Wednesday 15 April 2020

In the morning early.

I woke to go to the bathroom at half past four this morning and half an hour later it became clear that I was not going to go back to sleep.  I got up, made a cup of tea and opened the curtains.   'Our' blackbird was already at it in the hawthorn tree next door - singing his beak off.   I assume this means no chicks yet - otherwise he would be frantically searching for food with his wife.

There is something about dawn that makes it entirely different from dusk - not sure what it is - probably the quality of the light.   All was still and from my propped up position in bed I could see the odd cat walk through on its morning promenade.  A book was in order and I turned  to what I almost always turn to in these circumstances - 'Better than Fiction' - 32 True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers.  These are short pieces, very well written, and all about travel.   I am a keen 'armchair traveller' (just as my father was a keen 'armchair gardener').   I differ from my father in that in my mobile days I travelled - both husbands keen travellers too (the farmer had to be persuaded to start with but soon got the hang of it).    In the days before I could afford it then I travelled from the comfort of my armchair.   I have mentioned before - the first travel book I read while I was in my teens (and I read it many times) was 'Kurun around the World' by Maurice le Toumelin.  I was enraptured.

 I had two hours of travel accompanied by just a blackbird before I got up for my breakfast.   Then at ten o'clock I had a virtual coffee morning on Zoom with W,E,M and S - a lovely forty minute chat about this and that - interrupted yet again by my friend from down the road ringing my bell to tell me I hadn't taken the milk in and it was in the sun.   What it is to have good neighbours.

Now I shall go and prepare my lunch of the last of the soup I made followed by a tomato and marscapone pasta dish I want to try.   Then Percy will accompany me round the block in the lovely sunshine.   Stay safe.

20 comments:

Gerry Snape said...

I'm travelling in my mind...going to all those places we choose last year..our 50th anniversary..so glad we have these memories...much love.

Sue said...

How lovely of your neighbour to notice that your milk was still out and let you know it was in the sun. You have some good people around you :-)

Heather said...

That sounds like a very nice start to the day, even if a bit earlier than planned. I can't believe this lovely weather - I shall sit in the garden after lunch.

Penny said...

It sounds like a lovely start to the day.

JayCee said...

Sometimes, being up and about at dawn can seem quite magical. I wouldn't want to do it every day though!

Jennyff said...

Although I am sleeping really well I too often wake very early. Getting up at 6 am does make for a long lock down day, I just go with it as it doesn't matter when I sleep. Beautiful sunny day here with that cold wind, almost time for my exercise.

Rachel Phillips said...

If I had read for two hours at 4.30 in the morning I would have fallen asleep and ended up getting up at 9. I prefer to get up around about 6.30 but during lockdown I seem to be getting later and later.

jinxxxygirl said...

All in all Pat sounds like you had a lovely morning even if it did start rather early.. I love the vision of you traveling with a black bird.. :) I've had mornings like that where i get up at 4 -4:30 to go to the restroom and for the life of me cannot fall back to sleep... I'm not one to just lay there so its time to get up and make coffee... I enjoy the early mornings but when left to my own devices i'm a night owl and am usually in bed by midnight and rise by 8 ish.. Except on days when i must be at work by 8..

Since i don't see the sun rise often by favorite hour is dusk.. When i lived in TX i would often take off the work clothes and shower just before dusk then spend that quiet time in my lounge wear out on the front porch and walkway tending my flowers..in my bare feet... letting my hair dry.. my 'me' time.. my quiet time.. i loved it and i miss it..It always reminded me of my grandmother.. tending her plants.. Except she would rise at 5:30am to do it.. Take care Pat! Hugs! deb

Librarian said...

Isn't it the most beautiful sound to wake up to, the blackbird's song? I enjoy the free concert every morning, even though it IS rather early. Most mornings, I fall asleep again for another hour or so. Now that I don't need to catch a train to work but can work from the study next to my bedroom, I indulge in sleeping a little longer. It will be hard to get back to my former schedule when all this is over...

Anonymous said...

New commenter here - love your blog but having difficulty getting this comment on!
I am a poor sleeper, often awake several times in the night. I put the radio on, too low to make out what is being said. Regards, Mary

Bonnie said...

I love to wake up to the singing of birds! I do a lot of traveling on my computer with the use of Google Earth and Streetview. Using that I have traveled many places in the world that I would otherwise never see. Enjoy your day Weaver!

wherethejourneytakesme said...

My favourite TV programs are the ones were Joanna Lumley goes travelling - she makes everything sound so exciting. The bird song is wonderful and we have the constant hum of bees from dawn to dusk in our over large cherry tree that is laden with blossom.

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Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I was awake at 530am but still managed to get back to sleep

Joanne Noragon said...

You're making me want to name my sticks!

Cro Magnon said...

You've reminded me. The very first book I couldn't put down was the Kon Tiki expedition book by Thor H. I must have been very young because I remember being surprised that it contained photos. It didn't give me a taste for the sea though.

Gwil said...

When I wake up I get up. The time on the clock is irrelevant since I have no appointments. The morning air is the most energizing. It’s a great time for the daily outdoor exercise. Generally by 10 pm I’m feeling tired and by 11 I’m fast asleep. I’m dreading having to go to crowded places and being expected to shake hands and kiss people on the cheek and so on. I feel want to keep out of other people’s personal space and keep away from their germs. This will be hard to achieve.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Gwil - I feel a bit like that too.

Cro - I remember being enthralled by that book too.

Thanks to all of you who enjoy the blackbird's song. Take care

Rachel Phillips said...

I also was reminded of Kon Tiki and looked at it again yesterday Weave.

verita robert said...

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬/ 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐬 / 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐫 𝐀𝐣𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐞.
𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐒) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢
𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.
𝐢 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧-𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐒 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚
𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐫 𝐀𝐣𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐒𝐕-𝟐 𝐬𝐨 𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫 𝐀𝐣𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫
𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲
𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲!
𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝
𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐚 (𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐄𝐱 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞)𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬!
𝐢 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 (𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬
𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝!
𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰!
𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧
𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞!
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞@𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦
𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬-𝐚𝐩𝐩 +𝟐𝟑𝟒𝟕𝟎𝟖𝟑𝟗𝟖𝟒𝟒𝟗𝟒
𝐈'𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 / 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 (@𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭) 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐛𝟐𝟕@𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦