I haven't even pulled my earplugs out of my ears, I don't want to wake anyone in the house. A Parrot greeting the dawn is just a bit too much some days!
I'm sure I have already woken up Rack the McNab SuperDog(TM). I hear his ears flap in the breeze. I guess he's stretching and waiting.
Checking the weather, there's nothing for "a couple hours" of distance nearby so I can do whatever I like in this predawn morning.
It's time to get out of bed oh-five-too-early AM. Stupid o'clock.
Feet on the floor, my faithful sidekick is wagging his tail against the blanket and the bed frame.
"Of course I will pay attention to you!". I whisper to Rack.
He rolls over onto his back and wants belly rubs. I swear he's made of a collection of loosely assembled parts.
In the gloom, I give him a couple minutes of belly rubs and then get prepared to go and greet the day. Rack gets his fresh water and food and finishes it while I am brushing my teeth. Those few seconds under the covers checking radar told me I needed at least that.
We get ourselves together and I say "Start Strava" after having strapped myself into the heart rate monitor I use to gauge my workouts and we walk out the door.
Brilliant starshine, or at least what passes for it here in the big sprawl of Suburban Fort Lauderdale Area. I see the streak of light glowing grey-blue in the south western sky from the Hard Rock Casino, down in Hollywood.
Stepping toward the hedges, Rack trots over to them and waters them as I look up at Orion and it's belt. Everywhere I have lived, I have noted where that constellation is. Three stars in a line and the twin trapezoids forming a familiar sight. When I had a house in Philadelphia, it showed itself as soon as I stepped off the porch. Here, it's behind the house and up over the ocean. At least in late summer.
Rack has a very strong opinion of where he wants to go, whether I am awake enough to appreciate it. At this point he pulls me across the deserted street to the house, and insists we go in.
I unlock the door and we're in. Removing his leash and set it on the floor. He trots to the back door and looks back. "Ok, I'm coming" as I lock the front of the house.
I didn't feel like being social with the neighbor and her overly friendly love sponge of a pitbull at this time of the morning. All muscle, that sweet dog would knock me over trying to express love! The yipping of too overly social dogs will wake the dead!
Rack and I go out to the back yard and I inspect things. We've been away for most of the summer while work happens on the house. My prized plants are overgrowing, pots have been knocked over in a stray overnight storm. I think that I will have to go back during the daylight hours and really look into what is going on.
He's back in the utility easement again "watering things". That will keep the wildlife out of the yard at any rate, they don't seem to like the scent of a dog all over the plantings.
We gather ourselves together, go back into the house. He's already at the front door, he looks back at me. Crunching construction debris I make my own way. Attaching his leash, we step out.
Once I get to the bottom of the property, I get more insistent walking instructions. He starts dragging me down the block. Our pitbull friend is gone and the morning is beginning to shine. Orion is beginning to fade.
As we get back to the house, he spots a neighbor who is asking "Where's the running shoes?" Rack is trying to greet him across the street. "Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!" I respond. My chest strap flashes a green LED at him. I look like a demented dog walking robot.
I may as well be since the coffee has yet to be brewed.
Amusing. Pivot to another sport for a bit and the neighborhood notices. At my size, I would tend to fill up the sidewalks anyway, and add the dog and it's full. "Is that why you don't run with Rack?"
Yes, the world is not ready for a football player sized man and an overeager herding dog running down a narrow sidewalk!
We all hope for that. Dodging storms here unfortunately means wishing weather on someone else! Stay Dry!
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