The Dog is a Harsh Mistress

My morning walks with my dog have rearranged my schedule more than I expected. My clocks are now set at 4:45 AM and 4:48 AM, and I find myself praying for a rainy morning that I can use as an excuse to get out of going. But no, regions all around me are being pounded with 13 inches of rain, and we are just experiencing normal summer storms. Every morning has been beautiful so far.

Despite the implication of this post's title (a Robert Heinlein reference; First dogwalk in ages was an Irvine Welsh/Trainspotting reference, in case you didn't get it), Haley isn't the one getting me up to take her for a walk. I've been consistently up before her. But I know she enjoys the walks a lot, and I don't want to disappoint her.

We generally leave the house no earlier than 5:00 and no later than 5:20, and walk for at least an hour. Our pace is somewhere between a stroll and a saunter, and all of our routes involve hills of some sort.

It's interesting seeing my hometown at such a pace. I'm noticing things I don't normally see when I'm driving through town at 25 miles per hour. For example: we have a lot of churches. I mean, a lot. I can think of a dozen right off the top of my head, but I think there are at least twice that many. And they come in a range of denominations: Roman Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many others. No mosques or synagogues, as far as I know. Still, not bad for a city of less than 11,000 people. Someone could write a pretty interesting book just on the architecture of all the different places of worship in town.

More people have gardens than I knew, and people keep their gardens a lot nicer than I realized. An awful lot of people grow Rose of Sharon, which is in bloom at this moment. I have seen a lot fewer trashy yards than I expected.

The weather for tomorrow morning promises to be nice once again. I have some bills to pay, and then it's off to bed. 4:45 will roll around soon enough!