Saturday, April 15, 2017

Joy in the Morning

"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning..." (Psalm 30)

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" (Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll)

This morning's walk was filled with the joyful sights and sounds of spring. My companions were the little dog, Weetzie...

...and the youngest pup, Beany.


We stopped by the place down the road where the banty hen has just hatched out three chicks. She was out in the field, teaching them chicken things, but was too far away for a photo. We heard geese and peacocks, distant and unseen. 

Then we crossed into the pecan orchard, where the trees have leafed out and are making us sneeze. Oh, but they are lovely, and we will all appreciate the shade they provide in the coming heat of summer, not to mention the pecans later in the fall.



We passed by the dog who never gets walked, but who appreciates a hello when he peeks out of his pen at us. Then we saw the escape artist dog, Mr. Socks, who was out for a jolly free gallop through the orchard. He'll be in timeout tomorrow, I'm sure. We were cautious as we passed the gate of the noisy Mr. Bounce, who is a cattle dog with very springy legs who leaps up behind his stone wall, again and again, getting glimpses of us only when he reaches maximum altitude. 

As we walked down the irrigation ditch pathway, we came to the farm with the chickens and the foster dogs. They are a lively bunch, all of them. The same place has three horses that Beany likes to visit.

We crossed the country road to check out the newly plowed and planted fields. I'm not sure yet what will be growing there (cabbage? chiles? cotton?), but we like to keep an eye on things. Just past the field you can see a light green orchard of young pecan trees, and beyond that, a mature orchard. Watching over all are the Organ Mountains, the first thing I see out my window in the morning. 



Turning the last corner, we came to "our" orchard, which is the one that surrounds our small property. We don't own it or pay taxes on it or have to labor in it, but it gives us pleasure every day, and is a place where grackles, white-winged doves, killdeer, robins, hawks, owls, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and the occasional tarantula pass through.


And then we arrived home to our little adobe cottage, where the hollyhocks bloom and the mockingbird sings. 




11 comments:

Nan said...

A beautiful walk! Thanks so much for sharing it.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Beautiful New Mexico Spring! You find joy everywhere ... I love that. Thank you for sharing this walk in pictures and words (I feel like I know your neighborhood dogs)....and it was lovely seeing the hollyhocks again around your charming home. Happy Easter!

Joyful said...

Happy Easter Sunday to you. A fabulous series of photos you've posted. I enjoyed them all.

clairz said...

Thank you, my blogger friends, for commenting here. I haven't been a very faithful poster, but I always like visiting your blogs to see what's happening with each of you. Penny/Joyful, I couldn't access your blog, but would like to send Easter greetings to you, and to Nan and Sallie!

Margie's Musings said...

Thank you for sharing! That was delightful!

Margie's Musings said...

What a lovely walk you had!

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

What a beautiful walk you had. I love the hollyhocks by your porch and your cute little dogs.

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

What a beautiful walk you had. I love the hollyhocks by your porch and your cute little dogs.

Margie's Musings said...

Are you still posting. Clair? I haven't seen anything new for awhile.

clairz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
clairz said...

Margie, thank you for checking on me. Yes, I'm still here, still out walking in the mornings, still finding joy. I've been spending a lot of time lately working on family history projects. I have several family trees on Ancestry.com, and I also post odds and ends to my family history blog, Remember, at http://clairz-remember.blogspot.com/. Genealogy is so fascinating but some days I emerge, as if from a rabbit hole, blinking in the sunlight and surprised to see that so many hours have passed!