Dan Antion

Early Morning Walks – #1LinerWeds

I’ve been walking our dog, Maddie at the same time for about the past two months. Of course, during that time we’ve gone from walking in full sunlight to walking at dawn. I’ve been able to see some beautiful skies as the sun is rising, particularly when the sun peaks out from behind the clouds.

Maddie and I usually walk toward the two parks in our neighborhood. One, Veterans Park, is the largest park in town. The other one, Family Park is smaller and was favored by only one of the four Irish Setters that we’ve had, the first one, Mitzi. In fact, we still refer to that park as Mitzi’s park. Lately, Maddie has decided that she prefers Mitzi’s park. I’m just guessing, but I think she likes that we can walk on the grass there instead of just pavement.

On Monday, as we approached Mitzi’s park, we spotted a Public Works crew cleaning up after the storm. It’s a short week, and there was a lot of damage, so they were out early, too. Maddie knows that I won’t take her in the park when people are there, and since there were crews in both parks, she was upset. As we walked closer to the park, Maddie started barking. I don’t speak dog, but I’m pretty sure she was saying:

“Get off of my lawn!”

Just as we were about to cross the street and return home, the men got in the truck and left. Maddie seemed very pleased with herself.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, If you would like to join in on the fun, you can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

We had a brief snow squall just before we left for our walk.
Los sun, later in the day.
I’m glad Maddie scared the men away (let her have her moment) this was our view.
I’m going to take that as a firm no, regarding my gestures of affection.
“What are those guys doing in my park?”
As the sun rises, we were treated to a lovely display.
This crew is working in Veterans park.
One of our earlier walks.
We are on our way home from our walk. This flag is one of our favorites.
That’s our dogwood tree. If you look near the top, it’s full of birds.
As we approach, the birds decided to find a different tree.
The end of a grey day.
Winter Cold Moon – Full moon, December 29, 2020.
Yes, MiMi, I did rub your foot. If you stick it out there, I am going to rub it.

71 comments

  4. Hahaha! Good girl Maddie. I’m glad you gave the park crew “what for”. They should know your walk routine by now!

    Beautiful sunrise shots Dan. It even “looks” cold!

    Dan, if I saw that cute paw sticking out, I would have to rub it too. However, if she were giving me the “stink eye” like in the first photo, I’d give her a wide berth! Very wide!!
    Ginger

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    • Those two shots of MiMi were several hours apart, Ginger. When I saw that evil eye, I stopped, took a picture, and left.

      Maddie seemed to be telling the crew that they need to check her schedule first – it has priority.

      It has been in the 20s when we walk. She gets in her little coat, and it seems like she feels invincible.

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  6. I’m sure Maddie thought she’d run those workers off and was quite pleased with herself. I understand the difference in light during walks. In the summer, I’d wake to light at 5 am with sunrise not too long after that. Now sunrise is at 7:30. ☀️.

    Cats are so expressive. Our daughter said her cat was annoyed when she stayed out too long one day (and Megan’s roommate is gone for Christmas too) and was giving her the annoyed howling and sitting at a distance giving her the stink eye. 😉

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    • Hahaha – cats do have a way of letting you know. They seem to all reach back to Egypt and the memory of being treated like gods.

      The only time we see sunrise in the summer is when it’s been in the upper 90s for several days and we’re trying to beat the heat. Now, I try to convince Maddie that we should wait until it’s above 30, but she barks at me if I don’t take her.

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  8. It has to be most upsetting to have outsiders infringe on Maddie’s space. I think she told them off and I’m glad they left. Twiggy has the same issue with anyone and everyone who dares to venture out of their house. Super photos, Dan.

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  10. Go Maddie! You tell those people who’s boss and that the lawn is your kingdom. Maybe they’ll say away for good or pick different hours to disturb your peace.

    Happy (almost) New Year, Dan. I hope you see many beautiful sunrises, have plenty of walks with the redhead, and not have your face scarred after touching Mimi’s foot. She looks a little perturbed. ;-)

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  11. Great sunrise shots, Dan. I appreciated learning about the two parks–I think I was only familiar with Veterans Park. As for Maddie’s possessiveness (wow, that a lot of “s”-es in a single word), I am not surprised. Dogs seem to be creatures of routines and like for things to stay the same, while we humans seem to think that variety is the spice of life.

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    • Thank Mike. Variety is not a spice Maddie likes sprinkled on her day. She gets me out the door at the same time, every day, and she has her expectations. We usually do get through the parks before the crews arrive. They do very good work, and I try not to subject them to her barking, but this time, it was too much for her to take.

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  15. Good for Maddie for standing her ground.

    You know, Dan, I love the story you tell with your photo captions almost as much as I like your posts. You captured some beautiful photos this week.

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  16. “Get off my lawn!” 😄 Too funny, but probably right on. Thank you for sharing your walks with us. I always enjoy the photo adventure. Happy New Year!

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  18. OK, first the look on MiMi’s face is so haughty that it made me laugh. Oh yes our cats are superior to we mere humans. They know it. We know it. And about that paw, OH how I love rubbing paws. It is so comforting. As for Maddie’s grass, good job for telling those guys to get off. Well done! Pictures are lovely, Dan. xo

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  19. It was probably not so much that those guys were in the park, but that they were doing something to the park – and whatever they were doing, they were removing scents! And thus reducing Maddie’s sniffing pleasure. Bad men! Good dog!

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    • We had a lot of snow, but it’s gone now. We had more than 2″ of warm rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our walks are always better when Maddie can get into the grass.

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  26. Thanks for enjoying and sharing those sunrises. I’m not a morning person, but can imagine it being a special time. Maddie is so conscientious! Makes me wonder if she’s a good watch dog.

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    • Walking as the sun is rising is special. The day is waking up around us. I haven’t been able to capture it well, but I love looking out over the frost covered soccer field. Thousands of blades of grass gleaming in the sun.

      As for Maddie, I don’t know about “good” JoAnna but she alerts us to every living thing that sets foot (or wheels) on our street.

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  27. Jip would be proud of you, Maddie (he’s Doctor Dolittle’s dog.) It must feel nice that she is favoring Mitzi’s Park. The sunset photos are beautiful! Happy New Year, Dan.

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  29. Hah! I think the same thing when Sadie barks at people. She likely believes she made the mailman walk on, or whatever.
    Great shots – especially love the American flag :)

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