Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Water, Water

How silly it all seems.....

We have had weeks of biting cold and record snowfall, and suddenly there is a January thaw, day after day of dull skies, dense clouds and rainfall. The music of such intervals is the steady drip of snow off the roof and icicles melting above the deck, the resonant slosh of vehicles passing through deep puddles of grimy slush on country roads and village streets. The snow which threatened to engulf us all this winter is fading fast, and when everything freezes again next week, walking will be treacherous.

For our morning walks in the now, I am attired in 'wellies" and a warm rainproof jacket and carrying a large green umbrella which has the Japanese character for water painted on it. Cassie, my darling canine companion and our own beloved rescue, grumbles and lifts her feet occasionally as we go along. Like most German Shorthair Pointers, she does not like wet weather and prefers snow to all these puddles lying on our path, but she insists on these morning walks, rain or no.

I should not be out here at all as I've been the grip of a wretched fevering virus for the last several days, but here I am anyway lurching along with a stuffed up noggin, earache, headache and sore throat, all of that seasonal "stuff". After our soggy walk, it is back into the little blue house in the village with my cold medication (ginseng), a woolly afghan and a pot of rosehip tea.

Soggy day and virus notwithstanding, it is a beautiful day if one has the wits to see it.

8 comments:

Ted Marshall said...

Probably after the loss and sadness of Katie, you need to cosset yourself a little. Rosehip tea sounds good to me.

Shelli said...

I am sending you good thoughts that you will feel better soon!

Someday I'd love to see a picture of Cassie.

Lil said...

Sending you reiki Cate...and smiling at the vision of you wrapped in a wooly blanket with only your sniffly nose peeking out!

xo

Loren said...

I suspect the reason having a dog helps us live longer is that they insist on dragging us out no matter what the weather.

Amazingly I can barely convince Skye to go outside in the rain by himself, but he seems perfectly content to drag me through boot deep mud puddles as long as we're out walking through the woods.

jzr said...

Hope you feel better soon! I do think going outside for a walk helps!!

wil said...

Lovely photo (as always). Hope you start feeling better soon.

Sky said...

beautiful photograph! hope you are feeling better soon. i had an upper respiratory virus which lasted 2 weeks. i am almost normal now!

kate said...

I hope you are getting over your cold. It is irritating when they stay for longer than a few days.

Your ginseng, afghan and rosehip tea sound like a good thing after a morning walk.