Dogs and birds and people, oh my!

The sun (remember what that looks like?) is playing peek-a-boo in a typically gray January sky. This morning's sunrise was absolutely spectacular for 20 or 30 seconds. Then, the show was over, bows taken, and the cast again withdrew behind the curtain.

Winter sunrise

Photo by J. Harrington

I'm just back inside from walking the dogs. It is insanely cold out there. Canine's lack of reasoning ability is evidenced by the fact that, hobbling on cold paws, they still think it's necessary to sniff 30 or 40 places to find "just the right spot" to do their business. But then again, if you look at the state of the world and at Homo sapiens response to emerging and emerged crises, many self-induced, dogs can look fairly bright, logical and well-reasoned. Often, they're also more lovable. Sigh!

SiSi, my unreasonable canine

Photo by J. Harrington

Franco, the Better Half's unreasonable canine

Photo by J. Harrington

This particular cold spell is supposed to break by week's end. As soon as it does, I'm planning on getting out and doing some exploring and maybe taking some pictures so we'll have something more interesting to converse about than just how cold and dreary it's been. Meanwhile, for the next few days, stay in the house, warm and dry and out of the wind, like a smart chickadee (unfortunately, chickadees, for all their redeeming qualities, and they have many, aren't very good at cuddling or keeping humans' feet warm). Thank heaven for poets like Denise Levertov to help offset this weather.

What My House Would Be Like If It Were A Person

By Denise Levertov 

This person would be an animal.

This animal would be large, at least as large

as a workhorse. It would chew cud, like cows,

having several stomachs.

No one could follow it

into the dense brush to witness

its mating habits. Hidden by fur,

its sex would be hard to determine.

Definitely it would discourage

investigation. But it would be, if not teased,

a kind, amiable animal,

confiding as a chickadee. Its intelligence

would be of a high order,

neither human nor animal, elvish.

And it would purr, though of course,

it being a house, you would sit in its lap,

not it in yours.

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