Oscar breathing a sigh of relief as we head back to our house for breakfast.

Last here’s the first Sunday morning coming down in this year. As you can see I’ve gotten much wordier. I’m really glad Facebook doesn’t count my words any longer.

January 5, 2020

Sunday morning coming down. It’s daylight when the dogs and I go out. I must have slept in. Most mornings this week, it’s been just beginning to be light when Frankie says it’s time to check out the day. But today the clouds are gone except for a few hovering near the horizon that the coming sun begins to touch with pink. A bird sings as if trying to hurry spring. The air is crisp but no wind to make it colder. I’m thinking how quiet it is with the loudest noises the dogs’ and my feet crunching through some leaves at the edge of the hay field. But then a calf in the neighbor’s field moos to tell the mama cow it’s hungry. She must be busy because she doesn’t answer and a few minutes later the calf calls again and again. Marley finds a hole in the field to stick his nose down into and investigate while Frankie sniffs at a mashed down spot of grass where a deer must have spent the night. If so, the deer is gone to other fields now. Somewhere in the pasture field a woodpecker taps into a tree to find a bug. Across the lane, some noisy Canadian geese fly in to break the silence of the morning as they make water trails across the mirrored surface of the neighbor’s pond with their landing. The dogs ignore the commotion and continue sniffing before we head back to the house as the sky softens into a light pink around the edges before the golden globe of the sun pops up. And so this first Sunday of the year 2020 begins. Frankie and Marley aren’t counting years. They live in the moment, happy for each day they can sniff out new trails and give chase to whatever critters cross their paths. May we greet each day with the same expectation of something good about to happen. Hope you enjoy your first Sunday of this new year coming your way.

I hope you enjoyed walking back through some Sunday mornings with me and my four pawed walking buddies. I’ve been blessed to have been gifted with so many Sunday mornings and so many friends like you to share those Sunday mornings with me. If you haven’t been “walking” with me on Sunday mornings, you’re welcome to join the fun on my Facebook page and “walk” along with the dogs and me next week.

Do you like seeing the sunrises in the mornings? Or maybe you prefer watching for the beautiful sunsets in the evening?