04 December 2013

Promenade du matin, promenade du soir

Walt, Callie, and I have a carefully worked out and regular schedule for our walks around the hamlet or through the vineyard. For example, Walt went out this morning. I'll go out with the dog this afternoon (Wednesday) and tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Then Walt will take Callie out tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon and Friday morning. Et ainsi de suite. Only illness or absence disturbs the schedule.

Stepping out the back door at 8:15 on an early December morning

That way, the dog gets a morning and an afternoon walk every day, and Walt and I each get one walk a day. Some walks are longer (3 or 4 km) and some are shorter (1 or 2 km). Some of it depends on the weather, of course, but we seldom really get rained out. Light rain doesn't bother us, and we get a lot of that. Heavier rain dampens the dog's enthusiasm, and she doesn't want to go far. She just need to take care of business, and then she wants to go home.

Callie does a quick sweep of the yard to see if she can chase away any intruders — mostly birds.

Some days a camera goes out on the walk too. Yesterday was one of those days for me, in the morning. It was cold (0ºC) and foggy. The fog was freezing on plants at ground level, but not so much on trees. The ground isn't yet frozen, and it's still fairly soggy after all the rain we got in November. There was no wind yesterday, so the walk was chilly but pleasant.

Autumn leaves on the edge of the vineyard

One problem with carrying the camera on the walk is that it means I have to keep taking off my gloves to snap a picture. My hands get cold and the walk is slower, but that gives Callie plenty of time to have a good sniff around. I think she's picking up the scent of deer, mostly. Yesterday I went into Saint-Aignan and when I was driving back up the hill at 10:30 a.m. a deer crossed the road just a few meters in front of the car. There was no danger of a collision, but it was surprising to see a deer out in broad daylight like that.

7 comments:

  1. Love the last picture with the gold of the Field Maple...
    that last cold snap took out the leaves of our Norway Maples...
    they all fell at once.

    The deer in broad daylight...
    yes, they normally "nest" in a cosy spot...
    I wonder if there was a hunt not too far away?

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  2. Good that you've got a reason for a daily walk :)

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  3. Judy, you are right. That's why Callie is so important (among other reasons). At nearly 65 -- isn't that hard to believe? -- regular execise keeps me going.

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  4. of course if you hit that deer then you could have had an awesome burn pile ;-) how are things with your mother? is everything cleaned up from their storm?

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  5. OFGirl, if I had hit that deer, I don't know what I would have done. I like to think I would know how to butcher such an animal, but that's probably not realistic. Who would I call for advice and help? I need to think about that one...

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  6. Oh, my mother is fine. When I talked to her on Sunday, she hadn't yet been out driving around to get an idea of the extent of the damage.

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  7. What a lovely photo! It would be easy to have such a lovely walk each day. I also have a nice place to walk, but I believe your's wins.

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