Morning Walk on a Cloudy Day

George always starts rubbing around and nudging me in the mornings to go out for a walk.  He'll do that rain or shine.  George is the eternal optimist . . . always looking for the door into summer.  If it's raining from one window, he'll check another window to see if summer has arrived from that viewpoint.  But even if it hasn't, there's one thing he is sure about.  If I would just go outside with him, the weather would improve.  The sun always shines when I go outside with him.

Yesterday morning was one of those days.  The weather couldn't make up it's mind what it was going to do.  Living at the elevation we do, we are sometimes above the clouds, while the city of Portland, down in the valley, remains socked in.  I always feel terribly superior on those days.  Since we were in the sunshine, I gave in to George, and off we went.

I took pity on the birds and fed them first.  They didn't get fed the day before because it poured rain most of the day.  That meant we checked out things in the yard before going down into the woods.  I noticed our poor little struggling dogwood tree actually has some blossoms on it!

The tree has grown several feet since we planted it, but it still doesn't get blossoms all over.  It only gets a few on the top and a few clumps in other places.  Otherwise, it's bare.  Eventually, it will fill in with foliage, but it's flower show is, shall we say, less than impressive.

The rhododendruns are really starting to show off right now. 

The tulips are still blooming, but the daffodils are finished.  I used the last sunny day we had (about two years ago) to tie them back.

This keeps them from falling all over everything and looking a mess while we wait for the foliage to die off.  I always dread this job, but it actually goes pretty fast . . . and it looks a lot better than the alternative.

The petunia baskets I planted are growing fast and starting to get lots of flowers on them.  That saved us some money this year.  Usually, we buy the ones already planted.  As beautiful as they are, I decided to try it myself this year.  I'm curious to see how long it will take them to be as pretty as the ones in the stores.

This is our Golden Chain tree just starting to bud out.  In about a week (if it warms up some) it will be covered with the most fragrant cascades of yellow blossoms.  I can't wait.

I saw a coyote at the far end of the property this morning, and so I picked George up and carried him down into the woods.  Just the same, when we got to the far side of the woods (where I'd seen the coyote), he was on red alert.  It's amazing to watch him . . . his eyes are bright, his ears hear every sound, and he sniffs the breeze.

I'm not concerned abut a coyote attacking while I'm right next to him, but I walked on a little, and George didn't notice.  When I called to him, he came running FAST to catch up with me.  As we walked away from that side of the woods, he kept looking over his shoulder.  He didn't see the coyote this morning, but clearly he knows it's around.

I can't get enough of the ferns this year.  There are many different varieties, and they are ever-changing in their shapes and appearance.

Everything in the woods is lush and green from all the rain we've had this year.

The moss and lichens are covering any bare surface.

Here's a flower I haven't noticed before.  There's always something new to surprise me.

This is the third "petting station" on our walk.  The path is so lush with growth that it's difficult to see.

George prefers to walk on the neighbor's side of the fence where the horses have trampled a more permanent path.

Everything in the woods is covered with water droplets right now.  They look like dozens of sparkling diamonds coating the leaves of everything.  I'm tired of the rain, but I like its effect.