Before Sunrise

I stepped out the bedroom door this morning to go down to the mailbox for the paper, and was struck by the clouds. Having snapped the picture, I paused out there to savor the silence, the feeling that the world was poised on the brink of another day, but hadn't quite shrugged off the night. The morning chorus of birds had not yet begun-- the raucous crows were still hunkered down in the oak trees, the morning doves had not yet begun their daily call and response and, for once, even the mockingbird was taking a breather. The sun was illuminating the clouds from below the horizon but the hills were still a dark silhouette. The only sounds came from the breeze stirring the bamboo leaves.

By the time I had read the paper and had my coffee, there was not a cloud in the sky, the birds were busy at the feeder and the distant sounds of traffic could be heard from the highway. Ozzie and I walked down to the local soccer field to join the gathering of dogs that meet there. A golden retriever taking its leave was apparently the last of the big dogs, leaving Ozzie to commune with a number of small ones. He apparently frightened a Yorkshire Terrier mix (although he seemed rather put off by her advances) and proceeded to eat all the "find its" tossed out by the owner of a very fat Norwich Terrier. I hesitated to tell her that Ozzie was probably doing her dog a favor, but since Ozzie didn't need them either I kept silent.

As we all stood around watching our dogs, I detected a distinct Scots accent fom a woman talking to the owner of a medium sized black poodle mix, and asked her if I was right. She said she was from Edinburgh, but when I told her I had lived there, she amended it to Aberlady--a delightful little village between Edinburgh and Gullane. on the way to North Berwick. There's no telling who you will meet at the dog park, and how the arcs of our stories sometimes intersect....