Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Getting Up Early!


This morning the alarm went off at 5:30 AM, as I needed to get my husband to the Amtrack station. He is off to the Big Apple for a theatre binge and then to upstate NY for Irish Music Camp. I used to get up this early all the time, but as I've aged, it's been getting more and more difficult especially in the winter when it's dark. But I'm really glad I did it this morning, not that I was glad to see Bill go off, but because I miss too many things going on down by the river.


Over the winter we would often watch three river otters playing on our dock just as the sun was rising. They are such wonderous creatures ... and the otter is my spirit animal. In May we found one had been hit by a car and killed nearby. I had heard that another had been killed earlier in the spring. I don't know how many live on the river, but this area is growing far too fast and we are quickly destroying habitat for a multitude of wild animals that live in our midst. My fear is that the river otters will be killed off by our growing need for more and more space for us humans.


Well, this morning when I rolled out of bed, there was a mother otter with her 3 babies right on the dock I am so excited and am vowing to get up early every morning so that I can watch their antics.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of them. If they sense people around they quickly splash into the water and are gone. So instead I've uploaded some photos of my garden. Not that they could possibly take the place of a river otter photo, but they'll just have to do. Maybe one of these days I'll get a better camera with a good telephoto lens and I'll be able to share some otter photos with you.

2 comments:

Becca said...

What a bright and beautiful morning you had! Love the garden photos, and would love to see the otter family! I too find it harder and harder to be the morning person I used to be. But I'm always glad when I make the extra effort to get up. Something good usually comes from it, even if it's just time for an extra cup of coffee and another chapter in my book!

Deirdre said...

What a wonderful early morning gift. It's growing so fast around here too, doesn't even look like the same town I grew up in and loved. I'd love to see pictures of the otters if you can get them to stick around long enough.